Business news briefly

Zip’s will move to Burger King site

A downtown Spokane Zip’s Drive In, at 725 W. Third, will relocate in October to a corner building one block west, store owner Dennis Kelly said Monday.

Kelly has owned and managed the fast-food business for seven years. He’s moving the business to the former site of a Burger King at the corner of Third and Lincoln. The building has been vacant for two months.

“This will give us more parking and more visibility, being on a corner,” Kelly said.

The new site will have a remodeled kitchen and other improvements. Kelly declined to say how much he’s investing in the project.

Times Square kiosk to have CdA connection

A kiosk in New York’s Times Square will feature Coeur d’Alene as one of the nation’s great travel destinations.

“It’s totally free publicity in a high-traffic area,” said Christina Hatfield, vice president of marketing for Coeur d’Alene Area Chamber of Commerce.

The kiosk will be located in the lobby of the Time-Warner Building. It’s part of a marketing effort to promote the Lincoln Navigator SUV. The interactive kiosk queries people about their vacation preferences, and lists destinations.

Last week, the chamber sent video footage of Coeur d’Alene to the Michigan firm designing the kiosk. The kiosk will be in operation for about two years. “It’s great exposure for the area,” Hatfield said.

Rally’s impact better than expected

A BMW motorcycle owners’ rally held in Spokane last month generated more money than the Spokane Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau anticipated it would. A survey commissioned by the CVB found that the event had direct economic impact of $3.34 million to $4.99 million, topping the CVB’s expectation that it would generate $3.15 million for the economy.

About 40 percent of the money was spent on shopping; eating and drinking accounted for 27 percent; lodging for 21 percent; transportation 5 percent and recreation 3 percent of the impact, the survey of 268 rally participants found.

About 6,200 BMW owners attended the rally held at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center.

WTO rejects U.S. appeal on wheat trade

Geneva The World Trade Organization on Monday rejected a U.S. appeal against an earlier finding that Canada does not violate international law in its wheat trade.

The WTO appeals body upheld a February decision by its dispute settlement body, which was asked last year by Washington to rule on the legality of the Canadian Wheat Board’s operations.

The Winnipeg, Manitoba-based wheat board buys wheat and barley produced in Canada’s western prairie provinces, at a price fixed by the Canadian government. American farmers argued that Canadian producers are being indirectly and unfairly subsidized.

In February, however, the WTO panel ruled that farmers – rather than the Canadian government – control the wheat board.

The North Dakota Wheat Commission and other trade groups triggered the U.S. trade complaint. They have argued for years that the Canadian Wheat Board undercuts the price of its wheat to gain market share around the world.

Tyson stock falls with lowered forecast

Springdale, Ark. Shares in Tyson Foods Inc. fell more than 8 percent Monday after the company lowered its earnings forecast for the fiscal year, saying attempts to hedge grain prices backfired as demand for beef weakened. Costs associated with closing plants also will affect its bottom line.

The Springdale-based company said it expects to earn between $1.08 and $1.15 per share for the fiscal year ending Oct. 2, down 18 cents a share from its earlier forecast, which was raised after third quarter profits more than doubled.

“We presently expect our fourth quarter to be more difficult, primarily due to unfavorable results from grain hedging activity, combined with weaker than expected demand in our chicken and beef segments. Additionally, raw material costs for our prepared foods products did not decline as we expected,” company chairman and chief executive John Tyson said.

Mutual funds assets drop 2 percent in July

New York Combined assets of U.S. mutual funds fell 2 percent in July, led by a steep decline in equity funds during a tough month for stocks.

Total fund assets fell $149.9 billion to $7.44 trillion from June to July, according to data from the Investment Company Institute, the fund industry’s main trade group.

Stock funds, however, fell about 4 percent over that period, from $3.95 billion to $3.76 billion, according to the ICI.

No other fund category suffered such a big drop. In fact, some categories saw assets rise.

Taxable bond funds rose to $909.3 billion, from $902.4 billion in the prior month, while municipal bond funds saw assets grow to $320.4 billion, from $318.6 billion, according to the ICI.

BMW expects U.S. to be top market

Detroit German automaker BMW Group expects the United States to be its top global market for new vehicles in 2004, cashing in on an expanded portfolio that continues to grow, the company’s chairman said Monday.

Helmut Panke, speaking at a luncheon to automotive journalists, said he remains bullish on the U.S. and global automotive markets despite heavy competition and the tendency of some in the industry “to see more problems than opportunities.”

So far this year, while several European brands have struggled, BMW has posted strong results, helped largely by sport utility vehicle demand.

“We’ve been able to continually build our presence in this market to the point that last year, the U.S. became our biggest single market for the first time in our history,” Panke said

For the first seven months of 2004, BMW sold 147,313 vehicles in the United States, a 4 percent increase from 2003.