Briefly

Enron ordered to return $32 million

Federal energy regulators on Thursday ordered Enron Corp. to forfeit $32 million in ill-gotten profits from the Western energy crisis and opened the door to much larger payments by ordering a review of the company’s profits from 1997-2003.

It was the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s first order requiring Enron to give back profits from the power crisis and came after growing demands from Western-state lawmakers for the government to take action against the bankrupt energy giant.

The amount of Thursday’s order was small compared with the billions of dollars Western states believe they are owed from overcharges by Enron and other companies in 2000-2001.

But in upholding an administrative law judge’s finding that Enron did not properly inform the commission of a business relationship with El Paso Electric Co., the commission made clear Enron could be required to pay much more.

“We note that based on the evidence in this docket … Enron potentially could be required to disgorge profits for all of its wholesale power sales in the Western Interconnect for the period January 16, 1997 to June 25, 2003,” the commission’s order said.

California officials have estimated those profits at $2.9 billion.

Passenger traffic at airport increases

Spokane International Airport on Wednesday reported a 16.7 percent increase in passenger traffic in June compared with the same month in 2003.

During June, 143,429 passengers boarded planes in Spokane, versus June 2003’s 123,460. Nationally, airline passenger traffic rose 9.3 percent, said Spokane airport spokesman Todd Woodard.

Through the first six months of 2004, Spokane International Airport handled 1.44 million passengers, about a 10 percent increase over the same period in 2003.

Also during June, 4,780 tons of freight and mail came through the Spokane airport, a 19 percent hike over one year earlier.

Through June 2004, 27,692 tons of cargo have come through Spokane International, about a 4 percent increase over the same period last year.

OPEC chief reports bid to stabilize prices

Vienna, Austria OPEC is committed to keeping crude prices from rising further, and its members are investing to boost their production capacity to help stabilize a turbulent oil market, the group’s president said Thursday.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is already pumping 2 million barrels a day above its output target of 25.5 million barrels, Purnomo Yusgiantoro told a news conference at OPEC’s headquarters in Vienna. “That’s partly because we are concerned with the price level that we see today,” he said.

Contracts of U.S. light crude for September delivery climbed 78 cents to settle at $41.36 a barrel Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

OPEC’s official target price for its benchmark blend of crudes remains between $22 and $28 per barrel – a level that Purnomo reconfirmed.

The director of OPEC’s research division, Adnan Shihab-Eldin, predicted some relief for U.S. motorists, saying a recent recovery in the balance of supply and demand for gasoline in the United States should help “moderate” prices there.

Reports offer mixed economic news

A gauge of future economic activity signaled that the nation”s financial recovery lost some steam in June, yet the labor market continues to show signs of improvement.

The government reported Thursday that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, indicating that the labor market is showing signs of improvement.

But in another report, the Conference Board, a private New York-based research group, said its gauge of future economic activity fell last month for the first time in more than a year, signaling that the country’s financial rebound lost some steam.

“I guess the concern is whether this could turn into a real significant slowdown in the economy,” said Sung Won Sohn, chief economist at Wells Fargo in Minneapolis. But, echoing the assessment Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan made before Congress this week, Sohn said he believes June was a short-lived “soft patch.”

Barring external shocks such as a terror attack or a sharp rise in energy prices, Sohn expects July’s economic data to be stronger. Already, Wells Fargo, one of the largest mortgage lenders in the United States, is seeing an increase in home purchasing and refinancing activities, compared with last month, he said.