Itron stock soars 16 percent

Itron Inc.’s stock price rose 16 percent, or $6.55 per share, to close at $46.99 Monday after the Spokane Valley-based company announced it set a record for total orders received in a single year.

Itron, which makes products and provides services for energy and water utilities, said it received $655 million in new order bookings in 2005. The previous record was $358 million in new orders, set in 2004.

The demand for the company’s products “demonstrates that the business case for Itron’s technology is very compelling for many utilities,” said CEO LeRoy Nosbaum in a press release.

Itron is scheduled to release its fourth quarter and 2005 results on Feb. 14.

Collector’s Zone closes downtown store

Collector’s Zone, a business selling everything from Gonzaga University beanie bears to autographed sports memorabilia and collectible figures, has closed its River Park Square store.

Ann Campbell, who owns the business with Doug Dietrich, said the business will focus on its more profitable stores at Spokane Valley and NorthTown malls and their Web business ( www.collectorszone.us).

The other locations have operated for about six years and have built up more repeat customers, Campbell said. Collector’s Zone was downtown for about two years.

Feds to study natural gas practices

Washington Natural gas producers reportedly took advantage of inconsistent federal rules to avoid paying the U.S. government about $700 million in royalties in 2005, and the Interior Department has been asked to examine the matter for Congress.

After a three-month investigation, The New York Times wrote Monday that a complicated set of federal regulations allowed energy companies to provide the Interior Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission different data when reporting the value of the natural gas they sold.

To the SEC, the industry reported the full market price. But to the Interior Department, it gave the much lower wellhead price, which is the value of the gas before factoring in processing and transportation costs, and profit margins. Royalties are set at around 12 percent to 16 percent of the value of the energy sold.

If the royalty payments had been based on the price of natural gas given to shareholders, the Times said, the U.S. government would have collected an additional $700 million. The paper did not allege that any laws were broken.

Engelhard rejects BASF takeover bid

Dallas The board of specialty chemicals company Engelhard Corp. on Monday rejected a $4.9 billion hostile bid by the German-based chemical giant BASF AG, and said it was exploring a sale.

BASF, the world’s largest chemical company by sales, had offered $37 a share for Iselin, N.J.-based Engelhard. BASF launched the unsolicited bid Jan. 4, about two weeks after starting talks with Engelhard.

When Engelhard rebuffed the courtship, BASF went public with an offer that was a 23 percent premium over Engelhard’s share price at the time of $30.15.

BASF said it might raise the offer by another $1 a share if Engelhard’s management agreed to meet and “demonstrate value in addition to that discernible from the publicly available information” on the company.

Traders bet that Engelhard’s shares were worth more, bidding the price above $39. On Monday, Engelhard’s shares rose 13 cents to close at $39.71 on the New York Stock Exchange.