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THE BULLETIN 0 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2013
BRIEFING
Natural gasrates set to increase
Fe uni e toscae ac stimuus
Natural Gas, the provider for much of Central
• January meeting to be chairman'slast
Oregon, will seea rate increasebeginningFriday,
By Martin Crutsinger
Customers ofCascade
the Oregon Public Utility
Commission announced. For a typical customer, monthly bills are expected
to rise $5.70, onaverage annually, from $46.81
to $52.51,according to a news release from the PUC. In colder months like
January whencustomers use morenatural gasfor
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A lot can change in six weeks. When the Federal Reserve last met in mid-September, almost everyone expected it to start reducing the stimulus it's given the U.S. economy to help it rebound from the Great Recession. It didn't. The Fed pulled a
surprise by deciding not to slow its $85 billion-a-month in Treasury and mortgage bond purchases. Its bond buying has been intended to keep long-term loan rates low to support the economy. After a 16-day partial government shutdown and a batch of tepid economic data, no one thinks the Fed will reduce its stimulus when it continues meetings today. Many analysts predict the Fed will maintain the paceofitsbond purchases into next year.
"I think March is nowthe earliest that any reduction in bond purchases will happen," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial. By then, Fed members expect to have seen several months of stronger job growth. They also expect Congress to have resolved its budget impasse. If the Fed does start slowing its stimulus in March, it will have left its policy unchanged not just this week but also at its next meeting in December and at its subsequent meeting in
late January. The delay would signal a dimmer economic outlook. The January meeting will be the last for Chairman Ben Bernanke, who is stepping down after eight years. President Barack Obama has chosen Vice Chair Janet Yellen to succeed Bernanke. Assuming Yellen is confirmed, her first meeting as chairman will be in March. Economists think no major policychanges willoccur before a new chairmantakes over.
heating, typical bills will
likely increase$14.01 on average, from$110.52to
ona conso B.t S unc CB1 S COU ons
$124.53.
While Cascade Natural Gas' rate increaseworks out to more than12
percentyearoveryear, the PUC said it's a little
misleading. Cascade'sresidential customers sawa17 percent rate reduction this
year. In 2011-12gasyear, Cascadeover-collected $7 million becauseprices anddemanddidnotmeet forecasts, accordingto a PUC report. That led to
this year's ratereduction. Rates for NW Natural, which serves northwest
Oregon, will increaseless than 2 percent, and those for Avista Utilities, which
supplies natural gasto customers in southwest
andnortheast Oregon, will decreasemore than 2 percent.
OSPIRGoffers info oncredit For consumerswanting to learnmoreabout managing their financial credit, the Oregon State Public Interest Research
Group hasupdated its website, "What Affects
My Credit in Oregon." The site, which was
updatedTuesday,explains credit reportsand scores, how to obtain credit reports and fix errors in them and otherissues thatcould affect consumer credit. For more information, visit www.
ospirg.org/whataffectsmycredit.
Dell Inc. becomes a private company AUSTIN, Texas — Dell
Inc. onTuesdaybecame a private company,ending its marathon buyout
campaign. The RoundRock, Texas-basedcomputer maker announcedthe completion of its $24.9 billion buyout by founder and CEOMichael Dell and
By Rachael Rees
g
The Bulletin
A Bend company launched a free app Tuesday that takes the paper punch cards and coupons provided by local retailers and puts them onto iPhones. "The reason why we are doing this is because we all enjoy Oregon and the outdoors, and it makes us sick to think of all the trees that are being clear cut for coupons and punch cards," said Bud Torcom, director ofsales and
f,j "' ' jI/g
act
marketing for CQpon. For the last nine months, the company has distributed cards depicting question marks and QR codes to restaurants and stores around Bend. Scanning the quickresponse code leads to an ecoupon. But the app, currently available at the Apple Store and expected to be released for Android in November, will help phase out the paper card. Both serve the same goal: to draw customers into local businesses with coupons, Torcom said. But the app reduces the bulge in your billfold. "Basically, this creates loyalty for all these businesses in Bend — big time," he said. "We are talking about having 170 punch cards, and if that were to be in your wallet, your wallet would be exploding with punch cards.... And then you top that off with 170 coupons." The company started in August 2012. So far, more than 200 businesses throughout the state have signed up for
CQpon, including dental offices, day cares and restaurants. Torcom would like to expand nationwideand hirerepresen-
Ryan Brennecke /The Bulletin
Members of CQpon, from left, Cody Swartz, Bud Torcom, CQpon Dog, Sarah Turner and David Smiley stand outside Mazza Bistro, one of the local businesses that uses the company's punch card app.
"It makes us sick to think of all the trees that are
being clear cut for coupons and punch cards." — Bud Torcom, director of sales and marketing for CQpon
tatives across the country.
Businesses pay $40 a month, plus an additional setup fee. A company receives and manages a custom coupon, an electronic punch card and once-a-week notifications to send announcements of specials and events to consumers. The app shows those consumers the participating CQpon businesses within 50
miles on a map and provides them with social media links to engage with them. Unlike other e-coupon companies, Torcom said, CQpon is one of the first apps to combine a punch card with a coupon for multiple businesses, not just one. "If every business created its own app, then your phone would becomes as flooded
as your wallet used to be," he sard. CQpon is also working on an update that includes notifications to alert consumers when they are within 100 feet of a business for which they have a punch card or coupon. "How many times have you gone to a coffee place and ordered your coffee and drove home and forgot to get your
punch?" he said. "(The app) will vibrate (your phone) and remind you when you go into that coffee place that, 'Hey, you have a punch card here.'" — Reporter: 541-617-7818, rrees@bendbulletin.com
his investmentally, Silver Lake Partners. Those two will be the
principal owners ofthe company, with Michael Dell expected to own
about three-quarters of the company. Under the terms of the buyout, Dell Inc. stockholders will receive
$13.75 incashfor each share of companycommon stock they hold.
Comcastapp to add channels PHILADELPHIA
—ComcastsaidTuesday that it is updating its mobile viewing app, Xfinity TV Go, to allow subscrib-
ers to watchpopular channels, suchasCNN, Fox News,Disney Channel, CNBC,ESPNand FX. Subscribers will be able to watch 35 live TV channels on their Apple and Android devices outside their homes, as long as they have aWi-Fi connection. Previously, the nation's
largest cableoperator allowed subscribers to watch live feeds only on its website from a
computer or onmobile devices for specialevents. — From staff and wire reports
Possible litigation impacting Europeanbank earnings By Nicholas Comfort and Elena Logutenkova Bloomberg News
FRANKFURT, Germany — Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest bank, reported a 94 percent drop in third-quarter earnings and UBS postponed a profitability goal after setting aside more money forrising legal costs. Deutsche Bank took a $1.65 billion charge to cover potential legal expenses. UBS shares posted the biggest decline in more than two years after a Swiss regulator demanded it hold more capital for litigation risks. Regulators have taken a tougher stance against misbe-
havior since the financial crisis of 2008. Rabobank Groep, the Dutch cooperative lender, was fined 774 million euros Tuesday for its involvement in rigging benchmark interest rates,the second- largest penalty in the probe after UBS. Deutsche Bank is among firms still under investigation. UBS and Deutsche Bank also set aside funds in the third quarter for lawsuits tied to the U.S. housing market, saying authorities have requested information in a probe into currency rates. "Deutsche Bank is sizing up legal costs while UBS is being told by its regulator to reflect
greater risk, specifically from
known and unknown litigation," Dieter Hein, a banking analyst at Fairesearch in Kronberg, Germany. "Investment banks have yet to get a handle on this, otherwise they wouldn't be adding to their reservesquarter after quarter." Deutsche Bank rose 0.9 percent to 36.21 euros in Frankfurt Tuesday, after initially slumping as much as 3.3 percent. UBS, Switzerland's largest bank, tumbled 7.7 percent to 17.70 Swiss francs in Zurich. At Deutsche Bank, thirdquarter net income fell to 41 million euros from 747 million euros a year earlier, the Frankfurt-based bank said
Tuesday, missing analysts' estimates. Co-Chief Executive OfficersAnshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen boosted reserves for legal costs to 4.1 billion euros in the quarter. The 1.2 billion-euro increase was almost four times the average estimate of analysts surveyed. Deutsche Bank's share price recovery during the course of the day shows some investors have already factored in legal costs in their assessment of the stock, said Lutz Roehmeyer, a money manager at Landesbank Berlin Investment who helps oversee about 11 billion euros, including Deutsche Bank shares.
BEST OF THE BIZ CALENDAR TODAY •StepstoEconomicand PersonalSuccess:Fourpart series on employment readinessandempowering change; registration suggested;$88for series; 5:30-8:30 p.m.;Eastlake V<llageApartments, Community Room,675 N.E. BellevueDrive, Bend; 541-923-1018. • Howto Starta Business: Registration required;$29; 6-8 p.m.;Central Oregon Community College,2600 N.W.CollegeWay,Bend; 541-383-7290. NOV. 6 •iOSAppDevelopment3 - GameDevelopment:Last class in the series; build games, learnanimation, graphicelementsand troubleshooting; advanced knowledge ofXcodeand Objective-C oriOSApp II; registration required $179 Wednesdaysthrough Nov. 20, 6-9 p.m.;Central Oregon Community College,2600 N.W.CollegeWay,Bend; 541-383-7270. • Launch YourBusiness: COCC'sSmallBusiness DevelopmentCenteroffers this coursefor localstartup companies ;helpsbusiness owners getstartedand develop aworking plan;four one-hour coachingsessions with Wednesdayevening classes fromNov.6to Dec. 4; preregistration required; $119; 6-9p.m.; COCC ChandlerBuilding,1027 N.W. TrentonAve.,Bend; 541-383-7290. NOV. 7 • OregonAlcoholServer Permit training:Meets Oregon LiquorControl Commission minimum requirementsto obtain an alcohol serverpermit; registration required $35 9a.m.; RoundTable Pizza, 1552 N.E.Third St., Bend; 541-447-6384 or www. happyhourtraining.com. • OregonGeothermal WorkingGroup:Discussion of geothermalprojects, power plantdevelopment, state andfederal regulatory agencies andaroundtable session; open tothe public; 9a.m. The Environmental Center,16 N.W.KansasAve., Bend;541-385-6908. • GeneralCertificate in Brewinginformation session:Learn aboutthis new exampreparation course toearnthe Institute of BrewingandDistilling GeneralCertificate inBrewing (GCB);registration required; free; 6-7:30 p.m.;COCC Chandler Building,1027 N.W. TrentonAve.,Bend; 541-383-7270. NOV.12 Twitterfor Business:Learn how small- tomedium-sized businessesusethesocial media siteTwitter to market and advertise; registration required; $49;1-4p.m.; COCC,2600N.W.College Way, Bend;541-383-7270. NOV.13 • Homeowner Seminar: Advantages of homeownership;market trends; stepsto buyand sell; understandingcosts; construction andremodeling; mortgagebasicsand more, registration required; free; 5:30-7:30 p.m.;Central Oregon Association of Realtors, 2112N.E.Fourth St., Bend;541-382-6027 or info@coar.com.
For the completecalendar, pickup Sunday'sBulletin or visit bendbulletin.com7bizcal
BRIEFING
Odesity tackled with a new tax MEXICO CITY — Mexico is turning to its tax system to tackle the highest obesity levels in North America or Europe, with plans to raise levies on the
fatty foods and sugary sodas that contribute to more deaths than drug
violence. — From wire reports
BANKRUPTCIES Chapter 7 Filed Oct. 22 • James L. Schoning,440 S.E. Airpark Drive, Bend • Geary M. Joseph, 1454
N.W. TeakwoodCourt, Redmond • Tabatha C. Hammond, 180 E. ParkPlaceAve.,
Sisters Filed Oct. 23 • Nicholas T. Pappas,2555 N.E. Longfellow Court, Bend • Stafford A. Mocabee, 19942 Pine ConeDrive, Bend
Filed Oct. 24 • Robert Harwell,16210 state Highway 126, Sisters •Angel A. Emanuel, 2041 S.W. 33rd St., Redmond
• Rebecca L. Stensrud, 358 N.W. 17th St., No. 3, Redmond
Filed Oct. 25 • Hugo Figueroa, 366 S.W. M St., No. F8,Madras
• Johnathon W. Skinner, 22550 Calgary Drive, Bend • Sharla L. Chittick, 2020 N.E. Linnea Drive, No.124, Bend
• Patrick D. Michelson, P.O. Box 7849, Bend Filed Oct. 28 • Jacob L. Howitt,426 S.E. Douglas St., Bend • Jason A. Hayes,218S.W. Hayes Ave., Bend • Tera R. Keller, 895 N.E.
Hidden Valley Drive, No. 2, Bend • Michelle L. Mines, 141 S.W. 15th St., No. 58, Bend
Vogt Road, Bend
Filed Oct. 28 • Alvin T. Koog, Jr., 2250 N.W. Eighth St., Redmond Chapter 13 • Roy E. Sheeran, P.O.Box Filed Oct. 26 • David W. Gardner, 63506 4101, Sunriver