DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE Business 8D Delta deal OK'd Pilots' union, bankruptcy judge approve concessions agreement. Page 7D 7D 7D 7D DIVIDENDS FUTURES MARKET SUMMARY ROCHESTER, NEW YORK DemocratandChronicle.com THURSDAY, JUNE 1,2006 Chase's race takes foot today THE MARKET At a glance DOW NASDAQ 11,168.31 2,178.88 73.88 14.14 Rank's Cnrnnrnte Challenge fllwavs nonnlar in attracting 9,371 participants this year from this year's fundraiser: Camp Haccamo, Pediatric Links with the Community and the YMCA of Greater Rochester's Invest in Youth Campaign. Scott Rasmussen, executive director of development for Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong, said Pediatric Links appreciates the support from JPMorgan Chase. "JPMorgan Chase is one of the most community minded banks you will find," he said. "They come to Rochester to support specific initiatives of the city." SHHENRYDemocratandChronicle.com SHAENA HENRY STAFF WRITER The JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Series has had capacity crowds in some of the world's largest cities such as London, New York City and Boston.
But the company doesn't do many of the races in smaller cities. Rochester is one of the exceptions. Today marks the 16th consecutive year for the local race, which starts at 7 p.m. A crowd of 9,371 walkers and runners is expected to participate in this year's challenge at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Rochester, Bob Ryan, regional executive for JPMorgan Chase, said that the challenge returns to Rochester because of the increase in public interest each year.
"The event continues to come to Rochester every year because of the success of the race relative to the small size of the population," Ryan said. "There has been an explosion of growth." The Corporate Chal shirt. Awards will also be given to the fastest male and female finisher and the fastest CEO finishers. Co-sponsors of the Corporate Challenge which costs Chase about $250,000 locally include American Airlines, Fortune, The New York Times, Tiffany Co. and WHAM-AM (1180).
Barbara Paddock, senior vice president of Chase, said the event is held in Rochester from a business lenge was held in Rochester for the first time in 1991 at Highland Park with 816 runners and 70 companies. The event was moved to the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2003 to accommodate its growth. "It's gratifying because it indicates that the public has embraced the race as their own," said Ryan. After the race there will be a contest for the team with the most creative T- perspective. "We have a large employee base in Rochester, and it is a cornerstone for business from a commercial standpoint," Paddock said.
"We have a good relationship with Rochester, and we hope to continue to do so." The financial institution has more than 1,000 employees locally. Three beneficiaries will each receive about $7,500 sweetems ILJ I 1 1 roam iWlgpjjM I $7 i in ni in i i i. JAMIE GERMAN0 staff photographer Customer Pat Hayes of Pittsford, left, works with Dell sales representative Max Rekkerth at the Dell kiosk in East-view Mall on Wednesday. Dell is opening two full-size stores, one downstate in West Nyack and the other in Dallas. Dell to open two stores But buyers will still receive computers by mail Stocks of local interest, 7D AT A GLANCE LOCAL PAETEC lands client PAETEC Software Corp.
has signed a five-year agreement worth more than $2.8 million to provide software, professional services and maintenance to New York City. The city will purchase licenses for PAETEC's Pinnacle software, as well as professional and consulting services. PAETEC Software is a subsidiary of Perinton-based PAETEC Corp. Nothnagle adds Greece affiliate Nothnagle Realtors, the area's largest residential real estate company, has acquired Coachman Properties of 2047 W. Ridge Road in Greece.
Coachman's broker-owner, Joe Sortino, said the time was right to join Nothnagle and he hoped the company would grow under the affiliation. Pittsford firm is state supplier A local company that specializes in online auctions has been approved for a program that could help New York state agencies save money. Advanced Purchasing Technology of Pittsford was named as a supplier for the New York Small Business Initiative. The initiative allows state agencies to purchase up to $50,000 in products or services directly without going through formal procurement processes or advertising for bids. Advanced Purchasing will be able to provide online competitive bidding services to state agencies free of charge.
Separately, Advanced Purchasing won the Bill Poole Education award from the Rochester chapter of the National Association of Purchasing Managers. Knapp offering two new wines Knapp Winery and Restaurant has launched two new fruit wines, Logan Berry and Black Cherry. The winery said the new products are targeted at drinkers of sweet wines. Logan Berry is a blend of Aurora grape and loganberry juice, and Black Cherry is a mix of Aurora grape and black cherry juice. Knapp is in Romulus, Seneca County, on the western side of Cayuga Lake.
Staff reports COMING UP Gas guzzlers pay the price What can you expect at the gas pump? In Friday's Democrat and Chronicle KEY INDICATORS T-note, 10-year yield, 5.13, up .05. A Dollar vs. yen, up .42 yen to 112.59. Gold, NY Merc, down $11.40 to $642.50. Oil, light, sweet crude, for July delivery, down 74 cents to $71.29.
NEWS TIPS Call (585) 258-2320 or (800) 767-7539 from outside Monroe County. cameras, printers, televisions and other equipment. One of the kiosks opened in October 2005 at Eastview Mall in Victor, Ontario County. Allowing customers to see and touch the products helps sales, said Dan Kasper, manager at the Dell kiosk. The kiosk has been successful because "it's a lot of questions asked and questions answered," he said.
The 120-square-foot kiosks have room for about 12 products. Figueroa said the much larger storefronts will play models. Consumers will still have to order online or over the phone and then wait for their purchase to arrive in the mail. "We're adamant about staying true to the model. That's very important to us," Dell spokesman Venancio Fi-gueroa said Wednesday.
"We also know given our track record with customers that they actually prefer home delivery." Dell already operates about KO tiny "Dell Direct Stores" at malls and airports across the country where customers can speak with sales representatives about computers, digital MATT SLAGLE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DALLAS Dell a company known for selling computer systems directly to consumers and businesses, has announced plans to open its first two full-sized stores this year. The stores will be located at high-traffic shopping malls in Dallas and West Nyack, Rockland County. The Dallas store is set to open this summer and the one in New York in the fall, a spokesman said. Sticking with its direct-sales approach, the stores will only carry dis (LOS 30-day plan free for some JOY DAVIA STAFF WRITER Excellus BlueCross Blue-Shield members who suffer from certain conditions can get a free 30-day supply of a new generic prescription under a program that will be unveiled today. The area's largest health insurer wants members to use more generics, which are cheaper, as safe and in most cases as effective as their brand-name counterparts.
So starting today, members who are for the first time getting one of nine generics to treat ailments such as heartburn, depression and high blood pressure will receive a 30-day supply for free. Increasing the use of generic drugs has been hailed as a way to slow the growth of health insurance premiums, which are paid by workers and companies. A study done by Excellus last year found that local consumers and taxpayers could save $141 million annually if people here used more generic drugs. Excellus' premiums this year increased an average of 8 percent to 12 percent, depending on the plan. Taxpayers also fund programs such as Medicaid, which are also growing in cost.
Under a trial program, Excellus was giving out free two-week supplies of generics. The insurer will now expand the program GENERICS, PAGE 7D with a loss of $56 million in March. The company took in nearly $1.4 billion in revenue, including $761 million from GM. GM spent nearly $1.1 billion on Delphi parts in March. Delphi has some 2,100 workers at a plant at 1000 Lexington Ave.
and a research facility in Henrietta. The UAW's Local 1097 represents the majority of the 1,435 hourly workers at Delphi's Rochester-area facilities. Includes reporting by The Associated Press. What's included Excellus' expanded Generic Trial Program covers the following generic drugs for ailments that make up 41 percent of its members' prescriptions; Drug: Fluoxetine 20 MG capsules. Ailment: Depression.
Brand alternatives: Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil. Drug: Citalopram tablets. Ailment: Depression. Brand alternatives: Celexa, Lexapro. Drug: Prilosec OTC 20 MG.
Ailment: Heartburn. Brand alternatives: Prilosec, Aciphex, Nexium, Prevacid, Protonix. Drug: Atenolol. Ailment: High blood pressure. Brand alternatives: Tenormin, Inderal LA, Cor-gard.
Drug: Metoprolol. Ailment: High blood pressure. Brand alternatives: Lopressor, Toprol XL. Drug: Hydrochlorothiazide. Ailment: High blood pressure.
Brand alternative: Hy-drodiuril. Drug: Lisinopril. Ailment: High blood pressure. Brand alternatives: PrinivilZestril, Accupril, Altace. Drug: Lovastatin.
Ailment: High cholesterol. Brand equivalent: Me- vacor, Lipitor, Pravachol, Zocor, Lescol. Drug: Oxybutynin tablets. Ailment: Incontinence. Brand equivalent: Ditro-pan, Detrol LA, Oxytrol.
OPEC, meeting today, plans no cut in oil output Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez has called for a cut in oil production, saying the action is justified because global markets are well supplied. He said geopolitical uncertainty is the cause of today's high oil prices. But the major oil-producing countries are expected to keep crude output unchanged today at a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, I STORY: 7 VirtualScopics stock gets lift DELL, PAGE 7D worth about $3 million, VirtualScopics will manage and analyze magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, data for a global trial of Glaxo's new osteoarthritis treatment. Excluding the impact of an accounting change, the company lost about $460,000 during the first quarter. Revenue during the quarter, however, soared to $1,024 million, a 46 percent increase.
VirtualScopics' stock closed the day at $5.55, up 65 cents. The switch is likely to provide VirtualScopics more visibility, credibility and liquidity, making it available to a wider range of brokers, mutual funds and money managers, the company and analysts said. "It's almost like a vote of confidence in the company from the investment community," said Christopher Hayes, chief investment officer for Hayes-Fischer Capital Management in Rochester. The company, which employs about 50 people, provides advanced medical image analysis services. It is a spinoff company of the University of Rochester and based on research done by the medical and engineering colleges at UR, the area's largest employer.
"The Nasdaq listing is one more milestone in the company's evolution as a public company," Robert Klimasewski, president and chief executive of the company, said in a statement. The company signed its largest contract to date with GlaxoSmithKline in March. Under the deal, Miller cut labor costs and emerge from bankruptcy while avoiding a strike at the auto-parts maker. A strike at Delphi would jeopardize Wagoner's plans to cut 30,000 union jobs by 2010 and reduce other GM employee expenses such as health care and pensions. Wagoner wants to reduce costs by an annualized rate of $7 billion by the end of 2006 after GM had a $10.6 billion loss in 2005.
As part of GM's 1999 spinoff of Delphi, GM agreed to cover retiree and health care costs for former GM workers should BEN RAND STAFF WRITER In a sign of progress, a Pittsford company with promising health care technology is moving its stock onto a larger national stage. VirtualScopics Inc. began trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol VSCP. It had previously been listed on the OTC Electronic Bulletin Board, which generally provides much more limited exposure for companies seeking access to capital markets. GM says JEFF GREEN BLOOMBERG NEWS General Motors Corp.
Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner said Wednesday the automaker is negotiating "in earnest" to reach a consensual labor accord with Delphi its largest parts supplier. A strike at Delphi would disrupt Detroit-based GM's plan to reduce structural costs to about 31 percent of revenue this year from 34 percent last year, according to slides Wagoner presented to analysts at San-ford C. Bernstein Co, Wagoner's goal is to reduce it's working hard on Delphi pact Rick Wagoner CEO wants to cut GM's costs to 25 percent of revenue. those costs to 25 percent of revenue by 2010. "We expect to get a good start on that in 2006, and if we get to the 25 percent level we'll be extremely competitively well positioned," Wagoner said during a conference call.
Wagoner is trying to help Delphi CEO Steve Iff Delphi be unable to meet those obligations. Miller has said he needs GM's financial assistance to get union approval for his plan to cut wages and close 21 of 29 U.S. production sites. Miller has asked a federal bankruptcy judge to let him scrap current labor contracts while talks keep up. Also Wednesday, Delphi said that its monthly losses more than tripled from March to April as GM bought fewer parts from the company.
Delphi reported a net loss of $192 million in April, compared Kosw-ssT- awe".
