BUSINESS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2009 • PAGE A10

Editor: Norma Coile / 520-573-4663 / business@azstarnet.com

Pulte acts vs. ‘sabotage’

MARKET ROUNDUP
Better news on retail sales and manufacturing helped send stocks higher
Tuesday, as did Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s comment that the
recession probably is over. Surging materials and industrial companies such
as Alcoa and Caterpillar pulled the Dow Jones industrial average to a gain of 57

tied to Tucsonan’s firing

points, its seventh climb in eight days and another high for the year.

HIGH LOW CHANGE CLOSE

s DOW30 9,713.71 9,580.93 +56.61 9,683.41
s NASDAQ 2,106.93 2,086.16 +10.86 2,102.64
s S&P 500 1,056.04 1,043.42 +3.29 1,052.63 By Ed White Web site criticizing the compa- ment that said the allegations son phone number under that
s Russell 2000 605.60 597.45 +4.81 604.84 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ny. Pulte said it’s a victim of are false. name has been disconnected.
DETROIT — Pulte Homes “sabotage.” The lawsuit says a Tucson The union does not have a Tuc-
1,120 S&P 500 Inc., the largest U.S. home Union activists “have inter- crew leader who worked for son office.
1,100 Close: 1,099.92 builder, said Tuesday that its rupted Pulte’s ability to con- Pulte Building Systems, Rober- The union’s Web site says
Change: -9.32 (-0.8%) phones and e-mail accounts duct day-to-day business, to Baltierra, was fired Sept. 4 seven workers were fired and
1,080 10 DAYS had been jammed since a labor threatened its employees and for misconduct, including denied pay while wearing or-
union urged people to protest interfered with its relation- “disregarding company safety ange union shirts. It has filed a
1,120 the firing of a Tucson employee. ships with the public, its cus- rules” — not for wearing a complaint with the National
Pulte, based in Bloomfield tomers, potential customers union T-shirt or for taking part Labor Relations Board.
Hills, Mich., filed a lawsuit and and vendors,” lawyer John in union activities. Pulte’s lawsuit, however,
1,040 asked a federal judge to order Birmingham Jr. said in a court The union doesn’t represent said it terminated only Baltier-
the Laborers’ International filing. Pulte employees. ra, not others.
Union of North America to stop The union, based in Wash- Baltierra could not be
960 the campaign and take down a ington, issued a prepared state- reached for comment; a Tuc- See PULTE, A11

880

800
J J A S O N
COMMODITIES
Close Previous % change % YTD
Crude oil (bbl) 70.93 68.86 +3.01 +59.0
Copper (lb) 2.83 2.79 +1.49 +102.0
Gold (oz) 1005.00 999.90 +0.51 +13.7
Silver (oz) 16.98 16.60 +2.27 +50.7

FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Foreign currency in $US $US in foreign currency
Country Today 6mo ago Today 6mo ago
Britain Pound 1.6490 1.3970 .6064 .7158
Canada Dollar .9316 .7845 1.0734 1.2747
Euro Euro 1.4659 1.2898 .6822 .7753
Mexico Peso .075157 .069054 13.3055 14.4815

LOCAL AND WIDELY HELD STOCKS

YTD VOL 52-WEEK
NAME TICKER CLOSE CHG %CHG %CHG YLD (Thous) HI LO
AMR AMR 7.41 +.47 +6.8 -30.6 ... 17328 13.33 2.40
AT&T Inc T 26.70 +.17 +0.6 -6.3 6.1 18904 31.18 20.90
Alcoa AA 13.99 +1.05 +8.1 +24.2 .9 48869 28.33 4.97
BE Aero BEAV 19.22 -.05 -0.3 +149.9 ... 725 24.70 5.37
BkofAm BAC 16.79 -.20 -1.2 +19.2 .2 153123 39.50 2.53
BerkH B BRK/B 3,300 +43 +1.3 +2.7 ... 40 4,700 2,241
Citigrp C 4.12 -.40 -8.8 -38.6 ... 1264474 23.50 0.97
Cnvrgys CVG 11.02 +.07 +0.6 +71.9 ... 982 16.99 4.02
CorrectnCp CXW 22.60 +.05 +0.2 +38.1 ... 341 27.30 9.50
Costco COST 56.82 -.17 -0.3 +8.2 1.3 3247 71.00 38.17
ExxonMbl XOM 69.49 -.51 -0.7 -13.0 2.4 19041 83.64 56.51
FMCG FCX 71.32 +.70 +1.0 +191.8 ... 12819 77.34 15.70
GenDynam GD 63.13 +.03 ... +9.6 2.4 1513 86.38 35.28
GenElec GE 16.00 +.65 +4.2 -1.2 2.5 205939 29.20 5.73
GraniteC GVA 33.44 +.54 +1.6 -23.9 1.6 329 50.00 21.20
HomeDp HD 27.41 -.10 -0.4 +19.1 3.3 9902 29.70 17.05
HonwllIntl HON 39.79 -.18 -0.5 +21.2 3.0 5197 46.99 23.06
Intel INTC 19.55 +.19 +1.0 +33.4 2.9 47016 20.65 12.05
IBM IBM 119.35 +.47 +0.4 +41.8 1.8 6448 124.00 69.50 MAMTA POPAT / ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Intuit INTU 27.78 -.08 -0.3 +16.8 ... 2494 32.00 20.18 Victor Meza, press manager at Tattoo Manufacturing International, pours a non-toxic adhesive on the back of a strip of temporary tat-
JPMorgCh JPM 43.19 -.56 -1.3 +38.7 .5 49316 50.63 14.96
JohnJn JNJ 60.15 -.19 -0.3 +0.5 3.3 8133 72.69 46.25 toos. The company, started in Tucson in 1989, manufactures and sells temporary tattoos, which are sold all over the world.
Kroger KR 20.46 -1.65 -7.5 -22.5 1.8 43212 29.59 19.39
Loews L 34.38 +.21 +0.6 +21.7 .7 1768 49.32 17.40

Temporary-tattoo firm thrives

Lowes LOW 21.21 -.15 -0.7 -1.4 1.7 17074 27.39 13.00
Microsoft MSFT 25.20 +.20 +0.8 +29.6 2.1 43274 27.66 14.87
NorthropG NOC 49.51 +.23 +0.5 +9.9 3.5 1736 70.60 33.81
ProvidSvc PRSC 11.48 -.37 -3.1 +691.7 ... 110 14.17 0.68
QwestCm Q 3.53 -.07 -1.9 -3.0 9.1 27085 4.87 2.05
Raytheon RTN 46.09 -.04 -0.1 -9.7 2.7 2677 64.00 33.20
Rural/Met RURL 4.04 +.02 +0.5 +125.7 ... 42 5.01 0.50
Safeway SWY 19.48 -.72 -3.6 -18.0 2.1 9428 27.25 17.19
SearsHldgs SHLD 64.99 +.31 +0.5 +67.2 ... 699 108.75 26.80 By Shelby Hill
SwtGas SWX 24.86 +.20 +0.8 -1.4 3.8 171 33.29 17.08 FOR THE ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Target TGT 47.51 +.09 +0.2 +37.6 1.4 7053 59.55 25.00
TeleTech TTEC 16.92 -.39 -2.3 +102.6 ... 245 17.77 6.20 Temporary tattoos are removable, but
TexInst TXN 24.83 +.07 +0.3 +60.0 1.8 11905 25.35 13.38 one Tucson business that makes them is
TimeWrn rs TWX 29.25 +.10 +0.3 +31.1 2.6 5966 32.33 15.41 proving it has staying power.
UniSrcEn UNS 30.13 +.17 +0.6 +2.6 3.8 161 33.42 20.91
UnionPac UNP 63.61 +.83 +1.3 +33.1 1.7 3670 80.05 33.28 Tattoo Manufacturing International, a
UPS B UPS 59.29 +.10 +0.2 +7.5 3.0 4574 70.00 37.99 multimillion-dollar business at 3761 E.
WalMart WMT 49.93 -.45 -0.9 -10.9 2.2 26202 63.85 46.25 Technical Drive, has been producing tem-
Walgrn WAG 34.06 -.18 -0.5 +38.1 1.6 5934 35.65 21.28
WsteMInc WM 30.10 -.56 -1.8 -9.2 3.9 3076 36.16 22.10
porary tattoos since 1989, but in recent
WellsFargo WFC 28.58 +.66 +2.4 -3.1 .7 49867 44.75 7.80 years the business has grown steadily, said
YumBrnds YUM 33.62 +.16 +0.5 +6.7 2.3 6339 40.25 21.50 Stephen L. Tooker, CEO and part owner.
“We’ve been growing just because tat-
Easy access to stock quotes toos are so mainstream now,” Tooker, 49,
•To hear a stock price by phone, call 1-800-555-8355 and request “stock quote.” said. “I mean, find a professional athlete or
•For an online quote lookup, go to www.azstarbiz.com a movie star or a musician that doesn’t
have a tattoo. It’s just so mainstream, and
we’ve been riding that wave.”
The company manufactures a “limit-
less” range of custom temporary tattoos At TMI, the production of temporary tattoos is mechanized to handle the huge produc-
NEWS & cording to court records. for events ranging from 50th birthday par-
ties to promotional items for companies
tion and meet the growing demand.

NOTES Ex-KGUN news chief

now back in same job
Former KGUN News Director
TUCSON Forrest Carr is back at Tucson’s
Grupo wants new bid ABC affiliate in the same capaci-
ty after a hitch in Albuquerque as
for Asarco barred news director for KRQE-TV.
Sterlite Industries Ltd. of Carr left KGUN in March 2001
India shouldn’t be allowed to in- to be news director at WFLA-TV
crease its bid for Tucson-based in Tampa and then WFTX-TV in
Asarco LLC, lawyers for Grupo Fort Myers, Fla., before going to
Mexico SAB said Tuesday in a Albuquerque.
such as Subway, Tooker said.
It also makes temporary tattoos for sale
in retail stores including Walmart, Claire’s
and Sally Beauty Supply.
One of its most popular lines of tempo-
rary tattoos is called Snuggle Buddies Tat-
toos, which feature adorable animals from
penguins to puppies with wide eyes and
smiles, Tooker said.
Not all the tattoos are as sweet, however.
One line, called Gross Out Tattoos, in-
cludes fake scratches, warts and scars.
All the tattoos are designed, manufac-
tured and shipped from Tucson.
Although its products are made in the
United States, one-third of TMI’s business
is outside of the country. One package of
custom temporary tattoos awaiting ship-
ping was bound for Australia, for example.
TMI manufactures 6 million temporary
tattoos daily on two unique tattoo-print-
ing machines, Tooker said.
The process for each temporary tattoo
See TATTOOS, A11

Raytheon resumes Excalibur deliveries

court hearing, Bloomberg News
reported.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge
Richard Schmidt in Corpus
Christi, Texas, recommended
last month that Grupo Mexico be
allowed to regain control of Asar-
co by paying creditors in full.
Sterlite raised its offer and on
Tuesday asked Schmidt to allow
its new bid to be considered by a
district court that will make the
final decision about which com-
pany wins Asarco. Both compa-
nies have until Monday to sub-
mit arguments on the issue.
The final decision about who
gets Asarco will be made by U.S.
District Judge Andrew Hanen in
Brownsville, Texas. He has said
that he hopes to rule by the end
of November.
Grupo Mexico and Sterlite
would both spend more than
$2.5 billion to fully repay credi-
tors, but Grupo Mexico would
avoid paying a judgment by Ha-
nen awarding to Asarco its stake
in Southern Copper Corp.,
worth as much as $8 billion, ac-
Don’t expect big changes,
Carr said. KGUN was one of the
early converts to the “On Your
Side” viewer-advocate slogan
now used by many TV stations
nationwide, Carr said, noting
that KGUN adopted that theme
during his first run in Tucson.
Oro Valley Marketplace
gets ‘green’ recognition
Vestar Development Co.’s
Oro Valley Marketplace has
earned the first silver LEED cer-
tification among Arizona retail
projects from the U.S. Green
Building Council.
The retail shopping center, at
Tangerine and Oracle roads,
opened in 2008.
LEED, for Leadership in Ener-
gy and Environmental Design, is
a benchmark for the design,
construction and operation of
high-efficiency buildings.
Send News & Notes notices to
business@azstarnet.com or by fax to
573-4144.
U.S. ARMY
Artillerymen ready an Excalibur shell, designed to curb
accidental deaths and civilian casualties.
By Tony Capaccio
BLOOMBERG NEWS
Raytheon Missile Systems resumed
deliveries last month of the Army’s
most accurate artillery shell, enhanc-
ing the U.S. effort to minimize civilian
casualties and accidental military
deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The satellite-guided Excalibur
shells were first deployed to the war
zones in 2007 and demonstrated a
precision within 20 feet of their tar-
get. Two were fired in a successful
July 2007 attack against an al-Qaeda
leader who was killed, the Army
said.
Deliveries were halted in November
2008 after further testing uncovered
“unacceptably high” accuracy prob-
lems stemming from a navigation unit
that’s now been replaced.
Deliveries resumed on Aug. 21, and
Raytheon will receive a payment of
$72.4 million that had been withheld.
The shells cost $46,500 apiece, and
DID YOU KNOW
Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Sys-
tems is Southern Arizona’s largest em-
ployer, with more than 11,500 full-time-
equivalent employees at the end of
2008, according to the Star 200 sur-
vey of major employers.
Honeywell Aerospace ranked 61st in
the Star 200, with 754 employees at its
facility at 11100 N. Oracle Road, on a
patch of Pima County land within Oro
Valley.
the Army plans to buy more than
30,000 at a cost of at least $1.395 bil-
lion. Including research and develop-
ment, the program’s projected cost is
$2.2 billion.
Protecting Afghan civilians is es-
sential to the success of the coun-
terinsurgency strategy in
See RAYTHEON, A11
ARIZONA DAILY STAR / Wednesday, September 16, 2009 BUSINESS • A11

TATTOOS THE SAVINGS GAME

Continued from Page A10

starts with the artist.

After the artist creates and perfects the
Pay credit-card bills
tattoo, the art is scanned into a computer and
placed on a large piece of paper containing
around 100 spots for temporary tattoos. This
in full each month,
avoid interest hassle
paper becomes the printing plate.
Multiple tattoos are then printed onto a
28-by-40-inch piece of tattoo paper.
Next, the tattoos are placed on a machine
that silk-screens the adhesive, and glitter

when necessary, onto the tattoo, bakes it for
around 10 seconds at 550 degrees Fahrenheit
to seal the adhesive, and finally covers the
sheet of tattoos with protective laminate pa-
per.
The ink used is vegetable-based, and the
adhesive is non-toxic, Tooker said.
“The adhesive, you can literally start
scooping it in your mouth and it wouldn’t do
anything,” he said. “ ’Cause it goes on skin, it
has to be really, really chemical-free.”
TMI owns the only two of these machines
in the world, Tooker said.
The sheets of tattoos are then taken to an-
other room, where they are cut in stacks of
200 with two guillotine-like machines.
In that room, the custom tattoos are pack-
aged and shipped.
The temporary tattoos bound for retail
stores are sent to a town south of Nogales,
Sonora, where they are packaged and then
brought back to Tucson for shipping, Tooker
said.
The company calls itself the world’s
largest temporary-tattoo manufacturer.
Debbie Coopwood, TMI’s chief financial
officer, said that because of company offi-
cials’ knowledge of the industry, they are
C
redit-card users with
money smarts and dis-
cipline can protect
themselves better than any Opinion by
legislation can. HUMBERTO
Initial provisions of the
MAMTA POPAT / ARIZONA DAILY STAR Credit Card Accountability, CRUZ
Marcy Moreno, an illustrator at TMI, works on Disney-themed temporary tattoos. The com- Responsibility and Disclosure
pany is a finalist for the Wells Fargo Copper Cactus Award due to its rapid growth. Act, passed by Congress in
May, went into effect in Au- n’t have to worry about our
gust. These provisions give credit-card bills getting paid.
confident that label is correct. prizes, Tooker said. cardholders longer notice on All cards I’ve had offer this
TMI employs 82 people and is contained in TMI also manufactures tattoos for Mat- interest-rate hikes and the automatic payment option.
one building, but it’s still keeping up with the tel’s Tattoo Barbie, he said. “That’s how right to opt out as long as they Of course, when signing up
rest of the world. mainstream tattoos have become — (you can) stop making charges and pay you must make sure to always
“We’re competing very effectively against put them on your Barbie.” off the balance within five keep enough money in your
China and other places just because we’ve TMI is a finalist for the Wells Fargo Copper years under existing rates. bank account to pay the bill —
got a really cool process,” Tooker said. Cactus Award for the Tucson business with Cardholders also get an extra which, in itself, is a form of
The company works with more than the highest growth. week between the time they discipline.
60,000 custom-tattoo customers as well as “We’re getting a lot of publicity,” Tooker get their bills and the payment If you are saddled with a bal-
companies such as Disney and Mattel Inc. said. “I think it’s because we’re still growing due date. ance and are paying interest,
TMI also had a license with Ed Hardy in a crummy economic environment and All good, of course, but card the new law at least gives you
stores for four years to produce temporary we’re a domestic U.S. manufacturer. And our users who pay their bills in full more time to do something
tattoos of their logos, he said. product is just cool.” never have to worry about in- about it. Issuers must give 45
It also makes watercolor paint sheets, terest rates. If you arrange to days’ notice instead of 15 days
scratch-lottery type cards and tattoo books. Shelby Hill is a University of Arizona journalism student pay your credit-card statement before a rate increase. This
Chuck E. Cheese’s ordered about 10 mil- who is an apprentice at the Star. Contact her at 573-4181 automatically from your gives cardholders a chance to
lion watercolor paint sheets for one of its or at starapprentice@azstarnet.com checking account, as I do and pay off the balance or shop
advocate, your payments will around for another card.
be on time. “The extra month of notifica-
Other aspects of the bill, in- tion is good for consumers,but it
cluding restrictions on rate in- is still our responsibility to notice

Copper’s economic impact grew last year

ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Even as the recession took
hold and copper prices slumped
at the end of last year, the Ari-
zona copper industry set
records for economic impact
and job creation in 2008, ac-
cording to a recent study pre-
pared for the Arizona Mining
Association.
The state’s copper producers
had a direct economic impact of
about $3.9 billion last year, up 18
percent from 2007, says the re-
port by the Western Economic
Analysis Center in Marana.
As those copper dollars rip-
pled through the state’s econo-
my, they created a combined di-
rect and indirect economic im-
pact of nearly $10.4 billion, the
study says.
Meanwhile, Arizona copper-
industry employment grew to
an average of 11,200 over the
course of 2008, the report
showed.
Here’s a closer look at some of
the key industry indicators:
creases, go into effect in Febru- these changes,” Hardekopf said.
ary. But again, there is no im- “Pay attention to your bill in-
pact on those who pay their serts,e-mail notifications or the
bills in full. plain white envelopes in your
Under the changes already in mail,” which is how most issuers
effect, monthly statements will notify you.
BY THE NUMBERS have to be mailed at least 21 Your best bet whenever
Despite falling metal prices, the state’s copper industry saw increases in employment and production in 2008 days before payment is due. you’re paying interest on a
Previously it was 14 days. credit card is to cut out non-
ARIZONA’S COPPER “Don’t look at this as an ex- essential expenses and resolve
$165.7 million $857 million tra week to wait and pay your to pay off your balance — which
INDUSTRY Direct tax and fee payments Total direct personal
to state and local income payments bill,” Bill Hardekopf advises can be as much a matter of dis-
$3.86 governments
$1,335
wisely. He is CEO of Low-
Cards.com (www.LowCards
cipline as of financial means.
“Let’s say I make $10 an
billion 20%
Average copper
industry weekly earnings,
.com), a useful Web site where
consumers can compare fea-
hour and I buy a leather jacket
for $400. Therefore, I just
Estimated direct statewide Increase in taxes 2008
impact in 2008 and fees from 2007 tures of more than 1,000 cards. spent 40 hours of my life for
“Keep your regular payment that leather jacket,” said
PRODUCTION schedule and be appreciative Michael Mihalik, author of
$10.39 billion for the extra cushion to make “Debt Is Slavery and 9 Other
JOBS AND INCOME
Combined direct and
949,354 sure your issuer receives it on Things I Wish My Dad Had
11,200
indirect impact
time.” Taught Me About Money,” a
Tons of copper
and other minerals
Or, as my wife, Georgina, book due out in October from
$1.12 billion Direct copper industry
jobs in 2008
and I have done for years, sign Mist Publishing.
Direct impact up to have your monthly bill “If I think of the price of the
in Pima County $6.9 billion paid automatically on the due leather jacket to be 40 hours of
Value of production
9% date through electronic trans- my life instead of $400, I’d
$2.84 billion Increase in direct jobs fer from your checking ac- definitely think twice about
from 2007 13%
Sales to copper industry Increase in value count. the purchase.”
by other Arizona businesses from 2007 Automatic payments have
28,700 worked particularly well for us Send questions or comments to
Peak copper industry because we travel frequently.In Humberto Cruz at AskHumberto@aol.
16% employment in Arizona, in 1974 SOURCE: Western Economic Analysis Center
Increase in sales from 2007 September 2004,while forced com or c/o Tribune Media Services, 2225
to evacuate our home for 17 days Kenmore Ave., Buffalo, NY 14207.
during two hurricanes,we did- Personal replies are not provided.

RAYTHEON space, defense and marine BUSINESS any, of those stores are candi-
sectors. dates for closure.
PULTE claims.
Continued from Page A10

Afghanistan, according to
Gen. Stanley McChrystal,
commander of American and
NATO forces there. The Ex-
calibur is one tool for attain-
ing that goal, a spokesman
said.
An unguided 155 mm shell
can miss its target by as much
as 900 feet. The Excalibur has a
50-pound warhead. The Army
wanted a weapon with a much
smaller warhead than the 200-
pound charge on its only preci-
sion-guided, ground-based
mobile rocket system, officials
said.
Tracing problem
Raytheon shipped about 360
Excaliburs before deliveries
were halted after continued
testing in the U.S. identified an
“unacceptably high” failure
rate, the service said.
The Army said the problem
was due to design limitations in
navigation units that were
unique to the batch of shells
tested.
The unit was produced by
Honeywell International Inc.’s
aerospace unit. Raytheon
changed subcontractors, and
it’s now being produced by
Cheshire, Conn.-based At-
lantic Inertial Systems Inc.
The company is owned by J.F.
Lehman & Co., a private equi-
ty investment firm that focus-
es on investments in aero-
“There is no indication” that
rounds deployed in Iraq or
Afghanistan have this problem,
Army spokesman Maj. Jimmie
Cummings said in an e-mail.
The Army is reviewing
Raytheon Missile Systems’
quality controls “as a preven-
tive measure” in order “to make
sure no future issues arise,”
Cummings said. No “abnor-
malities” have been uncovered
so far, he said.
Raytheon’s review
Raytheon Missile Systems
spokesman John Patterson, in
an e-mailed statement, said,
“We continue to examine our
design in search of more robust
components.”
The new navigation unit
“has proven to meet system re-
quirements while providing an
opportunity for increased
overall system reliability,” he
said.
Honeywell spokeswoman
Karen Crabtree, when asked
about the test problems and
replacement, said the compa-
ny’s guidance technologies
“have a proven record span-
ning more than half a century
in military and space pro-
grams.”
“We are leaders in guided
weapon technologies for all
branches of the military,” she
said. “We continue to work
with Raytheon and other prime
contractors on many advanced
programs.”
BRIEFS
Blockbuster may close
up to 960 US stores
Blockbuster Inc. may close as
many as 960 stores by the end of
next year, shedding more dead
weight as the struggling video
rental chain tries to reverse its
losses and fend off rapidly grow-
ing rivals Netflix Inc. and Red-
box.
The cuts outlined in docu-
ments filed Tuesday would leave
Blockbuster with about 20 per-
cent fewer U.S. stores.
Blockbuster hasn’t yet con-
clusively decided to close all the
stores mentioned in the previ-
ously confidential documents,
Chief Executive James Keyes
said in an interview Tuesday.
Keyes described the closures
as something that Blockbuster is
considering as it sets up more
DVD-rental kiosks in the stores
of other merchants. It’s a con-
cept that has been popularized
by Coinstar Inc.’s Redbox.
Blockbuster has 26 stores in
Pima County, said Randy Har-
grove, a company spokesman.
He said he could not say which, if
“In markets like (Pima Coun-
ty), it’s going to be business as
usual,” Hargrove said.
A list of stores with a potential
for closure has not been made
public, he said. Blockbuster will
examine each underperforming
store to determine if there is any
possibility to keep it open, he
said. Each of the company’s
stores has about seven to 10 em-
ployees, Hargrove said.
Adobe Systems to buy
Omniture for $1.8B
Adobe Systems Inc. said
Tuesday that it will buy Omni-
ture Inc., a Web analytic soft-
ware company, for about $1.8
billion, giving the maker of con-
tent-creation software a way to
let marketers measure the effec-
tiveness of such content.
San Jose, Calif.-based
Adobe, which makes Flash, Ac-
robat and Photoshop software,
said it will buy Omniture for
$21.50 per share in cash, a pre-
mium of 24 percent over Omni-
ture’s closing stock price Tues-
day. Omniture shares jumped
nearly 26 percent in extended
trading.
Wire and staff reports
Continued from Page A10
In fact, Pulte contends in the
suit that “it was Baltierra, not
Pulte, who called the other
crew members and told them
they were terminated.”
The union’s campaign in-
cluded a flier stating “ ‘Rehire
the Tuscon Seven!’ ” says the
lawsuit, which misspelled the
city’s name in that reference.
Pulte’s national customer-
relations manager, Robert
Schmittou, said he has received
at least 750 e-mails and more
than 100 voice mails that refer
to the workers.
One caller said: “Don’t make
me have to come down there
and have to find out who you is
and what your problem is,” ac-
cording to Schmittou’s affi-
davit.
Among others targeted by
the union’s e-mail campaign
was Pulte’s Arizona president,
John Chadwick, the suit
The union’s written state-
ment denying the lawsuit’s al-
legations says: “This is really
about working people trying
to join together to improve
their lives and sharing a sense
of unity. Pulte workers and
(the union) want Pulte to be a
successful and profitable
company, but a responsible
company also.” It was issued
by union spokeswoman Dawn
Page.
In August, Pulte sharehold-
ers approved a $1.53 billion
takeover of Centex Corp., cre-
ating the nation’s largest home
builder.
Pulte is now positioned to
sell homes in 29 states and
Washington, D.C., under
brands including Del Webb, Di-
Vosta, and Fox & Jacobs. Pulte
also gained large tracts of land
in Texas, North Carolina and
South Carolina.
The Arizona Daily Star and The Detroit
News contributed to this report.