Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Business briefs for Sept. 25, 2003

Resort withdraws request on electricity issue

The Palms hotel-casino this week withdrew a request to extend its window of opportunity for seeking regulatory approval to leave the Nevada Power grid and buy electricity from a competitive supplier.

The hotel filed a petition with the state Public Utilities Commission earlier this month seeking to extend its 100-day window of opportunity. The Palms is one of 12 large power users that received preliminary approval to leave the Nevada Power grid.

Only four of those Nevada Power customers -- Station Casinos, the Monte Carlo, MGM MIRAGE and Fashion Show mall -- secured tentative contracts with alternative electric suppliers, but their exit attempts also ended this month when the PUC rescinded its approvals. The applicants failed to meet regulatory criteria.

Steve Boss, who represents the Palms in the case, said the resort withdrew its request because of the commission's ruling in those cases which indicated an unwillingness to stray from regulatory requirements.

Only The Venetian hotel-casino is currently attempting to leave the system.

State agency secures offices

The state's new Mortgage Lending Division has secured leases for offices in Las Vegas and Carson City.

The Southern Nevada office will be at 3075 E. Flamingo Road, Suite 104-A. The Carson City office will be at 400 W. King St., Suite 406.

Both offices are undergoing remodeling and are expected to open in about 30 days. The leases were secured after the State Interim Finance Committee last week approved an annual budget of about $2 million for the new department.

The Mortgage Lending Division was created by the Legislature during the past session to remove mortgage industry oversight from the state's Financial Institutions Division.

LV lender sells Mesquite land

Vestin Mortgage Inc. of Las Vegas has completed a $6.5 million land sale to Falcon Ridge Development Co. of St. George, Utah.

The sale includes eight parcels of land in Mesquite, and the beneficiaries of the sale are listed as Vestin Fund I and Vestin Fund II, documents filed with the Clark County assessor's office said.

A recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission indicates that the company entered into an agreement to sell an unfinished golf course, 65 acres of raw land and an additional parcel of land -- all in Mesquite. After the sale, the documents said, the company was still expected to own 28 acres of commercial land in Mesquite.

Vestin declined to comment on the sale, and Barry Carlson, an attorney for Falcon Ridge, could not be reached for comment.

Home lender restatement at high end of estimates

WASHINGTON -- Mortgage giant Freddie Mac, beset by accounting and management troubles, disclosed today that it underreported its earnings by $4.5 billion or more due to errors and manipulations of accounts, possibly exceeding the upper level of its previous estimate.

Freddie Mac said that the restatement of its earnings for the 2000-2002 period, originally expected by Sept. 30, will be delayed until November.

The latest jolting news from the U.S.-sponsored company came as a House panel considered the Bush administration's new proposal for a stronger government hand over Freddie Mac and its larger rival Fannie Mae.

At the same time, news of financial troubles surfaced at another financial institution with government ties, the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, which provides money to home lenders in local communities. The bank, one of 12 in a nationwide system, is reported to have run into difficulty because of $183 million in losses on soured investments in bonds backed by mobile-home loans and has suspended its dividend payments.

Female entrepreneurs on a roll

Women-owned businesses are growing quicker than other businesses in Nevada, the Center for Business Research reported Wednesday. The number of Nevada businesses owned by women increased 38 percent from 1997 to 2002, compared to growth of 25 percent for all other businesses.

Employment increased 58 percent at women-owned businesses in the state from 1997 to 2002, compared with 25 percent for other businesses.

Sales figures also increased dramatically for Nevada's women-owned businesses during the five-year period, rising 120 percent. Total business sales increased 70 percent in Nevada.

The study, commissioned by Wells Fargo Bank, ranked Nevada No. 4 for growth in women-owned businesses. Idaho, Wyoming and Utah ranked higher in the study.

These four states, along with Arizona, are considered the fastest growing states in the nation for women-owned businesses.

The study promoted Wells Fargo's commitment to financing women-owned businesses. The company announced a goal to lend $20 billion in the next 10 years to women-owned businesses.

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