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Industry veteran Leslie Mesh has been named to lead the newly reorganized CipherLab Americas in Plano.

CipherLab designs, manufactures and markets Automatic Identification and Data Capture/Collection products and systems for the retail, warehouse and

distribution markets. Its Americas operations, which are based in Plano, will focus on new initiatives such as delivering new products to help its channel partners better meet customer demands, and increasing its dominance in the convenience store and grocery markets.

Mesh joined the company in 2007 and has more than 20 years of technology sales and business development experience paydayloan. In his new title of senior vice president of CipherLab Americas, he will directly oversee the company’s operations and management.

Robert Hossary, who oversaw the company’s entrance into the North American market, will now be responsible for CipherLab Americas’ sales and channel programs. CipherLab is based in Taipei, Taiwan.

Web site: www.cipherlab.com

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Entegris Inc. paid $8 million to buy 14 percent of Integrated Materials Inc., a privately held supplier of polysilicon products used in semiconductor manufacturing.

Integrated Materials, based in Sunnyvale, is a company in the portfolio of Roseville venture capital firm American River Ventures.

American River led an $8.8 million investment round into Integrated Materials in December 2005.

Under an agreement, Minnesota-based Entegris plans to buy the remaining equity of Integrated Materials pending certain closing conditions 500 fast cash.

Entegris (Nasdaq: ENTG) is a provider of products for manufacturers in the semiconductor industry. Integrated Materials is the manufacturer and designer of polysilicon racks and tubes used in chip production. The polysilicon racks cost more than the quartz racks they replace, but they are reusable and they don’t foul chips with contaminants under high heat. Chip furnaces can reach temperatures higher than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Australia's home-loan approvals probably rose in January, suggesting higher interest rates and turmoil on financial markets have failed to discourage borrowers.

The number of loans granted to people to build or buy homes or apartments climbed 1 percent from December, when they gained 0.1 percent, according to the median estimate of 19 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The Bureau of Statistics will release the report tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. in Sydney.

Demand for home loans is being fueled by an economic expansion now in its 17th year and the lowest unemployment rate in three decades. Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens raised borrowing costs to the highest in 12 years last week to curb the fastest inflation since 1991.

“An increasing numbers of approvals have been for fixed- interest-rate loans as those entering the market brace themselves for further increases in mortgage rates,'' said Alex Joiner, an economist at Australia & New Zealand Bank Ltd. in Melbourne.

The Reserve Bank increased the overnight cash rate target by a quarter point to 7.25 percent on March 4, adding to similar adjustments in February, November and August. The bank has added 1 percentage point to the benchmark rate in that period.

About 90 percent of Australian mortgages are taken out on a so-called floating rate, which move with the central bank's benchmark rate. A quarter-point increase adds about A$42 ($39) a month to the average A$250,000 home loan, according to the Housing Industry Association.

Mortgage Rates

National Australia Bank Ltd., the nation's biggest by assets, raised its interest rate on home loans by 29 basis points last week, 4 basis points more than the central bank's adjustment $1500 payday loan. Westpac Banking Corp. added 30 basis points to its lending rate.

The country's five largest lenders also increased lending rates by an average of 42 basis points in January and February, outpacing the central bank's 25 basis points of gains in the same period, to recoup funding costs driven higher by the global credit squeeze.

Demand for housing loans may slump in coming months as home buyers review spending plans. Housing affordability deteriorated in the fourth quarter to the worst on record, according to a report by the Real Estate Institute last week.

The proportion of a family's income spent on an average home loan rose to 37.4 percent from 36.6 percent in the September quarter, the highest since the institute began measuring affordability 22 years ago.

Construction Slows

“Despite tight residential market conditions, we anticipate the number of approvals will continue to trend downwards under the weight of higher interest rates,'' ANZ's Joiner said.

Slower lending rates may prompt builders to scale back projects in coming months, damping Australia's A$1 trillion ($927 billion) economy. Growth in the construction industry slowed in February for a second month, an Australian Industry Group report showed last week.

A slide in construction was among reasons economic growth slowed to 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous three months, when gross domestic product rose 1.1 percent, a report last week showed.

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China's central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said he'll consider raising interest rates to tame the fastest inflation in 11 years.

“There is still room for further interest-rate increases,'' Zhou said today at the annual meeting of China's legislature in Beijing. Any decision is complicated by the U.S. Federal Reserve cuts to borrowing costs and the government's goal of increasing consumer spending, he said.

China's Premier Wen Jiabao said yesterday curbing inflation is his top priority. Zhou is using as many tools as possible to tame inflation without triggering a sudden economic slowdown that may prompt factory closures and throw millions out of work in the world's most populous country.

“Zhou has to weigh the pros and cons of all his options,'' said Huang Yiping, chief Asia economist at Citigroup Inc. in Hong Kong, including interest rates increases, further yuan gains and measures to curb lending. “Monetary policy is the most effective and direct way to curb inflation.''

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has indicated the central bank is ready to reduce interest rates again. Fed funds futures contracts show a 52 percent chance the central bank will lower its 3 percent target for overnight loans between banks to 2.25 percent by its March 18 meeting. The rest of the wagers are on a reduction of a half-percentage point.

China's government is aiming to cap inflation at 4.8 percent in 2008, the same pace as last year. Consumer prices rose 7.1 percent in January on food and fuel costs and the disruptions caused by the worst snowstorms in half a century.

Inflation Risk

“We believe that the government is still underestimating the risk of inflation,'' said Ma Jun, chief China economist at Deutsche Bank AG in Hong Kong. “Our current forecast of CPI inflation is 6.4 percent for this year.''

The People's Bank of China has kept benchmark lending and deposit rates unchanged since December fast payday loans. The yuan has risen almost 3 percent versus the U.S. dollar this year, after gaining 7 percent in 2007.

“Moderate or faster yuan appreciation helps ease inflation,'' Zhou said. “To curb inflation, we will mainly resort to tightened monetary policies and other policy measures.''

The yuan was at 7.1122 versus the dollar at 2:11 p.m. in Shanghai, from 7.1081 yesterday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

China raised interest rates six times last year, pushing the key lending and deposit rates to nine-year highs of 7.47 percent and 4.14 percent.

`Ample Measures'

“We are confident and have ample measures at our disposal to contain the full-year inflation rate below the targeted level,'' said Ma Kai, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, the nation's top economic planning agency. He cited “sufficient' government funds, grain reserves and over-supplies of consumer goods.

Zhou said it was necessary to remain “flexible'' amid global uncertainties including the effects of the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis. Zhou said today that the impact of the subprime problem is “yet to peak.''

Finance Minister Xie Xuren pledged more government spending to counter the effects of inflation on the poor and to encourage farmers to increase production.

Trade surpluses pump China's financial system full of cash and have pushed its foreign-exchange reserves to a record $1.59 trillion, according to a Reuters report yesterday that cited two unidentified people.

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The Dow closed down 45.10 at 12,213.80 on Tuesday.

The NASDAQ finished up 1.68 at 2,260.28.

The S&P 500 ended down 4.59 at 1,326.75.

Here's how some leading Colorado companies performed Tuesday:

Apartment Investment and Management Co. (NYSE: AIV) — down 15 cents at $34.64.

Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL) — down $1.27 at $43.66 instant cash advance.

Chipotle (NYSE: CMG) — down $1.11 at $96.52.

Ciber Inc. (NYSE: CBR) — no change at $4.62.

Cimarex Energy (NYSE: XEC) — up 41 cents at $52.96.

CoBiz Inc. (NASDAQ: COBZ) — down 27 cents at $11.64.

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Jean-Claude Trichet and the Bush administration are showing little willingness to stand in the way of the euro's surge against the dollar.

The euro rose above $1.52 for the first time this week after the Federal Reserve signaled it will keep cutting interest rates and officials at Trichet's European Central Bank indicated they're reluctant to do so. With the rate gap widening, U.S. and European policy makers will struggle to persuade traders to bet against a weaker dollar.

“There was no official complaint when the euro went through $1.50, and that's going to make people think it was a green light,'' said Stephen Jen, chief currency economist at Morgan Stanley in London. Policy makers are silent because they “aren't convinced they can stop it and are afraid of failing.''

It may even help, spurring U.S. exports while also slowing European inflation. The risk is the euro appreciates too far, choking European sales abroad and pushing up the price of imports to the U.S. The currency has climbed 15 percent against in the past year, rising as high as $1.5239 yesterday.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is sticking to his rhetoric on the dollar. He told an audience at the Economic Club of Chicago on Feb. 28 that the currency will rebound, and, in time, reflect the competitiveness of the U.S. economy. President George W. Bush said “we're still for a strong dollar.''

`Inherent Conflict'

“You'll see Hank trotting out his line more and more, but there's an inherent conflict here as the Fed wants to cut,'' said Jim O'Neill, chief global economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in London. “If the dollar stopped falling now, they'd be very happy.''

Some recent remarks even exacerbated the currency's slide.

The dollar touched a record low after Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told Congress on Feb. 28 that the decline is helping to narrow the trade deficit. A day earlier, Bundesbank President Axel Weber pushed the euro higher after saying traders should shelve bets on rate cuts.

The Fed has reduced its benchmark rate five times since September, to 3 percent, and Bernanke said it will continue to “act in a timely manner.'' By contrast, the ECB has left its benchmark at 4 percent since credit markets seized up in August easy quick payday loans.

The euro has advanced against the dollar in five of the past six years. The currency shared by 15 countries is up 67 percent since the end of 2001 and traded at $1.5179 at 5 p.m. in New York yesterday. The euro has strengthened 2.3 percent this week.

“We thought that an exchange rate of $1.45 against the dollar would be a real hurdle for the European economy to remain on track, and that proved not to be the case,'' ECB council member Nout Wellink told reporters in New York on Feb. 26.

Speed Matters

“We are seeing the best performance in years despite the exchange rates,'' Wellink said. “It's the speed of the change of the exchange rate that matters.''

Finance ministers from the Group of Seven nations will get their next chance to discuss the situation at April's meeting in Washington. The G-7 consists of the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Japan, Germany, France and Italy.

Their room for action may be limited in the absence of a coordinated rate policy, said Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman Inc. in New York.

“If you imagine intervention as being like a ladder, we're still on the first rungs,'' said Chandler. “The chances of coordinated intervention are slim to zero.''

The dollar has declined against more than just the euro. The Fed's broad dollar index, which compares it with the currencies of U.S. trading partners, has retreated in five of the past six years.

Inflation, Exports

The dollar's slide may carry benefits for policy makers on both sides of the Atlantic. With inflation in the 15-nation euro region running at 3.2 percent, the fastest pace in 14 years, a stronger euro may damp import prices. The weaker dollar will also boost U.S. exports, helping the world's largest economy cope with a housing recession that's hurting consumer spending.

“The ECB will see the strong euro as a blessing in disguise,'' said Lena Komileva, chief economist at Tullett Prebon Plc in London. For the Fed, a weaker dollar “will help narrow the external financing need and re-inflate the economy.''

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A new poll shows state voters support a new Phoenix Police Department policy allowing officers to ask about immigration status, as well as a business-backed state guest worker program for migrants from Mexico.

The Arizona State University/KAET-TV Channel 8 poll found that 75 percent support a state guest worker program that would allow Arizona businesses to hire Mexican workers on two-year work permits for tough-to-fill jobs. Only 18 percent of those surveyed opposed the idea, which requires approval from Congress and the Legislature.

Corporate interests support a state and/or a federal guest worker program to bring in foreign laborers. Critics say businesses back guest worker plans because they want cheap labor.

Seventy-nine percent of those surveyed also backed a change in Phoenix Police Department policies, which allows officers to ask those arrested for criminal offenses about their immigration status creditreports.

Previously, the Phoenix police did not ask. Only 13 percent of those responding opposed the new policy, according to the ASU survey.

The poll was conducted Feb. 21-24 and queried 552 Arizona voters.

The results also showed Arizona Sen. John McCain beating potential presidential rival Illinois Sen. Barack Obama by a 49 percent to 38 percent margin. The poll also showed 49 percent backing and 40 percent opposing a proposed ballot measure that defines marriage in the Arizona constitution as between a man and woman.

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