Mormon Restauranteur Serves Cactus Soup for Lent

Mormon restaurant owner Rosa Linda Aguirre has found success caters to her customers, and that includes Catholic customers during Lent. Aguirre's unique recipes use prickly pear cactus in burritos, soup and tacos, and she has found that her specialty is especially popular with customers who abstain from eating meat on Fridays and on Ash Wednesday.

Businessman Turns to Homeless

John Volken, a member of the Vancouver BC Stake, knows how to do business. He overturned furniture sales techniques by offering warehouse locations with no showroom extras, commission-based sales staff, and purchasing direct from manufacturers.

Subscriber Adds Cadence Design to Mormon Stock Index

Mormon News subscriber Ethel Greenburg says that Raymond Bingham, President and CEO of Cadence Design is an LDS Church member, leading Mormon News to add his company to the Mormon Stock Index. But in spite of the addition, the index fell 2.4%, mainly because of the continuing drop of fiber optic equipment manufacturer Corvis. The drop in Corvis and a few other firms outweighed the more modest increases in two-thirds of the stocks on the index.

Other Business News

Marriott Leading in Bids for Le Meridien Hotels

LONDON, ENGLAND -- A report in the Times of London Tuesday said that Marriott International has the largest bid so far for the Le Meridien Hotel chain, owned by Compass Group PLC. Marriott's bid was reported to be narrowly ahead of bids by Nomura and by the Bass group. But Bass is expected to drop out of the bidding, instead hoping to purchase the Compass Group's Posthouse Hotel chain, which is also being sold. Marriott already owns the Ritz-Carlton and Renaissance luxury hotel chains, and Le Meridien is expected to bolster its presence outside of North America.

Marriott heads field for Meridien bids - paper Reuters 5Mar01 B4

EarthShell Deal with US Dept of Interior

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA -- EarthShell Corporation, a manufacturer of innovative, environmentally-friendly food service packaging has struck a deal with Guest Services, Inc. to provide foodservice packaging to the US Department of the Interior. The packaging will be used in the Interior Department's Washington DC foodservice operations, and EarthShell expects that the deal will lead to additional sales to government agencies. News of the deal put EarthShell's stock price up 19% on Monday. The company is run by Mormon businessman Simon K. Hodson.

ERTH shares pop on DoI deal CBS Marketwatch 5Mar01 B4 By Chris Kraeuter

Marriott's Rewards Program to Attract 15 Millionth Member in June

WASHINGTON, DC -- Marriott Hotels, the international chain run by LDS Church members J. Willard Marriott Jr. and Richard Marriott, expects to reach 15 million members in its frequent stay program this coming June. The company says that the milestone shows the program's popularity, as does the fact that members generally double their stays in Marriott's properties after joining.

Marriott on Track to Reach 15 Million Rewards Members in June PRNewswire 5Mar01 B4

1-800 Contacts Ships Its Four Millionth Order

DRAPER, UTAH -- LDS entrepreneur Jonathan Coon's firm, 1-800 Contacts announced yesterday that it had shipped its four millionth order, a step which Coon says represents the company's success. "We are excited about reaching another milestone. We will continue to build brand awareness with our investment in advertising and strengthen our customer loyalty by delivering superior service."

1-800 Contacts Ships Its Four Millionth Order PRNewswire 7Mar01 B4

Bonneville CEO Named Chair of Primary Children's Board

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- Bruce T. Reese, president and CEO of LDS Church-owned Bonneville International, was named chair of the Primary Children's Medical Center governing board.

Tradewinds Salt Lake Tribune 8Mar01 B2

David Packer Resigns as President, COO of Computerized Thermal Imaging

LAYTON, UTAH -- BYU graduate David A. Packer has resigned as President and Chief Operating Officer of Computerized Thermal Imaging Inc., the company announced today. The retirement is effective following the submission of the final module of CTI's Breast Cancer Imaging System application. However, Packer will continue to work with the company for a period to smooth the transition. CTI is included on the Mormon Stock Index.

CTI President and Chief Operating Officer Announces Retirement PRNewswire 8Mar01 B2

Matthew L. Carpenter Named COO of Bay View Capital

SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA -- BYU graduate Matthew L. Carpenter has been named Chief Operating Officer of Bay View Captial, a bank holding company that operates 57 branches in the San Francisco area. Carpenter has more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry, focusing on commercial lending and factoring, receivables securitization, real estate syndication, and venture capital. A 1983 graduate of BYU, Carpenter also has a 1987 MBA from Harvard Business School.

Bay View Capital Names Carpenter COO PRNewswire 9Mar01 B2

AES Purchase of IPALCO Approved

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- The Federal Regulatory Energy Commission (FERC) onn Thursday approved global power company AES Corp.'s stock-for-stock acquisition of Indiana-based IPALCO Enterprises announced last July, IPALCO said on Friday. AES and IPL, the parent company of Indianapolis Power & Light Co., now only need approval to merge from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). After the SEC's approval, the merger can close in five days. AES, one of the stocks on the Mormon Stock Index, is run by lapsed Mormon Roger Sant.

FERC approves AES purchase of IPALCO PRNewswire 9Mar01 B4

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