Business digest

JABIL LANDS COMPAQ FACILITY: Jabil Circuit Inc. plans to buy a Compaq Computer Corp. facility in Ayr, Scotland. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. About 240 Compaq employees in Ayr will become Jabil employees as a result of the deal. Jabil and Compaq plan to form a three-year supply agreement designating Jabil as the sole and exclusive manufacturer of Ayr manufactured server product subassemblies and future products. The St. Petersburg company also will serve as a "strategic global supplier" to Compaq. Jabil shares fell 10 cents to $19.61; Compaq fell 20 cents to $10.20.

SYKES EXTENDS MOTOROLA DEAL: Sykes Enterprises Inc. has won a contract to assist Motorola Inc.'s mobile-phone customers in Europe. The order is an expansion of an agreement the companies started in 1996. Sykes will handle sales inquiries, arrange and track repairs and process orders in 14 languages. The value of the agreement wasn't announced. Shares of Sykes rose 3 cents to $8.64.

DRUG TEST MAY GET BOOST: Biotech company ImClone Systems Inc. said the Food and Drug Administration may allow it to use data from a European trial to shore up its previously rejected effort to gain approval of Erbitux, a promising colorectal cancer drug. The FDA rejected ImClone's application to review Erbitux last December, saying the application was missing critical data. ImClone hopes to bring Erbitux to the U.S. market in 2003, a full year later than investors expected when they bid the company's stock above $70 last year. ImClone shares rose $5.01, or 32 percent, to $20.53.

GLOBAL CROSSING DELAYS REPORT: Global Crossing Ltd., the fiber-optic network operator that filed for bankruptcy last month, delayed the release of fourth-quarter and full-year results as it evaluates more than $8 billion in write-offs. The losses will be "significant," the company said in a statement. Global said it will release financial results in a 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission after its accountants, Arthur Andersen LLP, complete an audit. The SEC, FBI and creditors are investigating claims that the company misstated earnings.

DANKA SEEKS STOCK PLAN: Danka Business Systems Inc., a distributor and servicer of copiers and other office equipment, will ask its shareholders for permission to let employees purchase up to 1,000 shares of stock each per year at a 15 percent discount. The vote will take place at a special meeting in London on March 28. Danka said the stock purchase program would help it retain and recruit employees and encourage "maximum efforts." Danka's official headquarters are in London, largely for tax reasons, but it operates out of St. Petersburg. Its stock closed Wednesday at $2.18 a share, down 2 cents.

EU REGULATORS REVIEW CRUISE BID: Carnival Corp. placed its $5.4-billion takeover bid for P&O Princess Cruises PLC in the hands of European Union regulators, who will determine whether the proposed deal violates antitrust laws. Carnival hopes to win Princess from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., whose offer is favored by Princess.

BURGER KING THINKS BIG: Burger King said it plans to boost its share of the U.S. hamburger market to 23 percent by the end of 2004 through new advertising and menu items. Burger King on Monday will introduce a new advertising campaign focused on the Whopper, including an additional tagline, "You got it." The company also plans to offer new products including a Chicken Whopper and a veggie burger. Burger King currently has about 19 percent of the market. Separately, Burger King's parent, Diageo PLC, has agreed to sell its Malibu rum brand to Allied Domecq for $793-million. The sale is expected to pave the way for Diageo and Pernod Ricard to buy the Seagram wine and spirits business held by Vivendi Universal.

HOUSEHOLD TO CHANGE LENDING: Household International Inc. promised to change some of its lending practices and provide potential customers with more information about their mortgages. Household is the nation's largest independent mortgage lender to people with spotty credit records, helping to make it a major target of some consumer activist groups who say the company takes part in predatory lending. The latest changes, which apply to new real estate loans, include giving customers a one-page disclosure sheet including their loan's annual percentage rate, its term and the amount of their monthly payments.

NEWSPAPER SECURITY BREACH: A San Francisco hacker says he found security lapses in the New York Times' internal computer network that exposed Social Security numbers for op-ed page contributors and other sensitive files. Adrian Lamo, 21, a part-time Internet security consultant, said that he hacked the newspaper's Web site and snooped around numerous times about 10 days ago. A Times spokeswoman said the company has identify the flaw, but would not comment on Lamo's claims.

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