Business today

FACTORY ORDERS JUMP: Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket goods rose for the third straight month, the Commerce Department reported. Orders for manufactured goods expected to last at least three years grew 1.5 percent in February, though much of the strength came from a 41 percent jump in orders for airplanes and aircraft parts. Excluding transportation orders, which can bounce around a lot from month to month, durable-goods orders dipped 1.3 percent in February, suggesting that the manufacturing recovery is fragile. It marked the first such decrease in the last five months.

BAY AREA OCCUPANCY SLIDES: February hotel occupancy and room rates declined in the Tampa Bay area, according to Smith Travel Research. The occupancy rate was 73.9 percent, down from 79.4 percent in February 2001. The average daily rate was $92.70, down from $97.83.

DELTA CEO'S PAY TUMBLES: Delta Air Lines chief executive Leo Mullin's cash compensation dropped 72 percent last year because he volunteered to give up some of his salary and his bonus in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. His pay dropped to $596,250 from $2.145-million in 2000. His compensation was also reduced by foregoing a cash bonus in 2001. He had a bonus of $1.4-million the previous year. Mullin did get common stock in 2001 worth $1.57-million, based on the value at the time of the award.

ADAM'S MARK WITHDRAWS REQUEST: Executives at the Adam's Mark hotel chain have withdrawn their request for an early end to an anti-discrimination settlement reached with the Justice Department, saying the issue has become politicized by opponents of U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. "Rather than cause further controversy for the Department of Justice or continued disrespect to the Attorney General's Office, we have decided to withdraw our request for early termination of the consent decree," said Fred S. Kummer, president and chief executive of Adam's Mark and its parent, HBE Corp. The settlement stems from accusations of discrimination made following the 1999 Black College Reunion at the Adam's Mark hotel in Daytona Beach.

MCDONALD'S CEO IS STAYING: McDonald's Corp. said chief executive Jack M. Greenberg has committed to staying with the company at least three more years. Such management agreements are rarely included in corporate annual reports. But this one follows widespread -- and unverified -- rumors that Greenberg had survived a recent boardroom coup attempt reflecting unhappiness over the company's performance under his four years of leadership. The decision was disclosed in the company's annual report, which also reveals that the fast-food giant has dropped some financially troubled franchisees. McDonald's 10-K said that last year the company took a $17-million pretax charge primarily to cover what it termed "payments made to facilitate a timely and smooth change of ownership" from franchisees who have had a history of financial difficulty. A spokeswoman declined to disclose how many franchisees were involved, or what the payments covered.

GREENSPAN URGES RESTRAINT: Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan warned that Congress and regulators must be mindful that they might go too far in crafting new accounting rules in the wake of Enron Corp.'s bankruptcy. Speaking to the Stern School of Business at New York University, Greenspan said investors and companies have responded on their own by altering corporate behavior and expectations for stock prices. The result of increased investor diligence is that "corporate governance has doubtless already measurably improved," Greenspan said.

SLATKIN CHARGED WITH FRAUD: Investment manager Reed Slatkin was charged with orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme in which he solicited more than $593-million from about 800 investors over a 15-year period. Slatkin, 53, co-founded Internet company EarthLink Inc. and separately managed investments for celebrities, online executives and socialites. He agreed to plead guilty to the charges, acknowledging that he is responsible for at least $254-million in losses, Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, said in a prepared statement. A federal bankruptcy court trustee said in December that Slatkin knowingly ran the scheme that funneled money from new investors to old investors who had been contributing funds since 1986.

SEC REVIEWS NETWORK ASSOCIATES: Shares of Network Associates Inc. plunged 11 percent Tuesday after the Internet security company revealed that the federal government is investigating accounting methods employed by the company in 2000. George Samenuk, Network Associates' CEO, said the probe concerns issues that predate his management team's arrival. But he said the 2000 accounting practices have been reviewed and approved once again by the company's outside auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers. The probe also is forcing Network Associates to delay its bid to acquire the 25 percent of computer virus-fighter McAfee.com that it does not already own. McAfee shares lost 16 percent, closing at $15.55. Network Associates shares closed at $22.23, down $2.77.

TREASURY AUCTION: Interest rates on short-term Treasury securities declined at Tuesday's auction. The Treasury Department sold $19-billion in four-week bills at a discount rate of 1.77 percent, down from 1.78 percent last week. The government received bids for the bills equal to 2.29 times the amount sold, up from 1.75 at the last auction.

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