Business: Business digest

Business digest

Compiled from Times wires

BUYER SURFACES FOR STEAMBOATS: American Classic Voyages of suburban Fort Lauderdale agreed to sell the Delta Queen and Mississippi Queen steamboats to a Chicago investment firm. Privately held Waveland Investments LLC plans to take over the boats officially next month. The Mississippi Queen stopped operations in October and the Delta Queen followed in January after American Classic Voyages, which was hit hard by a decline in tourism following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, went to bankruptcy court. The Mississippi Queen is to resume operations May 7 and the Delta Queen will take on passengers Aug. 26.

TAUBMAN LOSES BID FOR RETRIAL: Former Sotheby's Holdings Inc. Chairman A. Alfred Taubman, who was convicted in December of plotting with archrival Christie's International PLC to fix client fees, has lost his bid for a new trial. Sentencing is scheduled for April 22. Taubman faces up to three years in federal prison.

BANK UNIT INVESTS IN DEVELOPER: BankAtlantic Bancorp said its Levitt Cos. unit bought a 40 percent stake in real estate developer Bluegreen Corp. for about $57-million. Bluegreen, headquartered in Boca Raton, develops and markets timeshare resorts, golf communities and resident land, mainly in the Southeast and Southwest. BankAtlantic shares rose a penny to $12.69.

JACKSONVILLE SEEKS AUTO PLANT: DaimlerChrysler AG may build a cargo van assembly plant in Jacksonville, possibly creating thousands of jobs, State Rep. Mike Hogan said. Savannah, Ga., and Charleston, S.C., are also competing for the plant, which would be built by 2006, the Florida Times-Union reported. The company wants to expand production of its Sprinter cargo vans, but hasn't determined whether to do so in the United States or in Dusseldorf, Germany, where the vans' parts originate now, DaimlerChrysler spokesman Trevor Hale said.

CHIPMAKERS UNITE IN VENTURE: Three of the world's largest semiconductor makers -- Motorola, Philips and STMicroelectronics -- said they plan to invest $1.4-billion in a joint project to develop a new generation of smaller chips with greater processing capacity. Bill Walker, chief operating officer of Motorola's chip division, said the alliance would accelerate development of next-generation technology, noting that a sample would be produced by the end of the year.

WHOLESALE PRICES JUMP IN MARCH: Wholesale prices shot up 1 percent in March, the Labor Department reported, lifted by the biggest jump in gasoline costs in nearly three years. The big advance in the Producer Price Index, which measures inflation pressures before they reach consumers, follows a 0.2 percent increase in February. The 1 percent rise was the largest increase in 14 months, but excluding volatile energy and food prices, the "core" rate of wholesale inflation nudged up just 0.1 percent in March -- in line with expectations. Separately, retail sales rose less than expected in March, the Commerce Department said. The 0.2 percent gain, to $297.3-billion, followed a 0.2 percent increase in February.

AIRLINE, PILOTS AGREE ON JETS: US Airways Group Inc. reached a tentative agreement with its pilots union to double the number of small jetliners that the carrier is allowed to fly, pushing the number to 140. The nation's seventh-largest carrier reached the accord with the Air Line Pilots Association by agreeing to delay some pilot layoffs scheduled for next month until September, according to the union's Web site. US Airways also said it wouldn't add to the 1,350 layoffs already announced. The proposal is designed to address what the airline sees as its top need: a big increase in the use of more compact, less expensive aircraft to serve small and midsize cities. Pilots generally oppose their use because they are paid less to fly them.

IBM STOCK RECOVERS: Shares of IBM Corp. rebounded after a Securities and Exchange Commission statement defused some investor concerns raised by a report that it was conducting an inquiry of the computer company. Thursday, IBM's stock plunged 5.4 percent after SEC Insight, a research firm that scours the SEC for word of investigations, reported the SEC had begun an inquiry into IBM in February. But an SEC spokesman said after the close of trading Thursday that the agency had opened an inquiry and "closed it without action shortly thereafter." IBM closed Thursday down $4.82 a share, but bounced back to rise $1.41 to close at $85.60.

AIRLINE WORKER SUES OVER LAYOFF: A former employee has sued Northwest Airlines Corp. for $300-million after he was among 10,000 workers to lose their jobs and seniority as a result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Greg Newsome, a former technician, argues those layoffs violated the collective bargaining agreement between the airline and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The IAMAW and AMFA also are named as defendants. A Northwest Airlines spokesman declined to comment.

SULZER STUMPS FOR DEAL: Sulzer Medica AG and lawyers suing Europe's biggest orthopedics maker are seeking unanimous support for a $1-billion settlement over defective hip implants, or the company may face bankruptcy. "A handful of opt-outs will do it," said Eric Kennedy, one of the attorneys for the class of plaintiffs suing the company. If more than a few claimants reject the settlement, "I think they'll go bankrupt." The agreement calls for Sulzer Medica to pay about $725-million to thousands of patients who received recalled implants. The Swiss company's former parent, Sulzer AG, and insurance companies will pay the balance. The company's Sulzer Orthopedics unit began recalling hip implants in January 2001, saying they could loosen.

RENTAL COMPANY FACES CRUNCH: Budget Group Inc. said it may be forced to file for bankruptcy protection if the car and truck rental company isn't able to restructure its debt or find financing. Auditor Arthur Andersen LLP said in the 10-K it has substantial doubts about Budget's ability to stay in business. The Daytona Beach company failed to make interest payments of $18.3-million due on its senior notes last week and will default if it doesn't pay by May 1.