Business Digest

SEC NAMES NAMES: The Securities and Exchange Commission has posted a new Web site naming executives who have certified the accuracy of their companies' financial statements in compliance with a new rule. The rule requires chief executives and chief financial officers of 947 companies to attest that financial reports filed with the SEC are accurate and complete. The certifications are due by the close of business on the first day on or after Aug. 14 that a company must file a quarterly or annual report. The SEC created a link between its Web site at www.sec.gov and the new site.

IPO RULES PROPOSED: The National Association of Securities Dealers is proposing rules to curb abuses in the handling of initial public offerings of stock. The measures would: ban quid pro quo agreements, in which IPO shares are allocated a certain way in exchange for higher commissions for the underwriter; "laddering" or aftermarket tie-in agreements, in which an underwriter promotes orders for an IPO at a higher price before trading starts to boost the stock; and "spinning," where a brokerage firm gives IPO shares to an executive of a company in return for its investment banking business.

WORLDCOM ANNOUNCES STEPS: WorldCom has chosen 15 parties including AOL Time Warner and MetLife to serve on a committee that will represent thousands of creditors owed billions of dollars in the telephone and Internet service company's bankruptcy. WorldCom also named John Dubel as its new chief financial officer and Gregory Rayburn as chief restructuring officer. Dubel replaces Scott Sullivan, the ousted CFO who is expected to face criminal charges in WorldCom's accounting scandal. Dubel and Rayburn are principals with the restructuring firm AlixPartners. The Nasdaq Stock Market, meanwhile, is delisting the nearly worthless shares of WorldCom and its MCI long-distance unit, effective today.

WSJ STAFFERS RETURN TO MANHATTAN: Wall Street Journal editorial staffers returned to the newspaper's headquarters next to ground zero for the first time since they were evacuated in the Sept. 11 attacks. The first 70 editors, reporters and other workers reported to 1 World Financial Center on Monday. The move is expected to be completed by next Monday, with 400 staffers returning. That's about half the number who worked at the newspaper's headquarters before the attack. In October, the company said some departments would be transferred to the South Brunswick, N.J., campus of parent Dow Jones & Co. as part of a transition planned independent of the attack.

DYNEGY SELLING PIPELINE: Dynegy Inc. is selling a prized 16,600-mile natural gas pipeline it wrested from Enron just months ago to Berkshire Hathaway unit MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. for $928-million in cash. The company previously said it was trying to sell at least part of the pipeline, Northern Natural Gas Co., as part of a plan to raise $2-billion. Dynegy leads a pack of energy traders battered by questions of their wobbly finances. Also looming are federal investigations of the company's accounting.

ALTERNATIVE MEDIA DEAL SOUGHT: AOL Time Warner and AT&T have decided to suspend the registration process for AT&T's stake in Time Warner Entertainment partnership. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported on their Web sites that the two companies want to pursue negotiations for an alternative deal aimed at "unwinding the partnership." Both newspapers said the decision will let the companies continue negotiations to restructure the partnership so it could lead to a possible initial public offering of AOL's cable systems. While AOL Time Warner has tried to persuade AT&T to swap its 27.3 percent interest in Time Warner Entertainment for a stake in its newly created Time Warner Cable operation, AT&T wants at least $1-billion in cash and billions of dollars in stock in the parent company in addition to a stake in the cable subsidiary, the New York Times said.

ZIFF DAVIS REGROUPING: Ziff Davis Media, once a major player in technology publishing with PC magazine and the now-closed Yahoo Internet Life, has been telling advertisers it will be forced to enter a prepackaged bankruptcy by week's end, the New York Times reported. Company officials had no comment on the potential bankruptcy but acknowledged there would be a financial restructuring by Friday. The company is principally owned by the investor group Willis Stein & Partners.

SUNTERRA EMERGING FROM BANKRUPTCY: Sunterra Corp., which operates time share resorts in North America, Europe and Asia, said it will receive $300-million in financing and emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Orlando company filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2000, listing $827.6-million in debts. It had losses in the two quarters before declaring bankruptcy, missed debt payments and violated agreements with lenders. Sunterra said it received $300-million in financing from Merrill Lynch Capital Inc. "We are now poised to re-establish the company as the global leader in the vacation ownership industry," chief executive Nick Benson said in a statement.

NEW OUTBACK OPENS NEXT WEEK: Outback Steakhouse of Tampa is opening its new outpost at 1900 Fourth St. N in St. Petersburg next Monday. Outback and developer Clark D. East renovated the old Bradford Coach House to accommodate Outback, the Panera Bread bakery and cafe, and Optical Outlets on the ground floor. Upstairs tenants will be the Glasure Group, a public relations and marketing company, and Practically Pikasso, a paint-your-own pottery store that offers classes. The new Outback is across from Sunken Gardens, which is undergoing a major renovation.

TREASURY AUCTION: Interest rates on short-term Treasury securities rose in Monday's auction. The Treasury Department sold $16-billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.680 percent, up from 1.660 percent last week. An additional $16-billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 1.690 percent, up from 1.675 percent. The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors -- 1.712 percent for three-month bills and 1.727 percent for six-month bills. In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said the average yield for one-year constant maturity Treasury bills fell to 1.88 percent last week from 1.97 percent the previous week.

Sykes Enterprises Inc.

Investors apparently were expecting Sykes' after-hours earnings report Monday to disappoint: The Tampa company's stock price fell 20 percent, or $1.36 per share, to close at $5.49. Chief financial officer Mike Kipphut said investors may have been anticipating bad news because competitors like TeleTech Holdings Inc. recently lowered their 2002 earnings outlook.

In fact, the Tampa customer support company did lower its 2002 forecast, from a previously anticipated range of 35 to 40 cents per share to a more modest 31 to 35 cents per share. Sykes attributed the reduction to economic uncertainty as well as its clients' growing demand for less costly offshore services. As for the quarter ended June 30, Sykes' earnings per share were unchanged at 7 cents, even though its revenues fell 8 percent from the prior year.

Humana Inc.

The health care giant reported increased revenues and earnings for the quarter ended June 30. Earnings for the second quarter 2001 included a $13.6-million charge for goodwill amortization.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright