Business Today

ENRON TRADER PLEADS GUILTY: A former top energy trader, considered the mastermind of Enron Corp.'s scheme to drive up California's energy prices, pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge. Timothy Belden, the former head of trading in Enron's Portland, Ore., office, admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and promised to cooperate with prosecutors as well as any non-criminal effort to investigate the energy industry. "I did it because I was trying to maximize profit for Enron," Belden said. U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan said the guilty plea shows the rolling blackouts and huge price increases that rocked California last year were the result of illegal conduct. Belden will be sentenced April 17.

HEALTHSOUTH SUSPENDS SPINOFF PLAN: HealthSouth said it is suspending a plan to spin off its surgical centers under pressure from investors and lenders. The Birmingham, Ala., company, which operates the nation's largest chain of rehabilitation hospitals, said in August that it wanted to create a new entity around its surgical centers, the most lucrative part of its business. Richard Scrushy, HealthSouth's founder, said the plan "does not make economic sense at this time." HealthSouth has 11 rehab centers in the Tampa Bay area and outpatient surgical centers in Tampa and St. Petersburg.

DAIMLERCHRYSLER PICKS GEORGIA: DaimlerChrysler chose Savannah, Ga., as the site of its new $750-million van plant, which will be the state's largest factory and will bring thousands of jobs to the region. The German automaker selected Georgia's bid over sites near Charleston, S.C., and Jacksonville. Gov. Roy Barnes said Georgia's incentive package totals $320-million, or $67,000 per job -- the largest sum the state has ever committed to luring an industry.

KMART TO KEEP STEWART IN AD CAMPAIGN: Kmart Corp. will continue to feature Martha Stewart in the company's advertising campaign for now. Chief executive James Adamson said that could change "if I determine it's a detriment for Kmart. But I'd rather continue to support Martha because she's a great partner of ours." Stewart's line of housewares, linens and gardening tools have been an important way for Kmart to attract customers as it seeks to emerge from bankruptcy, analysts have said. Stewart has been under investigation for possible insider trading of shares of ImClone Systems.

LOAN GUARANTEE DENIED FOR SPIRIT: Spirit Airlines was rejected for a loan guarantee a second time by the board set up to handle airline requests for financial help from the government. The Air Transportation Stabilization Board two months ago voted 2-1 to deny the Fort Lauderdale airline's loan application. The decision was upheld after the board reviewed additional information that Spirit submitted last month, saying the new information didn't alter the rationale for denying the request.

AMERICAN PARING FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: American Airlines will have about 1,000 fewer flight attendants on Nov. 1, with 420 of those positions cut through involuntary layoffs, union officials said. The flight attendant reductions are among the first wave of the 7,000 workers American said in August it would slash from the payroll. All of the layoffs will be among flight attendants based in St. Louis. Further layoffs are expected before March 2003, when the job cutting will be complete. About 550 flight attendants volunteered to take leave of absences ranging from three months to one year, which reduced the number of flight attendants who had to be furloughed.

CORPORATE SCANDALS SAID TO COST $200-BILLION: Recent corporate scandals have cost Americans more than $200-billion in lost investment savings, jobs, pension losses and tax revenue, according to a report. The report by the "No More Enrons" coalition, partly funded by consumer groups and labor unions, said losses from 401(k) investment accounts totaled $175-billion and public pension funds nationwide lost at least $6.4-billion as the stock market plummeted amid a crisis of investor confidence. It estimated that more than a million workers lost their jobs at the affected companies, while company executives cashed out billions of dollars of their stock.

DELL BACK ON TOP: Dell Computer Corp. surpassed Hewlett-Packard Co. to reclaim the title of the world's biggest maker of personal computers, according to marketing firm IDC, as sales of PCs grew after five consecutive quarters of decline. Dell had 16 percent of the market for PCs, up from 13.5 percent a year ago, IDC said. Hewlett-Packard, which gained the title in May after it bought Compaq Computer Corp., slipped to 15.5 percent from 16.9 percent a year ago. Computermakers shipped 32.6-million units in the third quarter, a 3.8 percent increase from a year earlier, IDC said.

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