Business Today

FORMER MCI COMPLEX SOLD: A New York group of investors has bought the former MCI office complex in Pinellas County for $6.3-million. The buyers, who formed a partnership called Pinellas Plaza LLC, have hired Trammell Crow Co. to find tenants for the 124,983-square-foot building in the Gateway Centre Business Park. At its peak, MCI employed more than 1,000 people there, using the 12-year-old, three-story building as a call center. MCI vacated the property about a year ago, shortly before its parent company, WorldCom Inc., filed for bankruptcy reorganization. Dale Peterson, a senior vice president of Trammell Crow, said the building has attracted interest from investors and corporations but no leasing deals have been made.

HUMANA CUTS JOBS: Humana Inc. gave termination notices to about 25 nurses in Tampa in a companywide cutback of 2,300 jobs, or 17 percent of its work force. The nurses, among 200 in Florida and 600 laid off nationwide, monitor patients' care for the managed-care company. The nurses were told their jobs would end Dec. 17 and they would be paid through year-end. Also terminated were 450 workers at Humana's customer service center in Jacksonville, which is being closed along with centers in San Antonio, Texas, and Madison, Wis. A Humana spokeswoman said additional positions will be eliminated by the end of 2003 at the company's offices in Jacksonville, Orlando, Daytona, Miami and Tampa. Humana's Tampa office has sales, marketing, finance and contracting staff and employs 300.

JOBLESS CLAIMS FALL: New claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in 21 months. The Labor Department said new applications for unemployment insurance fell by a seasonally adjusted 13,000 to 355,000, for the work week ended Nov. 30. And the more stable four-week moving average of new claims, which smoothes out week-to-week fluctuations, dropped to 376,500 last week, the lowest level since March. Still, analysts describe the job market as sluggish.

PINELLAS CONDO PRICES SOAR: Sale prices for Pinellas County condos skyrocketed last month, according to the Pinellas Realtor Organization. Among the 474 condos sold in November, the median price was $130,000, up 41.5 percent from November 2001. Single-family home prices grew more modestly, rising 7.3 percent to a median of $165,700. Chief executive Ann Guiberson said the rapid rise in condo prices is a mystery. The figures reflect homes listed on the Multiple Listing Service used by Realtors, and exclude those sold by owner.

MCDONALD'S NAMES CEO: McDonald's Corp. is replacing chairman and chief executive Jack Greenberg as it struggles to emerge from a deep, two-year slump. The fast-food chain said Greenberg, 60, will retire at year-end after 21 years at the company. The board elected McDonald's president and vice chairman Jim Cantalupo, 59, to replace Greenberg. McDonald's has had lower earnings and a depressed stock price. Its shares gained 41 cents to close at $18.78.

AUTOMAKERS SWEETEN INCENTIVES: Two of the three major U.S. automakers have sweetened their incentive packages for the holidays to meet year-end sales goals. General Motors, which offers no downpayments or finance charges on many models, enhanced its program with no-interest financing for up to 60 months on 13 2003 sport utility vehicles. The world's largest automaker also will give $1,000 in cash on 11 other '02 and '03 models. Chrysler improved financing terms on most Dodge and Chrysler minivans, offering $2,500 cash back or zero-percent financing for up to five years. The deals run through Jan. 2. Ford has not announced additional incentives.

SYKES TRADEMARK REQUEST REJECTED: Europe's top appeals court blocked Sykes Enterprises Inc. from registering "Real people, real solutions" as a trademark. Judges said the slogan is widely used and does not clearly identify the Tampa technical support company or its services. Sykes has two months to appeal to the European Union's supreme court. It applied for the trademark nearly four years ago.

KFORCE NAMES COO: Kforce Inc., an employment service for drug, medical and finance companies, named William Sanders chief operating officer, replacing Larry Stanczak. Sanders will retain his role as chief financial officer, the Tampa company said. Stanczak is leaving the company at year-end. Kforce also said it completed a new, three-year $100-million credit facility.

US AIRWAYS DEAL REVISED: Alabama's pension fund and US Airways have restructured their investment agreement, boosting the fund's lending to the airline in exchange for two more board seats. Retirement Systems of Alabama will control seven of the reorganized airline's 13 board seats instead of five, and will provide another $75-million. That will give the airline the extra capital needed for a federal loan guarantee. Management also will free up more stock for unsecured creditors. Meanwhile, the airline's pilots said they would negotiate more concessions to prevent layoffs beyond the 1,800 pilots planned.

Earnings

Neiman Marcus Group Inc.: The upscale retailer said net income rose 24 percent in its fiscal quarter ended Nov. 2 as it focused on full-price selling, tight inventory control and fewer promotional activities. But the company's outlook for the current quarter is cautious.

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