Frequent flier benefits stop at security fee
Airlines are passing along the new costs to their best customers, just as they are to the rest of the public.
Reptron: Good riddance to 2001
Sales and earnings each fell in the final quarter, but the Tampa company's optimistic about the new year.
Enron partnerships meant millions for insiders
A chosen few were allowed to make investments that made them almost instant millionaires.
Tampa's goal: top car port
Port officials want $10-million for a facility they think can make Tampa a hub for vehicle distribution.
Enron fallout reopens debate on bankruptcy loophole
WASHINGTON -- The Enron debacle is increasing pressure on lawmakers to close a loophole in the nation's bankruptcy code that allows millionaires in Texas, Florida and several other states to declare bankruptcy -- and keep their mansions.
Business digest
IRISH BANK SCAM: Ireland's biggest bank accused a currency trader at its Baltimore subsidiary of stealing $750-million in what could be the largest such scam since a rogue employee brought down England's Barings Bank in the mid-1990s. John Rusnak, 37, is suspected of defrauding Allfirst, the U.S. subsidiary of Allied Irish Banks where he worked in the treasury department. Allied Irish said the scam involved forged purchasing records for options contracts. Rusnak was not charged by authorities, but lawyers said he met voluntarily with the FBI and federal prosecutors. Five treasury workers at the bank have been suspended, including Rusnak. Allied Irish said people outside the bank may also have been involved in the scam.
Business today
PRODUCTIVITY ON THE RISE: Worker productivity grew briskly in the fourth quarter, the Labor Department reported. Productivity -- the amount of output per hour of work -- increased at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in the October-December quarter, up from a 1.1 rate in the previous quarter. The improvement came at a price, as businesses responded to slumping sales by sharply cutting their payrolls. That caused the total number of hours worked to drop at a faster pace than output, thus creating a rise in productivity.
