Business Today

CREDIT CARDS COMPROMISED: An "unauthorized intruder" gained access to 8-million credit card account numbers -- including Visa, MasterCard and American Express -- by breaching the security of a company that processes transactions for merchants, the card companies said. Visa said that there had been no sign of fraudulent activity involving the accounts. American Express said security processes were in place to determine if card numbers were being misused but no unusual activity had been observed. None of the card companies would identify the third-party processor or say exactly when or how the unauthorized intrusion occurred. It could not be determined if the incident involved an outside hacker, unauthorized access by an employee or some kind of physical theft of a database. MasterCard Inc. said investigations were under way. Visa, MasterCard and American Express have "zero-liability policies" protecting customers from fraudulent uses of their cards.

INSURANCE DISCONTINUED: Mutual of Omaha is dropping its individual health insurance policies because of high costs, forcing 50,000 individuals and families to seek other health insurance within the next year. People in 36 states, including Florida, and the District of Columbia have such policies. Most people with individual policies are self-employed or work for employers that don't offer health insurance.

REAL ESTATE MERGER: CB Richard Ellis said it agreed to acquire Insignia Financial Group Inc. for $11 a common share in cash, as part of a deal valued at $415-million. Both are major players in commercial property management in the Tampa Bay area. CB Richard Ellis of Los Angeles, a privately held company, is a leading real-estate services firm. Insignia of New York is a real-estate company that manages cooperative and condominium apartments. It also originates mortgages and brokers single-family homes. According to CB Richard Ellis, the combined company will be the world's largest commercial property manager.

MALL BID EXTENDED: Simon Property Group is extending by six weeks its $1.7-billion bid to buy rival mall operator Taubman Centers Inc. The Taubman family, which has a roughly 30 percent voting stake, has resisted the takeover effort by Simon. The offer has been extended until March 28, Simon said.

DARDEN CUTS EARNINGS FORECAST: Shares of Darden Restaurants Inc., which operates the Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains, tumbled Tuesday after the Orlando company cut its earnings forecast on increased marketing expenses and higher worker's compensation costs. Darden shares finished the day at $17.16, down $3.46, or 17 percent, on the New York Stock Exchange. Darden said it expects to post earnings for its fiscal third quarter, which ends Feb. 23, of between 34 cents and 36 cents a share, missing analyst expectations of 39 cents a share.

REUTERS SUFFERS LARGEST LOSS: Reuters, the world's biggest publicly traded news and financial information provider, announced for 2002 its largest loss ever, a result of the global economic slowdown that has decimated the market for its stock-trading terminals and left the company exposed to cheaper, nimbler rivals. Chief executive Tom Glocer said an additional 3,000 jobs would be cut, reducing the work force to 13,000. The cuts will be part of a three-year program to revamp the company that follows on the heels of a previous three-year overhaul. The 151-year-old London company posted a net loss for 2002 of $631-million. The company also alarmed investors by forecasting that revenue would slip by 9 percent in the first half of 2003, before sliding even more steeply in the second half.

TREASURY AUCTION: Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Tuesday's auction with the three-month bill hitting the highest level in five weeks. The Treasury Department auctioned $17-billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.160 percent. An additional $16-billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 1.180 percent. The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors -- 1.179 percent for three-month bills and 1.204 percent for six-month bills. Because of a snowstorm that closed government offices in Washington on Tuesday, the Federal Reserve said that release of its report on the weekly average for one-year Treasury bills would be delayed until today.

Earnings

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.: The world's largest retailer said earnings for the quarter ended Jan. 31 rose 16.3 percent, beating analysts expectations.

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