Business today

WUSF-FM GOES DIGITAL: WUSF-FM 89.7 in Tampa has begun transmitting a digital signal, the first station in Florida and the first public station in the country to do so. But listeners will need new radios to notice the difference. Digital radio promises CD-quality sound for FM, static-free AM and new data features. It is not the same as satellite radio offered by XM and Sirius, and it does not require a subscription. Radios capable of receiving the digital signals are expected to cost about $100 more than traditional receivers. Commercial stations in the Tampa Bay area, including those owned by Infinity Broadcasting and Clear Channel, announced in January that they would offer digital signals. They are expected to start transmitting soon.

CSX MOVING TO JACKSONVILLE: CSX Corp. confirmed that it will move its corporate headquarters from Richmond, Va. to Jacksonville. The move, expected to be completed by early May, had been widely expected following the appointment in December of former CSX chairman John W. Snow as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. Snow's successor, Michael J. Ward, was president of CSX Transportation -- CSX's largest operating division -- before he was named president of the parent company. CSX employs about 7,000 people in Florida, including about 5,200 in the Jacksonville area.

FORMER QWEST EXECS INDICTED: Four former executives of Qwest Communications were accused in a federal fraud indictment of devising a scheme to create more than $33-million in revenue by wrongly reporting a purchase order and covering it up. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the indictment handed up by a federal grand jury in Denver. The defendants named in the 12-count indictment were accused of seeking to create more than $33-million in revenue by wrongly reporting the order with the Arizona School Facilities Board.

AOL MUSIC SERVICE STARTS: AOL Time Warner's America Online is set to launch its long-awaited subscription music service today, giving the biggest promotional push yet to a legitimate Internet music offering. The paid service is built around music and technology supplied by MusicNet, a joint venture launched by RealNetworks Inc. and three major media companies, including AOL's corporate sibling Warner Music Group. AOL plans to link MusicNet to several features of the basic AOL service that are popular among members, including its music searches, radio stations and exclusive music-oriented content. It is designed to let users with dial-up modems download songs about 50 percent faster than file-sharing systems.

KMART HAS A PLAN: Kmart Corp., the largest retailer to file for Chapter 11 protection, plans to use promotional pricing and its exclusive brands -- which currently include the Martha Stewart Everyday line of home fashions and Joe Boxer clothing -- to help it succeed in the discount retail market. In court documents released Tuesday at federal bankruptcy court in Chicago, where Kmart representatives appeared for a hearing, the company offered more details of its plans for emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company expects to return to profitability in 2004.

AND A WORD ABOUT FORMER CEO: Kmart Corp. also said former Chief Executive Officer Charles Conaway hid information from the board as the company ran out of money in late 2001. Conaway failed to provide some board members with "significant information" and participated in a plan to "systematically" suspend payments to suppliers, Kmart said in court documents filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago.

AND ITS GROCER: Shares of Fleming Cos. fell more than 26 percent after the grocery distributor said it would cut 1,800 jobs and take a pretax charge of $290-million as it ends sales to bankrupt Kmart Corp., its largest customer.

SO LONG, ROOTWORM: The government announced Tuesday that it had approved a new type of genetically modified corn that it says could lead to a significant reduction in the use of toxic insecticides. The approval was granted by the Environmental Protection Agency to a corn developed by Monsanto that is resistant to the corn rootworm. This soil-dwelling pest accounted for one out of seven insecticide applications to all agricultural crops, according to the EPA. The approval is a boost for Monsanto, which has been struggling with falling earnings, and for the crop biotechnology industry, because it is the first truly new product in some years.

TREASURY AUCTION: Yields for four-week Treasury bills rose at the government's weekly auction of the securities. The Treasury sold $25-billion of the bills at a discount rate of 1.22 percent, up from 1.155 percent last week and the highest since 1.25 percent Nov. 26.

Earnings

Home Depot: The Atlanta home improvement store chain said its profit slipped 3.4 percent in the quarter ended Feb. 2 despite gains in its appliance business and cautioned that sales may be flat this year. The results still beat Wall Street expectations. The chain, which has 1,500 stores, plans to add 200 locations this year and 40,000 employees. It currently has 277,000 employees.

Hewlett-Packard Co.: The San Jose, Calif., computer manufacturer posted better-than-expected earnings for the quarter ending Jan. 31, spurred by cost savings from its merger with Compaq Computer Corp. and improved demand for its printers and computers during the holidays.

Ablest Inc.: The Clearwater provider of temporary accounting, clerical and computer staff, bounced back from a rough year in 2002. The company's revenues rose 24 percent from the prior year, and cost reductions helped it earn a profit of 23 cents per share. The company's fourth quarter ended Dec. 29.

SRI/Surgical Express Inc.: The Tampa company, which provides hospitals with reusable and disposable surgical supplies, said earnings dropped nearly 58 percent for the three months ended Dec. 31 as revenues stayed nearly flat. SRI/Surgical Express also said it eliminated an off-balance sheet financing arrangement in December when it acquired the company from which it had leased two processing facilities.

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