Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 24, 2003
PERSONAL INCOME RISES: Personal income grew just 2.8 percent last year, the second consecutive year of slowing growth and the lowest annual growth rate in more than 30 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. On a per-capita basis, personal income grew 1.7 percent nationally. Florida's growth was slightly better, at 1.9 percent. With average per-capita income of $29,596 in 2002, Florida ranked 23rd among the states, down two spots from 2001. For the 16th year in a row, Connecticut had the highest per-capita income, $42,706. Lowest was again Mississippi at $22,372.
MADISON DECLARES SPLIT: Madison Bancshares Inc. has declared a 5-for-4 split of its common stock. The Palm Harbor holding company for Madison Bank will pay shareholders one additional common share for every four shares held as of May 5. Shares will be mailed or delivered about May 15. The bank's market value has more than doubled since it went public in early 1999.
SELMON'S WILL GROW: Tampa's Outback Steakhouse Inc. said it plans to open a second Tampa location in late June of its Lee Roy Selmon's barbecue restaurant. The second site will be in New Tampa, east of Interstate 75, at 17508 Donna Michelle Drive. At the company's annual meeting, Outback president Bob Basham told shareholders the company also may expand Lee Roy Selmon's -- named for the former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Hall of Famer who now sits on Outback's board -- to St. Petersburg and Brandon. The publicly traded company operates Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's, Bonefish Grill and several other restaurant chains.
GREENSPAN SAYS 'YES': Alan Greenspan, expressing appreciation for President Bush's confidence, said Wednesday he would accept a fifth term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. In a brief statement, Greenspan, who is now in his 16th year as head of the nation's central bank, said, "If President Bush nominates me and the Senate confirms his choice, I would have every intention of serving. ... I have been privileged to be appointed by five presidents to various positions."
GEARBULK IN TAMPA: Gearbulk Inc., an international shipping company, announced plans Wednesday to move its U.S. headquarters to Tampa from Stamford, Conn., in July. About a half-dozen employees are moving to Tampa, and Gearbulk expects to hire at least four new employees when the move is completed. Gearbulk has offices in 16 countries using 500 agents and operates more than 60 vessels. The headquarters will be in Bayport Plaza in the Rocky Point area.
MARCH 'LACKLUSTER': The Federal Reserve reported Wednesday in its "Beige Book" survey that economic conditions in March and the first two weeks of April continued to be "lackluster," with the economy still trying to rebound from a pronounced slowdown that began late last year. The central bank did say there were scattered signs of better days ahead, including pockets of strength in manufacturing, some pickup in demand for business loans and at least a slowing of job layoffs. The Atlanta district of the Fed reported conditions as "still mixed or soft."
SUV MARKETERS WARNED: Eight state attorneys general, including Charlie Crist of Florida, have notified 16 car makers that their ads for sports utility vehicles may be dangerously deceptive. Targeting ads that blur the line between cars and SUVs, the officials criticized portrayals that suggest SUVs can safely perform emergency avoidance maneuvers at high speeds. They also said ads that boast of cargo capacity, rather than the importance of weight and distribution of cargo, are misleading. Many of the same issues were addressed when all 50 states settled their deceptive advertising investigation of Ford Motor Co. following fatalities involving the Ford Explorer. Ford recently paid $51.5-million and agreed to change its ad practices; $30-million of the settlement is going to an SUV Safety Awareness campaign beginning in the fall.
RAYTHEON CEO QUITS: Daniel Burnham, who has tried to return Raytheon Corp. to its core defense business during five years as chief executive, announced he will resign effective July 1. Former U.S. Sen. Warren Rudman, Raytheon's lead director, said the choice was Burnham's. He will be succeeded by William H. Swanson, a 31-year company veteran and currently president. Also Wednesday, Raytheon stockowners repealed the company's so-called poison pill, a shareholder-rights plan that dilutes stock holdings when one party accumulates a large block, making a takeover easier now.
SHAREHOLDERS DEMAND SAY: Shareholders of Verizon Communications Inc. passed a resolution during their annual meeting in Fort Wayne, Ind., giving themselves the power to approve some executive severance agreements. Under the resolution, shareholders would have to approve severance packages if the amount of benefits is more than 2.99 times the sum of an executive's base salary plus bonus, the company said in a statement.
NORTHWEST CUTS SALARIES: Northwest Airlines plans to cut the salaries and benefits of its 3,000 management employees by 5 percent to 15 percent to help the company return to profitability. Northwest already has asked for substantial cuts in pay and benefits from its three largest unions. The carrier announced a $396-million first-quarter loss last week. Northwest's proposed restructuring plan would save about $950-million annually.
NAPSTER'S BACKERS SUED: Major recording labels Universal Music and EMI have sued the venture capitalists who backed Napster Inc., claiming they contributed to the copyright violations by millions of the song-swapping service's users. The federal lawsuit names Hummer Winblad Venture Partners and two of the San Francisco firm's general partners, Hank Barry and John Hummer. The suit seeks punitive damages, along with $150,000 per violation. It also is intended to discourage others from investing in any of the file-swapping services that have risen in Napster's place.
2-YEAR T-BILLS RISE: Yields rose at the U.S. Treasury's monthly auction of two-year notes. The Treasury sold a record-tying $27-billion of the notes at a yield of 1.704 percent, up from 1.692 percent March 26 and the highest since 1.71 percent at the Jan. 29 auction.
Archer Daniels Midland: The agribusiness giant said third-quarter earnings fell slightly as a result of lower oilseed crush margins in North America and Europe.
AT&T Corp.: Cost-cutting allowed the nation's largest long-distance company to surprise Wall Street with a sizable first-quarter profit, but competition in the long-distance market continued to depress sales.
Xerox Corp.: The world's biggest copier maker had a narrower first-quarter loss because it increased sales of more profitable color machines.
AOL Time Warner Inc.: The world's largest media company posted its biggest quarterly profit since being formed in 2001. Revenue climbed 6.3 percent as it signed up more subscribers at the HBO television network and sold more DVDs of Warner Bros. movies.
AMR Corp.: The parent company of American Airlines blamed weaker-than-expected first-quarter results on weak travel demand caused by the sluggish economy, war in Iraq and the SARS outbreak. CEO Donald J. Carty also said high fuel prices and low fares contributed to results that were "truly dreadful."
Boeing Co.: The world's biggest airplane maker said its first-quarter loss narrowed as it took smaller writedowns. The company cut its 2003 profit forecast because of expected losses on loans by its finance unit.
Hilton Hotels Corp.: The third-largest U.S. hotel company said first-quarter profit fell 74 percent as the war in Iraq and a slowing economy led to reduced travel and lower bookings.
Royal Caribbean Cruises: The world's second-largest cruise line company said first-quarter profit rose 1 percent, as an increase in the number of ships it operates helped make up for a drop in bookings.
Winn-Dixie Stores Inc.: The Jacksonville grocery retailer reported that it met its own targets for the third quarter, showing a gain over 2002 despite Easter falling in the fourth quarter this year.
Technology Research: The Clearwater maker of electrical safety products said its net income quadrupled in the fiscal year ended March 31 because of increased demand from the U.S. military, lower interest expenses on its debt and higher profit margins. It will pay a fourth-quarter dividend of 1.5 cents per share April 25. Its stock closed Wednesday at $2.90, up 27 cents per share.