Business Today

PSC PUTS OFF REFUND VOTE: The Florida Public Service Commission decided Tuesday to delay its vote on how to resolve a dispute between Progress Energy Florida Inc. and the Office of Public Counsel over the size of a refund the St. Petersburg utility owes ratepayers. The PSC will hear arguments June 30 and is to vote on the matter July 9. This Friday, state public counsel Jack Shreve and Florida Utility Watch president Mike Twomey will take depositions on the matter from three PSC staff members, including executive director Mary Bane.

TOURISM UP SLIGHTLY: An estimated 20.1-million people visited Florida during the first quarter of this year, an increase of less than 1 percent over the same period of 2002, according to the state's tourism promotion agency. The number of domestic visitors declined 0.5 percent from the first quarter of last year, but overseas visitors were up 6 percent and the number of Canadian visitors increased 8 percent, the agency said.

CRYO-CELL LOSES AUDITOR: Ernst & Young resigned Tuesday as the independent auditor for Cryo-Cell International, the troubled Clearwater stem cell storage company. Ernst & Young took over in March from the company's longtime auditor, Weinick Sanders Leventhal & Co. Cryo-Cell has delayed filing a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the quarter ending Feb. 28 as it works to restate previous financial statements. Nasdaq has notified the company that its common stock may be delisted for failure to file the report. A hearing with Nasdaq is scheduled for Thursday, the company said.

U.S. STEEL BUYS NATIONAL: U.S. Steel Corp. has completed the purchase of bankrupt National Steel Corp., the company said Tuesday, one day after union workers at both companies approved a five-year labor agreement. U.S. Steel had said it planned to close the $850-million deal by June 30. U.S. Steel will also assume $200-million in debt from National.

ZIMMER MAKES COUNTER: Zimmer Holdings said Tuesday that it planned to offer $3.2-billion in cash and stock for Centerpulse of Switzerland, Europe's largest maker of orthopedic devices, eclipsing an offer from a British rival. Centerpulse, which agreed in March to a $2.4-billion offer from Smith & Nephew of Britain, said it would consider the offer from Zimmer, which was spun off by Bristol Myers-Squibb in 2001. The prospect of a bidding war for Centerpulse illustrates the growth that is seen in the market for orthopedic devices as baby boomers age.

T-BILLS CONTINUE FALL: The Treasury Department sold $16-billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.020 percent, down from 1.070 percent last week. An additional $16-billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 1.020 percent, down from 1.100 percent. The three-month rate was the lowest since July 28, 1958, when the bills sold for 0.984 percent. The six-month rate was the lowest since the government began selling the bills regularly in 1958.

MORE PEOPLE PUT OFF RETIREMENT: The number of Americans 65 and older either working or looking for jobs has grown by 50 percent since 1980, the Census Bureau said Tuesday. Experts said it's caused by people living longer and wanting to work, as well as concerns that retirement savings are being eaten up by stock market losses and Social Security and other benefits won't cover senior citizens' needs. In 1980, about 3-million people - 12.6 percent of the 24.2-million residents 65 and older - were in the labor force. The share of older workers declined to 11.9 percent in 1990, but has risen steadily since then, census data show. By March 2002, the number of older people holding jobs or looking for work had swelled to almost 4.5-million - 13.2 percent of the 65-and-over population of 33.8-million.

The struggling Clearwater maker of fiber-optic testing equipment said cash-on-hand has shrunk to $124,000 in the quarter ended March 31, down $2-million from a year ago.

The company, which has insufficient funds to handle its short-term debts, said various creditors are seeking a total of $24-million in damages in legal actions.

The company has withdrawn about $3.5-million from a line of credit extended by Optel, a company controlled by Digital founder Bryan Zwan. Optel is urging Digital to hire a "suitable" chief financial officer within 30 days or terms for drawing up to $12-million from the credit line will become more stringent.

Separately, Digital said it cut 58 jobs in the first quarter, including 46 positions eliminated by closing sales offices in Brazil, Singapore, India and Australia.

The Tampa electronics manufacturer said $17.2-million of its net loss for the quarter came from discontinued operations, namely its troubled distribution arm that the company is selling to Jaco Electronics.

The computer maker said second-quarter earnings more than doubled as it cut costs and reduced losses in the server division after buying Compaq Computer Corp. Chief executive Carly Fiorina said she has managed to wring more cost cuts out of the Compaq purchase than she expected by eliminating jobs and products.

The world's largest home-improvement chain said first-quarter profit increased 6 percent after new products such as John Deere lawn tractors bolstered revenue. Sales at older stores declined less than expected, sending the shares up as much as 12 percent.

The Birmingham, Ala., retailer swung to a profit for its first fiscal quarter, compared with a loss a year ago. Its profit before items fell as the company was hurt by deep discounts and narrowly missed Wall Street expectations.