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AT&T CITES NEW EVIDENCE: Intensifying its claim that MCI has compromised national security, AT&T Corp. said Wednesday it had new evidence the carrier improperly routed calls placed by the U.S. military through Canada. Meanwhile, MCI hailed a bankruptcy court's approval of its record $750-million settlement with federal regulators. Judge Arthur Gonzalez's decision Wednesday was the last required approval for the settlement. In its latest filing, AT&T told Gonzalez the calls diverted by MCI included some placed by the Defense Department, Army and Navy. AT&T alleged improper routing was occurring weekly, and sometimes daily. MCI insisted it has not placed sensitive government calls at risk.
DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE FEE HOPS: Verizon Communications will raise the fees it charges for some of its services Sept. 1. Directory assistance will rise a dime to 60 cents per call after the monthly allotment of three free calls; non-published phone numbers will cost $2.76 a month, up 46 cents; and call block will cost $5 a month, up 50 cents. More information is available from Verizon customer service at 800-483-3000.
SPRINT, MCI ALTER FEES: Long-distance carrier Sprint will replace its 1.41 percent "carrier property tax fee" on interstate and international calls starting Sept. 1 with a flat 99-cent fee each month for all calling-plan customers who make any long-distance calls, including in-state calls. Also Sept. 1, long-distance company MCI will raise the monthly fee it charges customers to include their long-distance charges on their local phone bill. The fee will rise to $2.99, up 49 cents.
LONGWOOD BOWS TO PROGRESS: The city commission of Longwood voted 3-2 Monday to grant final approval to a new 30-year franchise agreement with Progress Energy Florida Inc. of St. Petersburg. Under the agreement, Progress will continue as the city's electric utility and will pay Longwood a "franchise fee" equal to 6 percent of the revenues generated from the utility's more than 7,300 Longwood customers. Longwood is the 29th municipality to sign a franchise agreement with Progress since 2001, according to Progress spokesman Aaron Perlut.
DO-NOT-CALLERS MOUNT: More than 30-million Americans have signed up for the government's do-not-call list, a free registry for blocking unsolicited telephone sales pitches, the Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday. The FTC said 2.2-million people signed up in Florida, 3.4-million in California and 2-million in Texas. Telemarketers have challenged the list in court, saying the registry will cost them $50-billion in business and cause the loss of 2-million jobs.
TENET SETTLES REDDING CHARGES: Federal prosecutors announced a $54-million settlement Wednesday with Tenet Healthcare Corp. as part of their investigation into whether doctors performed unnecessary heart procedures. U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott said the settlement covers heart procedures at Redding Medical Center between 1997 and 2002 that were billed to Medicare, Medicaid and the military's Tricare program. As part of the settlement, Tenet and Redding Medical Center dodged further civil or criminal charges. The defendants did not admit liability but agreed to make changes at the hospital.
ODYSSEY MARINE COMPLETES OFFERING: Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. completed a private placement worth at least $5-million, enough cash to begin recovering what might be a 17th-century British warship and to continue work on other shipwrecks. The Tampa company hopes to recover coins and other artifacts and sell or exhibit them. A news release issued Wednesday did not explain how dilutive the placement would be for existing shareholders. Spokeswoman Laura Barton said Odyssey's next step will be to continue work on what it believes to be a 19th-century steamship off the southeastern U.S. coast.
BURGER KING SUBPOENAED: Burger King Corp. has received a subpoena from a federal grand jury in Atlanta, spokesman Rob Doughty said Wednesday, that is related to an investigation by the U.S. attorney into claims by a former Coke manager that Coke employees rigged a marketing test of Frozen Coke. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta would not comment. Coke spokesman Dan Schafer said, "We're not going to go beyond our statement of July 11, that there is an investigation and that we are cooperating in it."
MERRILL PARTS WITH ZAKARIA: Merrill Lynch & Co. announced Wednesday that its investment banking chief plans to step down by the end of the year. The job held by Arshad Zakaria, president of global markets and investment banking, will be shared by two managers, Merrill said. His departure follows the ouster of his mentor, Thomas Patrick, who was the No. 2 executive at the firm until last week. Patrick, 60, abruptly resigned after a disagreement with CEO E. Stanley O'Neal over succession plans, in which Patrick lobbied for Zakaria to be named president and heir-apparent.
SMITH & NEPHEW DROPS OUT: Zimmer Holdings, an American maker of medical devices, emerged Wednesday as the top bidder for Centerpulse A.G., Europe's top maker of orthopedic implants, after British rival Smith & Nephew said it would not raise its bid for Centerpulse. The announcement by Smith & Nephew ended a four-month battle over Centerpulse, which is based in Switzerland.
JETBLUE CENTERS ON ORLANDO: JetBlue Airways Corp. said it will spend as much as $160-million to build flight-training and maintenance centers at Orlando International Airport. The training center will include flight simulators, classrooms and fire-fighting areas, the low-fare carrier said. The hangar, big enough for three Airbus SAS A320 planes, will be used for maintenance and installing aircraft television systems, JetBlue said. The buildings, which will be complete in 2005, will create more than 150 jobs, JetBlue said.
ECKERD TO SELL SUNPASS: Eckerd drugstores has signed a deal with the Department of Transportation to sell SunPass transponders, which allow motorists to pay tolls electronically. The devices were to arrive this week at all of the chain's Florida stores except those in Lee County. The transponders have been sold mainly by phone, on the SunPass Web site or at turnpike service plazas. Purchasers will still have to call the FDOT at 888-865-5352 or visit www.sunpass.com to open an account and activate the device.
5-YEAR BOND YIELD RISES: Yields on five-year Treasury notes rose in Wednesday's auction to 3.300 percent, the highest rate since five-year notes sold for 3.348 percent Aug. 6, 2002. A total of $18-billion in notes were sold.