By Compiled from Times wires
Published August 21, 2003
MEDCO DEBUTS ON NYSE: Medco Health Solutions Inc. shares rose more than 5 percent in their debut Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange, a day after the pharmacy benefit manager was spun off by pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. About 270-million shares of Medco were distributed late Tuesday as a tax-free dividend to current Merck shareholders. Trading under the ticker symbol MHS, the shares rose $1.37 to close at $25.22.
JUNE TOURISM NUMBERS FLAT: Business was virtually flat at Tampa Bay hotels in June, according to Smith Travel Research. The hotel occupancy rate was 59.6 percent, up 0.3 percent from June 2002. But the average daily room rate was down by 1.6 percent and revenue per available room was off by 1.3 percent.
FIRST ADVANTAGE BUYS ANOTHER: First Advantage Corp. of St. Petersburg has acquired Total Information Source Inc. of Winston-Salem, N.C. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed. Both companies provide background screening services for employers. Total Information Source specializes in searches involving North Carolina criminal court records. First Advantage was created in June by the merger of First American Corp.'s Screening Technologies division with US SEARCH.com.
DANKA REDEEMS NOTES: Danka Business Systems redeemed zero coupon subordinated notes that were supposed to come due April 1, 2004, eight months ahead of schedule. The British company, which sells office copiers and printers and has its U.S. headquarters in St. Petersburg, repaid $47.6-million in principal. Danka said it won't be required to make principal payments on any other debts until April 2008.
SEC GOES AFTER BOARDS: The Securities and Exchange Commission is stepping up its effort to punish corporate fraud by pursuing charges against board members who ignore misconduct. SEC enforcement chief Stephen Cutler said the agency will use a case against a former outside board member at Chancellor Corp., a Boston transportation-equipment leasing company, as a model for such enforcement actions. That case, which charged that the director failed to act on evidence of accounting improprieties, is the "first salvo in this area," he said.
CART, EX-CEO SETTLE: Championship Auto Racing Teams Inc. and its former president and chief executive Joseph Heitzler have withdrawn their lawsuits against each other, settling their dispute as the Indy-car circuit negotiates with a potential buyer. Terms of the settlement weren't disclosed. Heitzler was fired by CART and replaced by Chris Pook in December 2001 after serving about a year. He remained as chairman of CART until March 2002.
ENRON HOME FOR SALE: Granite Partners LLC, a New York real estate investment banking firm, announced Wednesday it has been retained to sell Enron Corp.'s 50-story glass tower in Houston. Richard Rudd, chief of Granite Partners' Houston office, said no price is set for the building; the county values it at $92.5-million.
SHIP PRICE LISTED: In a filing with federal securities regulators Wednesday, Odyssey Marine Exploration disclosed that the ship and remotely operated vehicle it purchased earlier this month cost $1.2-million and $700,000, respectively. The Tampa company, which searchs the oceans for treasure-laden shipwrecks, said it used some of the proceeds from a recent private offering to pay for the equipment. Odyssey's stock closed the day at $3.31, down 11 percent, or 40 cents per share.
DELTA GOES FOR SONG: Delta's discount carrier is performing better than expected and the struggling airline's cost-cutting plan is on target despite a continued standstill in negotiations to reduce pilot wages, executives said Wednesday. Delta launched Song in April. On average, its flights are 75 percent full and more planes will soon be added, said Song president John Selvaggio. "We're very satisfied with our progress to date," Selvaggio said in a telephone interview. "Even though we've added seats, our load factors are above what we planned."
SOBIG FILLS INTERNET: A virus that debuted this week has been declared the fastest spreading e-mail plague of all time. MessageLabs Inc., a company that filters e-mail for corporate clients around the world, Wednesday said it had intercepted more than a million copies of the "Sobig.F" virus the day before, or one in every 17 e-mail messages the firm scanned. The most widespread virus of all time, "Klez," at its peak accounted for one in 125 messages scanned.
STILL BLASTING AWAY: The spin-off of the "Blaster" virus, which first appeared last week, was still causing problems Wednesday. "Nachi" or "Welchia," which attempts to inoculate computers by downloading a patch from Microsoft, brought down Air Canada's ticketing systems Tuesday. Railway giant CSX Corp. said a "worm virus" brought down its signaling systems early Wednesday, causing delays and canceled trains through the Eastern states. Andy Ellis, chief security architect at Web services company Akamai Technologies Inc. said Nachi may not be more widespread than Blaster, but it is technically superior and is now generating twice as much Internet traffic as Blaster.
BUFFETT LOSES TO SEC: Warren Buffett lost an appeal before the Securities and Exchange Commission to delay disclosure of certain stock holdings, part of an effort by the billionaire to prevent copycat investing. As chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Buffett has argued that publication of Berkshire's holdings lead to price movements that drive up his investment costs. The SEC acknowledged Wednesday that traders attempt to mimic Buffett's stock selections. At the same time, the agency said, Buffett had failed to show that complying with disclosure rules would cause Berkshire competitive harm.
