STOCK INDEXES CLIMB: Major stock market indexes moved back to within striking distance of recent recovery highs Wednesday as investors shopped for bargains after recent market declines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded momentarily at a 52-week high before dropping back. The Dow closed Wednesday at 9,848.83 with a gain of 111.04 points, or 1.1 percent; Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained 11.96 points, or 1.1 percent, to 1,058.53; and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 42.36 points, or 2.2 percent, to 1,973.11. Even a modest gain by the market today would put all the indexes at new highs for this recovery.
PSC STAFF, PROGRESS AGREE: Progress Energy Florida Inc. and the staff of the Florida Public Service Commission have drafted an agreement that would require the St. Petersburg utility to take competitive bids in 2005 on coal transport services provided by another subsidiary of Progress Energy. In the meantime the company would be allowed to continue paying the subsidiary under a cost formula that the PSC staff determined permits excessive profits. The agreement, which must be approved by the PSC, will be discussed today as the commission considers requests by the state's biggest electric utilities for rate increases to cover fuel-related costs.
AMSCOT EXPANDS TO ORLANDO: Amscot Financial, a Tampa chain best known for providing money orders, payday advances, check cashing and tax preparation services, is expanding into Orlando. The company, run by Ian MacKechnie, said it plans to open 15 branches in the Orlando area over 12 months beginning in spring 2004. Amscot eventually intends to open more than 70 locations throughout central Florida. Targeting the poor and those who don't have bank accounts, Amscot has expanded quickly in recent years, now operating about 50 financial service centers and 50 tax preparation centers in Florida.
US AIRWAYS PLANS CUTS: US Airways Group Inc., which exited bankruptcy in April, plans to reduce costs by $200-million to $300-million next year as competition increases from low-fare airlines. US Airways will reduce expenses for maintenance, flight operations and human resources, chief executive David Siegel said at the Citigroup Smith Barney Transportation Conference in New York. Southwest Airlines Co., the biggest discounter, has said it plans to start flights into Philadelphia, one of US Airways' main hubs.
ONE MACY'S TO CLOSE: Federated Department Stores Inc. will close one Macy's store in Boynton Beach and convert six others in Florida to the new Burdines-Macy's flag when it unites two of its Florida chains Jan. 30. Two Macy's in Aventura Mall in Miami and Palm Beach Gardens will be converted to home furnishings and furniture stores because the malls already have Burdines stores. Tampa Bay area Burdines will get new signs and advertising logos when Burdines-Macy's becomes a chain of 62 stores with the name change. Federated will take up to $40-million in charges against earnings spread between mid 2003 and mid 2004 to make the changes.
GIANT VENDING MACHINE CLOSES: Residents of the trendy Adams Morgan neighborhood in Washington, D.C., will have to buy their toilet paper, shaving cream and middle-of-the-night sandwiches elsewhere now that McDonald's has shut its 24-hour streetside vending machine, which the company had heralded as the convenience store of the future. A tarp covered the minivan-size machine Wednesday, and a sign thanked customers for their business. Only the DVD rental service remained active, charging $2.97 for a three-night rental. McDonald's was also closing three other area machines.
JETBLUE AWAITS SMALLER JETS: David Neeleman, he chief executive of JetBlue Airways Corp., said the low cost airline will expand in the Midwest and the mid Atlantic when it begins receiving new, smaller planes in 2005. During an Internet broadcast Tuesday, Neeleman said the 100-seat Embraer 190 airplanes on order will prompt the expansion. The 190s will "allow us to go in to cities like Chicago or Columbus or Indianapolis," Neeleman said. JetBlue now flies larger Airbus 320 planes to 18 cities, including Tampa and Orlando.
ENRON SUES CITIGROUP, MORGAN: Enron Corp. sued Citigroup Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., its two largest creditors, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan to recover $32.3-million in fees for financial advice in the weeks leading up to the energy company's bankruptcy. Enron hired J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and Citigroup's Salomon Smith Barney unit as investment bankers Oct. 31, 2001, and days later announced plans to merge with Dynegy Inc. The banks helped arrange the $36-billion transaction, which Dynegy abandoned Nov. 28, 2001. Four days later, Enron filed what was then the largest U.S. bankruptcy ever.
5-YEAR T-BILL RATES CLIMB: Yields on five-year Treasury notes rose in Wednesday's auction to the highest level in more than a year. The yield was 3.430 percent, up from 3.139 percent at the last auction Oct. 8. It was the highest rate since five-year notes sold for 4.475 percent May, 7, 2002. A total of $16 billion in notes were sold.
SEC REFUSES STEWART ACCESS: The Securities and Exchange Commission has told attorneys for lifestyle guru Martha Stewart they can't question before trial two agency lawyers who interviewed a key witness in her criminal case. Stewart wants to question the SEC's Jill Slansky and Helene Glotzer, who are slated to testify at her trial, scheduled for January. At a hearing in Manhattan federal court, Stewart's lawyer, Robert Morvillo, said he plans to ask U.S. District Judge John Sprizzo to allow pretrial questioning. Stewart has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to obstruct an investigation into her sale of ImClone Systems stock.
DELL PLANS RECYCLING GRANTS: Dell Inc. is strengthening its push to recycle old computers, awarding $10,000 grants to 12 cities around the country to host computer recycling drives. The grants will be used to organize, promote and recycle computer equipment. The 12 cities will be selected by a review board based on various factors, such as community need and interest. Dell began recycling computers from consumers last fall, when it offered the service for free - if the customer shipped the machine to Dell, a costly proposition. In March, the company switched to a $15 fee and offered to pick up the old machines. Now Dell will pick up old computers for $7.50.
EU PREPARES SECOND FRONT: Even as Microsoft Corp. defended itself Wednesday against charges that it is trying to corner the media player and server markets, new trouble was brewing for its Windows XP. European Union antitrust officials are pursuing charges from rivals that the latest desktop operating system is designed to help extend Microsoft's dominance into new markets such as instant messaging, e-mail and handheld devices like mobile phones. Following up a complaint filed in February, the European Commission has sent fact-finding letters to "market participants" about the allegations, the Associated Press reported.
S&P LOWERS FORD RATINGS: Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's lowered its long term ratings on Ford Motor Co. to one notch above "junk" status. S&P said last month it was reviewing whether to lower its ratings for Ford, its financing arm and its rental agency Hertz Corp. but said it was highly unlikely ratings would be lowered below investment-grade status. The agency said it lowered Ford's long term ratings to BBB- from BBB and short-term ratings to A-3 from A-2. S&P said the ratings outlook was now stable.
PROSPECTS RISE FOR MBA STUDENTS: Business students aiming to land full-time jobs on Wall Street probably have a better shot of succeeding this year. Banks are returning to schools they skipped when business was slow and they're also granting more interviews - two signs that hiring is likely to be more robust. "We've noticed that our competitors are on campus and they're more present than they have been the past couple of years," said Anand David, regional head of campus recruiting for the Americas at UBS Investment Bank, a unit of UBS AG. To be sure, staffing needs vary by firm. For example, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. expects to increase its hiring by more than 30 percent from last year, while UBS, Bear Stearns Cos. and Morgan Stanley expect on-campus hiring to be flat to slightly above 2002 levels.
Earnings
Federated Department Stores Inc.: The Cincinnati retailer, whose stores include Burdines and Macy's, said its third quarter earnings fell 37 percent, in part because of store closings and consolidation costs. The results were a penny higher than the consensus from Thomson First Call.
