HOME CONSTRUCTION RISES: Residential construction sizzled in October, reaching the highest level of activity in 17 years, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Builders broke ground on 1.96-million units, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, representing a 2.9 percent increase from September's pace. The level of activity in October marked the strongest monthly performance since January 1986. Economists had predicted that construction would decline in October to about 1.85-million units.
AT&T, MCI OFFER FIGURES: AT&T and MCI submitted information Wednesday to the Florida Public Service Commission about how their instate long distance rates would be affected if the commission allows Verizon, Sprint and BellSouth to reduce access fees for such calls in exchange for 30 to 90 percent increases in their local basic rates. But in MCI's filing, Joseph Dunbar, senior manager for regulatory compliance and reporting, didn't say how much its per minute long distance rates would fall. He also said the marketplace would determine how long reductions would last. Both companies said some of the information was confidential for competitive reasons. Only PSC commissioners and staff, as well as other parties to the case who sign a confidentiality agreement, may view the data.
BLUECROSS NAMES SUCCESSOR: Dr. Robert Lufrano will become chairman and CEO of BlueCross BlueShield of Florida on Feb. 1, succeeding Michael Cascone Jr., who will retire then. Lufrano has been president of the Jacksonville health insurer since April 2002 and was chief operating officer for a year before that. He joined BlueCross in 1990 from the Lutheran General Healthcare System in Chicago. Lufrano's medical experience is in emergency medicine.
TAMPA SPACE FIGURES FIRM: The market for leased industrial space in the Tampa area appears to have stabilized and is expected to strengthen next year, according to Advantis, the commercial real estate division of the St. Joe Co. The direct vacancy rate, excluding subleased space, fell from 9.1 percent in the second quarter to 8.9 percent for the quarter ending Sept. 30. Average asking rents, however, declined by 8 cents to $4.74 per square foot over the same period.
AMC, LOEWS ARE TALKING: AMC Entertainment Inc. and Loews Cineplex Entertainment Corp. are discussing a possible combination. There is no assurance an agreement can be reached, AMC and Loews said in a statement. The combination would create a company with more than 5,600 movie screens, Variety reported.
J&J SHARPENS THE AXE: Health care giant Johnson & Johnson plans to cut costs and a "modest" number of jobs by centralizing some functions of its five pharmaceutical companies in a strategy aimed at freeing up money for new product development. The plan is part of a companywide effort to lower overhead, according to a letter to employees of the five businesses: Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Ortho Biotech Products, Janssen Pharmaceutica Products and Ortho Oncology & Specialty Therapeutics, all based in New Jersey, and Centocor Inc. of Malvern, Pa.
GE SEES BRIGHT FUTURE: General Electric Co. expects to return to double-digit profit growth in 2005 after being held to modest gains next year, the huge conglomerate said. GE also expects to boost its dividend. The announcement came a day after GE announced it would spin off most of its life and mortgage insurance businesses into a new company. GE reaffirmed earnings for the current fourth quarter of 45 to 47 cents per share and $1.55 to $1.57 per share for the year, with 11 of 13 businesses expected to have double-digit earnings growth in the quarter and next year.
UNITEDHEALTH RAISES ESTIMATES: UnitedHealth Group Inc., the largest U.S. health insurer, boosted its earnings forecast for next year as the company improves operating margins and buys competitors. The insurer expects to earn $3.58 to $3.61 a share in 2004 as revenue rises above $33-billion, the company said. UnitedHealth had forecast $3.52 to $3.55 a share. Both forecasts are net income, company spokesman John Penshorn said.
BERTELSMANN CHAIRMAN QUITS: Bertelsmann's chairman, Gerd Schulte-Hillen, announced his resignation Wednesday after of a clash over corporate strategy with the German media giant's chief executive. Schulte-Hillen and CEO Gunter Thielen had developed "different views on the strategic direction of Bertelsmann," the company said in a statement, without elaborating. Bertelsmann and Sony Corp. announced plans this month to merge their music businesses, bringing together the world's No. 2 and No. 5 music companies.
ABERCROMBIE SUED AGAIN: Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is accused in a lawsuit of having a "whites only" hiring practice that employs few minorities, and then only for the stock room. The suit, which seeks class action status, was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Camden, N.J., by the Rainbow/Push Coalition. The suit was filed on behalf of Brandy Hawk, a black woman who said she was denied a sales job in Cherry Hill, N.J., because she doesn't fit the "Abercrombie image." The allegations are similar to those made in a lawsuit filed in June in San Francisco.
NYSE MEMBERS LIKE REFORMS: About 98 percent of New York Stock Exchange members approve of the changes proposed by interim chairman John Reed. Of 1,136 valid proxies and ballots received by Tuesday, 1,112 seatholders favored installing a new, independent board to help minimize conflicts of interest, the NYSE said. Federal regulators still must approve the measure. At the center of Reed's plan is the elimination of the current 27-member board, and the establishment of a slimmer board of six to 12 independent directors who will oversee regulation and compensation.
EBBERS PRELIM STARTS DEC. 1: Oklahoma County District Judge James Paddleworth has refused for the second time a prosecution request to delay the preliminary hearing for former WorldCom chief executive Bernhard Ebbers. Ebbers' hearing on state securities law violations will go on as scheduled Dec. 1. The ruling came despite arguments by state Attorney General Drew Edmondson that the hearing would interfere with a federal trial in New York of Scott Sullivan, former chief financial officer of WorldCom, now known as MCI.
UAL SETTLES DISCRIMINATION CASE: UAL Corp.'s United Airlines agreed to spend $1.5-million on worker civil rights training after the Transportation Department found that the carrier improperly kept off flights some travelers perceived to be Arab, Middle Eastern, Southeast Asian or Muslim. The agreement ends an investigation of allegations of discrimination covering about four months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the department said in a consent order. United "in a few instances" kept passengers off flights based on ethnic or religious background, the agency said.
HOLLINGER UNDER INVESTIGATION: Hollinger International Inc. and its audit committee were subpoenaed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after chief executive Officer Conrad Black stepped down Monday over unauthorized payments he received. Hollinger spokesman Paul Healy said the company will cooperate with the request. Canadian securities regulators also are looking into possible irregularities at the newspaper publisher and coordinating their efforts with the SEC, a spokesman said Wednesday.
Earnings
Hewlett-Packard Co.: HP's fourth quarter earnings inched past Wall Street estimates Wednesday as the computer giant reported strong sales in its traditional printing market, but executives remained cautious about growth in 2004.
Excluding special items, HP earned $1.1-billion, or 36 cents a share. That compares with $721-million, or 24 cents a share, in the same period of 2002. Analysts were expecting HP to earn 35 cents a share, according to a survey by Thomson First Call.
