DOW JUMPS 102 POINTS: Wall Street sprinted higher Monday as investors ignored Friday's disappointing employment report and brushed aside concerns about the dollar. Analysts say many investors were instead betting that the Federal Reserve will indicate that it plans to leave rates unchanged for some time when it meets today. The Fed has said it wouldn't raise rates for a "considerable period." The Dow closed up 102.59, or 1 percent, at 9,965.27, having gained 0.8 percent in the previous week. The Nasdaq composite index rose 11.03, or 0.6 percent, to 1,948.85, following a weekly decline of 1.1 percent. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 7.80, or 0.7 percent, to 1,069.30, having risen 0.3 percent.
DOLLAR KEEPS DROPPING: The dollar fell to multiyear lows against European, British and Japanese currency Monday amid persistent worries over the U.S. economy. The euro surged to a new high against the dollar for the seventh day in a row, bringing its gains against the greenback this year to more than 16 percent. In late New York trading, the euro drifted slightly lower, buying $1.2228, up from $1.2166 late Friday. The dollar also sank to an 11-year low against the pound, which hit a high of $1.7361, and a three-year low against the yen, at 107.38.
F.N.B. FLORIDA TO BE FLB: The Florida spinoff of F.N.B. Corp. has been cleared for trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FLB. The $3.8-billion spinoff, called First National Bankshares of Florida, will be based in Naples and include all F.N.B.'s Florida branches. The spinoff is expected to be completed in January. The rest of F.N.B., which will be based in Hermitage, Pa., will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the new symbol FNB on Dec. 17, changing from its current symbol of FBAN.
FEWER LAYOFFS IN PASCO: The decision last week by Pasco Beverage to sell its chilled juice operation to Johanna Foods of Flemington, N.J., may cost fewer jobs than first expected. While as many as 50 managers still might be jobless, union workers to be laid off dropped from 200 to 146, said Janet Hudson, president of Local 43 of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which represents workers at the plant. The company has agreed to help displaced workers with health care coverage and to pay severance based on the number of years of employment.
SULLIVAN INDICTMENT UPHELD: U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones refused Monday to toss out an indictment against Scott Sullivan that accuses the former chief financial officer of WorldCom Inc. of lying on financial statements to secure more than $4-billion in credit for the company in 2001. Jones did not elaborate, saying she would issue a written decision later. Sullivan faces trial Feb. 2 in Manhattan.
MORE EDDIE BAUERS TO CLOSE: Spiegel Inc., the bankrupt chain store and catalog retailer, asked bankruptcy court to let it close about 30 more Eddie Bauer stores after the holidays. Spiegel has closed 60 Eddie Bauer stores along with distribution and customer service centers since filing for Chapter 11 protection in March. Closing the stores after the holidays, when retail sales peak, may boost returns for Spiegel and creditors owed more than $1.7-billion.
BANKATLANTIC STRIKES DEAL: BankAtlantic will become the "official bank" of the Tampa Bay Lightning under a marketing sponsorship announced Monday. Financial terms were not disclosed. The Fort Lauderdale bank has been trying to build brand awareness in the Tampa Bay area, where it has eight branches. BankAtlantic will have ATM machines in the St. Pete Times Forum as well as advertisements and gameday promotions. In addition, BankAtlantic's Tampa Bay office will house the accounts of the Tampa Bay Lightning and provide cash management services to the team and its executives.
FREDDIE MAC PICKS CEO: Freddie Mac named Richard F. Syron, the former American Stock Exchange chief with a long career in government, as its new chairman and chief executive. He succeeds Gregory Parseghian, who was ousted in August after being implicated in accounting irregularities at the home financing company, a publicly traded corporation with $40-billion revenue a year. Syron, 60, is executive chairman of Thermo Electron Corp. He served five years as chairman and CEO of the American Stock Exchange and from 1989 to 1994 was president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
"HERALD' GETS NEW PUBLISHER: Henry Haitz III, publisher of the Centre Daily Times in State College, Pa., has been named president and publisher of the Bradenton Herald. Haitz will succeed Mac Tully on Jan. 1. Tully has been named Knight Ridder vice president of operations. Haitz, 39, has been publisher of the Centre Daily Times since 2001. He joined the newspaper in 1996 as chief financial officer, was named vice president and CFO in 1998 and then executive vice president and general manager in 1999.
US AIRWAYS SHUNS EXPEDIA: US Airways Group Inc. said it's no longer offering flight reservations on Expedia.com, the biggest travel Web site, after Expedia raised the fee it charges to book US Airways flights. Expedia, owned by Barry Diller's InterActiveCorp, raised the fee for US Airways to $8.99 from $5 while allowing customers to book other airlines' flights for a $5 fee. The airline is continuing discussions with Expedia, US Airways spokesman David Castelveter said in an interview.
BAR LOUIE GOES INTERNATIONAL: In the ebb and flow of restaurants at International Plaza, Prezzo is out and Bar Louie is in. Bar Louie, a Chicago chain, is expected to open a store at the mall's Bay Street plaza Dec. 15. Italian restaurant Prezzo closed Sept. 28, mall spokeswoman Elizabeth Freid said. Its space remains available.
PODS GETS EQUITY BOOST: PODS Inc. of Clearwater, which rents out portable storage units, recently received a $15-million equity investment from the Lafayette Investment Fund, managed by Hunt Private Equity Group Inc. in Texas. In addition, PODS will receive $3-million from private investors and a $25-million credit line from Congress Financial Corp in New York. The $43-million in new funds will be used to open new corporate-owned locations, expand its manufacturing capacity and support its franchisee base.
VOICE-OVER-IP BLOSSOMS: Time Warner Cable announced a deal Monday with Sprint Corp. and MCI Inc. to offer phone service using voice-over-Internet technology, one of the surest signs yet that cable companies are assaulting the local phone industry. While other cable companies sell phone service to their customers in selected markets, this deal is the first time the voice-over-IP technology will power nearly nationwide phone service by a cable company. Markets served by the deal do not include the Tampa Bay area, where the former Time Warner operations are now managed by Bright House Networks.
LOWE'S ANNOUNCES BUYBACK: Lowe's Cos., the home improvement chain, said Monday it will buy back up to $1-billion of its common stock. The buyback represents about 2.3 percent of Lowe's 786-million shares outstanding. Lowe's stock closed Monday at $56.79, up 92 cents, or 1.6 percent, on the New York Stock Exchange.
ENRON BANKRUPTCY PLAN DELAYED: Enron Corp. has received a fourth postponement to present a judge with its plan to emerge from one of the most complex and costly bankruptcies in history. A filing made last week in the bankruptcy case in New York said Enron will file a third revision to its proposed reorganization plan next week and will present it to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez for preliminary approval Dec. 22. The latest version of the plan was to be presented to Gonzalez today.
NASDAQ WANTS MORE AUTHORITY: A frenzied trading day in one of its stocks is prompting the Nasdaq stock market to ask regulators to assert its authority to halt trading in its listed stocks on other markets. Questions are still swirling about the unusual trading that occurred Friday in shares of Corinthian Colleges Inc. The stock began trading down sharply Friday morning, in a mishap apparently triggered by an error by a trader. Nasdaq then halted trading. But one venue, run by Archipelago Holdings LLC, resumed trading in Corinthian shares before Nasdaq resumed. In the aftermath, transactions have been canceled, traders are complaining of losses and Nasdaq and Archipelago both said they have notified the Securities and Exchange Commission.
T-BILL RATES MIXED: The Treasury Department sold $16-billion in three-month securities at a discount rate of 0.900 percent, down from 0.925 percent last week. An additional $16-billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 1.000 percent, down from 1.030 percent. Also, the average yield for one-year constant-maturity T-bills rose to 1.37 percent last week from 1.35 percent the week before.
