JOB GROWTH WON'T SKYROCKET: Employers nationwide are cautiously optimistic about demand for their products and services and plan to hire slightly more workers in the first quarter of the year, according to a quarterly survey being released today of 16,000 businesses by staffing company Manpower Inc. Some 20 percent of the companies said they expect to hire more people in the first quarter, while 13 percent intend to cut jobs. The rest anticipate no change or are uncertain about hiring prospects from January to March. "This is not going to be an easy environment for people to be finding jobs. So, it's still difficult out there," said Jeffrey Joerres, Manpower chairman and CEO.
TROPICAL SPORTSWEAR RATING CUT: Standard & Poor's Corp. on Monday lowered its credit ratings for $140-million of Tropical Sportswear Int'l Corp. secured and unsecured debt. The rating agency cited the battered Tampa apparel company's continued poor performance and the likelihood it will report a "significant loss" for the fiscal year. Tropical's stock, which traded as high as $5 a share in October, closed Monday at $3.13, down 10 cents. That put the company's market capitalization, what Wall Street thinks the company is worth, at $35-million.
SATURN WORKERS APPROVE: United Auto Workers employed by General Motors Corp.'s Saturn division overwhelmingly approved a new labor agreement Sunday that could end the unique agreement the union has with the automaker. As part of the agreement, workers will receive a $3,000 bonus before Christmas and agreed to negotiate a transition to the national pact with GM that would allow the company to lay off employees for the first time in its history. UAW members also receive a performance bonus in the second year of the contract, a 2 percent raise in the third year and a 3 percent raise in the fourth year.
BELLSOUTH TO CUT JOBS: BellSouth Corp. plans to eliminate more than 1,000 positions next quarter but said Monday it was unclear how many people would be affected. The 1,074 positions being cut include those already lost as the company prepares as announced to exit the pay phone business this year. BellSouth, based in Atlanta, has about 76,000 employees worldwide.
GERMANS BUY UP DIAL: Dial Corp., the maker of Dial soap, Renuzit air fresheners and Armour Star canned meats, is being acquired for about $2.9-billion in cash by Henkel, a German maker of detergents, cosmetics and adhesives. The deal, announced late Sunday, would give Henkel a bigger foothold in North America and a portfolio of well-known brands. It allows Dial to become part of a larger, global operation to compete better with consumer products behemoths like Procter & Gamble and Unilever PLC. The deal will keep Dial's headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz.
DISNEY PENSION COSTS CLIMB: Walt Disney Co. said it expects pension and post-retirement medical costs to rise to $375-million in the 2004 fiscal year ending Sept. 30, from $131-million in fiscal 2003. The entertainment giant also expects to contribute $130-million to its pension plans in fiscal 2004, up from $25-million in fiscal 2003, according to the company's annual report filed late Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
DILLARD'S BOOSTS CREDIT: Dillard's Inc. more than doubled its senior revolving credit line with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and FleetBoston Financial Corp. to $1-billion and extended it to December 2008, Dillard's said in a statement. The company will be able to tap $835-million of the line immediately, while the remainder will be available upon the redemption of some preferred securities. The previous credit line was $400-million. Most of the credit line will help chief executive William Dillard II introduce more clothing carrying Dillard's own brand to try to end 11 quarters of falling sales.
GATORS BEAT SEMINOLES: Florida may have lost its annual gridiron grudge match with Florida State, but Gator fans can take pride in winning this year's battle for licensed memorabilia sales. Collegiate Licensing Co. of Atlanta recently announced its top-25 rankings for college-licensed memorabilia sales. The Gators came in at No. 6 while the Seminoles ranked No. 10. North Carolina, Michigan and Notre Dame were the three best-selling schools. Miami was No. 15. Last year, Florida and Florida State earned about $2-million each from sales of things such as T-shirts, sweat shirts, hats, stuffed animals, pencils, pens and just about anything else that the Gator and Chief Osceola school mascots will fit on.
PFIZER PLANS STOCK BUYBACK: Pfizer Inc., the world's biggest drugmaker, plans to buy back as much as $5-billion in shares and boost its dividend. The company recently finished a $16-billion stock repurchase. The next round of shares will be bought at various times through the end of next year, Pfizer said in a statement. The stock will be used for "general corporate purposes," Pfizer said. The company also raised its dividend to 17 cents a share for the first quarter, up from 15 cents in each quarter last year.
T-BILL RATES FALL: The Treasury Department sold $15-billion in three-month securities at a discount rate of 0.885 percent, down from 0.900 percent last week. An additional $14-billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 0.980 percent, down from 1.000 percent. The Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year constant maturity Treasury bills fell to 1.31 percent last week from 1.37 percent the previous week.
