MANUFACTURING INDEX SOARS: Numbers released Friday by the Institute for Supply Management showed new factory orders, production and employment rising significantly last month. Overall, the supply institute's Purchasing Managers' Index hit 66.2 percent, the highest since late 1983. A number above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is growing, while less than 50 percent shows contraction. The figure rose by 3.4 percentage points over November, confounding a consensus estimate that it would fall back to 61. With the pace of new orders reaching a level not seen since July 1950, some economists are hopeful that manufacturers will begin a serious run at replacing the 2.6-million factory jobs lost over the past three years.
FLB, LEV ENTER MARKETS: A pair of Florida spinoffs began trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange as separately listed companies. Shares of Levitt Corp. of Fort Lauderdale, a former subsidiary of BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc., began trading under the symbol LEV, and shares of Naples' First National Bankshares of Florida Inc., a former unit of FNB Corp. of Hermitage, Pa., began trading under the symbol FLB. Levitt's shares closed Friday at $20.15, up 25 cents or 1.3 percent. First National's shares finished at $18.74, up $2.09, or 13 percent.
BROWN & BROWN BUYS TWO: It took the most acquisitive company in the bay area only one day to announce its first two deals of the new year. General insurer Brown & Brown Inc. said Friday it has acquired Pashley Insurance Agency of Marmora, N.J. and Niagra Insurance Group of Williamsville, N.Y. Brown & Brown did not disclose the purchase price for either deal. The rapidly growing company, which is headquartered in Daytona Beach and Tampa and headed by former state House speaker J. Hyatt Brown, completed 16 acquisitions in 2003. Its shares closed Friday at $32.86 apiece, up 25 cents.
CUBA WANTS FLA. CATTLE: The head of Cuba's food importing agency has assured Florida cattlemen that his country will proceed with plans to import 250 beef cattle from the state in the first half of 2004. In a letter to Manatee County rancher James Strickland, Pedro Alvarez of Cuba's Alimport said his country has no intention of canceling contracts with American cattle exporters despite the discovery last month of mad cow disease in a cow in Washington state. J.P. Wright of Naples, who negotiated the contract with Cuba, said there may be a delay in the shipment, which will include cattle from Strickland's ranch as well as from a ranch in Fort Pierce. Wright said cattle are tested before export for nine diseases, including BSE. Under an earlier contract, Wright shipped 150 dairy cattle to Cuba in August.
2ND CONVICTION THROWN OUT: A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal for the second time has thrown out the conviction of Anthony Winter, a former Unisys supervisor charged with being the mastermind of a fraud ring in 1997 that stole nearly $500,000 from a state employees' health insurance fund. Winter had been convicted of 14 counts in 1999, but he appealed and the convictions were overturned. He was convicted again of some of the counts in 2002, but his second appeal was granted, too, this time because it took longer than 90 days to start the second trial.
SEC WARNS BofA UNIT: The securities unit of Bank of America Corp. said Friday that it may face civil action from the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to its trading activities. The Charlotte, N.C., bank said it received notification from the SEC's enforcement division that agency staff is considering recommending action against the bank's securities subsidiary. The allegations arose out of an SEC inquiry that began more than two years ago into trading activities in the firm's San Francisco office, the bank said.
STANLEY ELEVATES OPIE: Tools and hardware maker Stanley Works said Friday it has named John Opie, former vice chairman of General Electric Co., as nonexecutive interim chairman. Opie will hold the position until a successor for John Trani, who announced his retirement in May as chairman and chief executive, is found, the company said. Opie, Joseph J. DeAngelo, executive vice president of its tools group, and chief financial officer James M. Loree will form an office of the chairman until the New Britain, Conn., company finds a permanent chairman and chief executive, Stanley Works said.
STEWART JURORS OFF LIMITS: Prospective jurors in the fraud trial of Martha Stewart, founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., may not be contacted by the media, a federal judge ruled just days before jury selection is set to begin. Stewart, who built her homemaking savvy into a multimillion-dollar business, faces obstruction of justice and securities fraud charges over statements she made about her sale of ImClone Systems Inc. stock. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday, followed by opening arguments Jan. 22. The trial is set to take about six weeks.
PIZZA DUMPING IN CANADA?: Canada is investigating a complaint by McCain Foods Ltd., one of the country's largest food makers, that U.S. companies are selling frozen pizzas with "self-rising" crust at illegally low prices. Closely held McCain "alleges that the dumping of the goods in question is harming Canadian production by causing price erosion, price suppression and lost sales," the Canada Border Services Agency said in a statement in Ottawa. Dumping can mean exporters are selling goods abroad for less than at home or selling products at a loss. The border agency declined to name the companies McCain complained about.
PARMALAT QUESTIONING CONTINUES: Investigating judges questioned two of Parmalat's jailed former finance directors and an outside auditor and lawyer Friday as the investigation intensified into the dairy company's missing billions. Investigators are trying to trace the roots of Parmalat's spectacular fall - a case that has been called "Europe's Enron" because both companies allegedly used related companies to hide losses. Parmalat, Italy's eighth-largest company, filed for bankruptcy protection from its creditors after acknowledging a multibillion dollar hole in its balance sheet.
HIRING EXPECTATIONS CLIMB: Companies are expected to step up hiring in 2004 after a year in which household spending boosted the economy more than business investment, according to a group of economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal. The 54 economists surveyed for the Journal's 2004 economic forecast report said they thought the unemployment rate could fall to 5.5 percent by November. Hiring fueled by increasing corporate profits and economic growth could lead to as many as 1.5-million new jobs, the Journal said.
AUTO EXECS LOOK TO FUTURE: Automotive executives worldwide believe the industry is still at least a couple of years away from returning to peak profitability, but most say the worst is likely in the past, according to a new study. Twenty-nine of the 100 auto executives interviewed by KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm, said they expect industry profits to be at their greatest levels since 2000 in 2006. Only nine cited 2004 for a return to peak profits. In KPMG's survey last year, the highest number of executives pointed to 2005 as the year big profits would return.
