DOW, NASDAQ CLIMB: The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq composite index posted their strongest gains in three weeks Monday on news that the improving manufacturing sector has managed to create jobs - a key piece of the economic recovery that, to date, has been lacking. The Dow jumped 94.22, or 0.9 percent, to 10,678.14. The Nasdaq rose 27.98, or 1.4 percent, to 2,057.80 despite concerns about semiconductor stocks. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 11.02, or 1 percent, at 1,155.96.
ECONOMIC REPORTS FAVORABLE: The nation's manufacturing sector grew for the ninth consecutive month in February, the Institute for Supply Management reported Monday, saying its index was at 61.4 in February, down from a revised 63.6 in January and below the 62 reading forecast by analysts but still in positive territory. The Commerce Department, meanwhile, said consumers boosted spending by 0.4 percent in January as disposable income rose by 0.8 percent. Construction spending dipped 0.3 percent in January, the department reported, because of weakness in non-residential spending, but the overall level hovered near an all-time high.
ENRON PROSECUTOR RESIGNS: Leslie Caldwell, head of the Justice Department team prosecuting executives of Enron Corp., is stepping down after overseeing the prosecution of more than two dozen people since January 2002. Caldwell's replacement is the current deputy, Andrew Weissmann, the department said Monday. The team has brought charges against 28 people related to the 2001 collapse of Houston-based Enron amid revelations of fraudulent accounting. The announcement said Caldwell was leaving to pursue unspecified opportunities.
TSI BECOMES SYNIVERSE: TSI Telecommunication Services is changing its name to Syniverse Technologies, a coinage the Tampa company said reflected "synergy throughout the universe." The company handles billing between wireless carriers for calls that "roam" from one system to another, and it became nationally known as a key player processing requests under new federal rules permitting phone users to keep their numbers when they switch carriers. The company said its new name should help it as it moves into European markets.
SUPERIOR BUYS DALLAS COMPANY: Superior Uniform Group of Seminole has acquired a Dallas uniform manufacturer for an undisclosed sum. UniVogue makes uniforms for the hospitality, lodging, food service and culinary industries and had 2003 revenues of about $9.3-million. Gerald Benstock, chairman of Superior Uniform, said UniVogue's former owners, Curt and Syliva Hougland, are expected to remain with the company. Superior makes and sells uniforms for a range of markets including public safety, industrial and transportation.
SUNTRUST BRANCHES OUT: SunTrust is opening three more branches in the Tampa Bay area. That brings the Atlanta bank up to the 100-branch mark in its bay area region, which includes Pasco, Hernando, Citrus, Sumter, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. A branch at 11721 Boyette Road in Riverview is to open next week while branches at 800 S. Harbor Island Blvd. in Tampa and 11001 Causeway Blvd. in South Brandon will open in early April.
CRYO-CELL, EX-LICENSEES SETTLE: Lawsuits involving Cryo-Cell International of Clearwater and its former licensees in Europe and Switzerland have been settled. The European companies, which now do business as Life Sciences, had an exclusive license to market Cryo-Cell's program in Europe. Cryo-Cell sought to recover money damages and unpaid royalties. Life Sciences had countersued, claiming Cryo-Cell's proprietary freezer never functioned properly. Both Cryo-Cell and officials of the European licensees declined to comment on the settlement.
AIRLINES BACK OFF INCREASE: Continental, American and United Airlines, US Airways and Delta Air Lines dropped a $10 round trip fare boost after Northwest Airlines balked at charging it on some routes, at least the third such scrapped increase since December. Continental said Friday that the increase would help pay rising fuel costs, which are airlines' second-highest expense after labor. Northwest matched on only about a fifth of its fares. The major U.S. airlines usually scrap any fare increase that isn't matched by their largest rivals to avoid being at a price disadvantage.
FLORIDA SAYS NO TO EISNER: The board that governs the pension fund for Florida state workers decided Monday to withhold its support for Disney chairman and CEO Michael Eisner at the company's annual meeting in Philadelphia on Wednesday. The State Board of Administration of Florida, which manages the fourth-largest public pension fund in the nation, joined a growing list of state pension funds that have turned against Eisner. The Florida board cited Eisner's holding both chairman and CEO titles as the reason for its opposition.
UPS CUTTING AIRBUS ORDER?: United Parcel Service Inc. refused to say Monday whether it was seeking to cancel part of a $10-billion order for 90 passenger jets from European aircraft maker Airbus. The Wall Street Journal said UPS, responding to a shift in demand toward ground parcel services, had told Airbus and engine maker Pratt & Whitney that it wanted to drop 20 of the aircraft. John Flick, a UPS spokesman for international operations, declined to say whether UPS had sought to cancel or modify any orders. The Journal reported Airbus told UPS it could cancel only 16.
EU TRIGGERS TRADE SANCTIONS: The European Union sought to pressure the U.S. Congress into quickly changing its export subsidy laws by imposing sanctions Monday that could total $300-million in key industrial sectors by the end of the U.S. election year. The EU said it had run out of patience with the United States for failing to repeal the Foreign Sales Corporation legislation two years after the tax breaks it offers to exporters were ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization. EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy told reporters the EU hoped a breakthrough in Congress was "probably just a question of a few weeks."
AHOLD SELLS TO WAL-MART: Dutch retailer Ahold NV has sold the Brazilian grocery chain Bompreco and its 118 stores to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for $300-million. It sold its credit card operation Hipercard in Brazil to Unibanco SA for $200-million. Ahold, which is still recovering from an accounting scandal last year, said the sales were part of a larger plan to sell assets worth $3.1-billion to reduce its debt of about $13.7-billion. Ahold also plans to sell its its other Brazilian chain, Barbosa. Also for sale are its Bi-Lo and Bruno's subsidiaries in the United States, along with some stores in the Tops supermarket chain.
WARNER MUSIC SALE COMPLETED: Time Warner Inc. completed the sale of its Warner Music Group to an investor group led by Edgar Bronfman Jr. for about $2.6-billion in cash. Time Warner agreed to sell the business in November as part of a plan to reduce debt. The company said Monday it has an option to buy as much as 15 percent of the business at any time in the next three years, and as much as 20 percent under certain The music company will be the world's third-biggest and the largest independent. As many of 20 percent of Warner Music's global workforce, or 1,000 people, may lose their job as the new owners seek to cut costs.
T-BILL RATES MIXED: The Treasury Department sold $19-billion in three-month securities at a discount rate of 0.940 percent, up from 0.930 percent last week. An additional $17-billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 0.990 percent, down from 0.995 percent. The Federal Reserve said Monday the average yield for one-year constant-maturity Treasury bills dipped to 1.22 percent last week from 1.23 percent the previous week.
EARNINGS:
Publix Super Markets Inc.: The Lakeland grocery chain cited an improved economy and stock market for its improved earnings, which increased nearly 7 percent over last year. Publix stock, which is privately traded and distributed only to employees and insiders, hit its highest price ever, $51.50 a share, up $5.
