DEMAND FOR DURABLE GOODS RISES: Factories saw demand for big-ticket goods rebound in February, good news for the country's economic health and for manufacturers who have struggled to get their piece of the business recovery. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that orders for "durable" goods - costly manufactured products that are expected to last at least three years - rose by 2.5 percent last month.
MYSTERY COMPANY CONFIRMED: Hillsborough County economic development officials have confirmed a Manhattan financial services organization responsible for handling trillions of dollars in trades for the securities industry is considering a new operations center in Tampa. The St. Petersburg Times reported March 6 that the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., or DTCC, was the mystery company that the county said could bring 500 jobs with an average annual salary of more than $72,000. Hillsborough County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to provide the company as much as $1.5-million in incentives to move to Tampa.
SOUTH FINANCIAL PICKS UP SEVEN BRANCHES: South Financial Group, which last year bought Mercantile Bank in St. Petersburg, is buying Florida Banks Inc. of Jacksonville for $169-million as it expands in northern Florida. South Financial, based in Greenville, S.C., gains seven branches through the deal. The branches will be run by South Financial's Mercantile unit. It is paying Florida Banks shareholders 0.77 share of South Financial stock for each share they own.
TENET HEALTHCARE SETTLES FOR $22.5-MILLION: Tenet Healthcare Corp. has agreed to pay $22.5-million to settle an investigation involving a Tenet-owned hospital in Fort Lauderdale. It resolves a whistleblower lawsuit brought seven years ago by a former employee of the North Ridge Medical Center related to physician employment contracts, coding practices and the acquisition of certain medical practices.
MAITLAND COMPANY OFFERS INTERNET PHONE SERVICE: Broadline Communications of Maitland has started offering voice over Internet protocol services for residential customers in the 727, 813 and 941 area codes. The company, a subsidiary of FDN Communications, charges $19.95 per month for local phone service, with long distance charges of 3.5 cents per minute; unlimited domestic long-distance is available for $39.95 per month. Broadline will compete with Vonage Holdings Corp., which has been offering residential voice over IP service in the Tampa bay area for about two years. Several other companies, including Bright House Networks, Verizon and Knology Inc., plan to offer voice over IP service. AT&T offers the service to local business customers and plans to expand to residential customers by year end.
QVC CHARGED WITH DECEPTIVE CLAIMS: Liberty Media Corp.'s QVC shopping channel has been charged by the Federal Trade Commission with making deceptive claims. The FTC said the shopping channel violated a June 2000 order by making false or unsubstantiated claims about "For Women Only" weight loss products, Lite Bites weight loss products and Bee-Alive royal jelly dietary supplements.
SEC SAYS PUTNAM OUGHT TO PAY BIG: Putnam Investments, the first fund company formally accused of wrongdoing in the state and federal inquiries into alleged improper trading, should pay a financial penalty of "hundreds of millions of dollars," the Securities and Exchange Commission says.
