CONSUMER PRICES SIGNAL INFLATION: Rising prices for gasoline, air travel and clothing propelled consumer costs 0.5 percent higher in March, raising the possibility that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates this summer. Wednesday's reading on the Consumer Price Index revived concerns about the prospects of an inflation flareup now that the economy is rebounding, economists said. The 0.5 percent increase compares with February's 0.3 percent increase and matched January's figure. Especially jolting was the 0.4 percent increase in core consumer prices, excluding energy and food costs. The increase was 0.2 percent in both January and February.
RAYTHEON DIVISION GETS NEW DEAL: Raytheon's Network Centric Systems division in St. Petersburg has received an additional $9.6-million for its long-standing work on a sophisticated communications system for the U.S. Navy. The latest contract will allow Raytheon to reduce the cost, weight, power and cooling requirements of the Navy's cooperative engagement capability system. The CEC system improves the Navy's anti-air warfare capability. All work on the contract will take place at Raytheon's plant in St. Petersburg.
UNINSURED PATIENTS HURT HCA: HCA, the nation's largest hospital chain, reduced its first-quarter earnings estimates because of a rise in the number of uninsured patients and a decrease in its ability to collect uninsured accounts. As a result, the company's provision for doubtful accounts for the quarter ended March 31 is expected to be $694-million, or 11.7 percent of net revenues, compared with $428-million, or 8.1 percent, in the first quarter of 2003. HCA's revised earnings estimate is about 69 cents a share. Results will be reported April 22. HCA said nine markets nationwide account for 70 percent of the growth in uninsured patient volume. The Tampa bay area, where HCA has nine hospitals, is one of them.
VIVENDI ACCOUNTANT SETTLES: Vivendi Universal SA's former chief accountant, John Luczycki, agreed Wednesday to settle fraud charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Vivendi's accounting scandal cost the firm $50-million in penalties under an SEC settlement in December 2003. Former chief executive Jean-Marie Messier agreed to pay a $1-million fine and forgo a severance package worth about $25-million. Luczycki isn't being fined, but he has agreed to avoid future violations and be barred from public company accounting for at least three years. The SEC said its investigation is continuing.
LINDOWS BECOMES LINSPIRE: Lindows Inc. changed the name of its Lindows OS operating system Wednesday to Linspire, responding to a federal judge's refusal to halt Microsoft Inc.'s trademark infringement lawsuits outside the United States. Michael Robertson, founder and CEO, said Lindows would remain the company's name but the company's flagship Linux operating system would be renamed Linspire worldwide. It shut down its Web site, www.lindows.com and opened a new one named www.linspire.com
AMAZON TRIES SEARCH SERVICE: Online retailer Amazon.com quietly launched an Internet search service Wednesday, jumping into a marketplace already crowded with offerings from Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft Corp. The service, in test mode for now, is operated by a subsidary and branded separately. Like its competitors, Amazon's A9.com offers both a Web site and an Internet Explorer toolbar from which users can enter search terms. Searches also can be limited to just Amazon.com products - as well as the text of books available at Amazon.com. A9's service relies heavily on Google and Amazon's Alexa subsidiary.
STEWART LAWYERS DIG MORE DIRT: Pressing again for a new trial, Martha Stewart's lawyers said Wednesday they have uncovered more omissions by one of the jurors who convicted her last month. Papers filed in Manhattan federal court cited an allegation that juror Chappell Hartridge had embezzled money from the Bronx Little League and had a cocaine habit but disclosed neither on his jury questionnaire. The papers also said Hartridge's son was convicted of attempted robbery in 2000, a fact that also should have been disclosed. Stewart's lawyers have said they would have had Hartridge stricken from the jury had they known any of these facts.
EARNINGS
Apple Computer Inc.: Huge demand for iPod portable digital music players helped Apple more than triple its second-quarter earnings and easily beat Wall Street expectations. Analysts were expecting earnings of 10 cents per share on revenue of $1.8-billion.
Bank of America Corp.: Solid growth in consumer lending as well as in investment and brokerage services boosted B of A's first-quarter profits above Wall Street analysts' expectations. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had forecast earnings of $1.80 per share. The figures did not include results from FleetBoston Financial Corp.; the banks will begin reporting combined earnings next quarter.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc.: The chip manufacturer swung to a profit in the first quarter as strong sales of flash memory and computer processors boosted revenue by 73 percent. The latest earnings exceeded the Thomson First Call average estimate of 4 cents a share.
Brown & Brown Inc.: The general insurance company with headquarters in Tampa and Daytona Beach posted record revenues and net income in the first quarter as it continued to buy up small insurance agencies.
First National Bankshares of Florida Inc.: First National Bankshares, a diversified financial services company spun off last year from F.N.B. Corp., said results exceeded analysts' consensus estimate of $0.21 per share for its first quarter. The Naples bank recently announced plans to acquire Southern Community Bancorp of Orlando.
