By Staff and Wire Reports
Published August 3, 2004
MANUFACTURING UP IN JULY: The manufacturing sector of the U.S. economy expanded at a respectable rate in July on strong orders and higher production rates, the Institute for Supply Management said. Its manufacturing index registered 62.0 last month, up from 61.1 in June. It was the 14th consecutive monthly increase and was in line with the consensus forecast of analysts. Also, the Commerce Department reported that construction spending slipped 0.3 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted $985.2-billion after expanding a revised 0.1 percent in May. The construction report was weaker than economists expected.
SEC FRAUD CASES DROP OFF: For the first time since corporate fraud emerged as a national issue, enforcement actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission are slipping - down 14.7 percent in the current fiscal year. Regulators aren't sure what's driving the trend, but it has triggered speculation that the crackdown on corporate crime may be having an effect on executive behavior. SEC chairman William Donaldson called the decline "encouraging." He was quick to add that it was too early for the SEC to declare victory in the war on corporate corruption.
SEC GETS MAIL ON PROPOSALS: The Securities and Exchange Commission has received 8,375 letters and e-mails from individual investors and others since it asked for comment on more than a dozen proposals it has floated to clean up abuses in the $7.5-trillion mutual fund industry. Paul Roye, director of the SEC division that oversees mutual funds, says the huge response reflects the fact that people recognize they have a stake in the outcome of the biggest regulatory changes in the mutual fund industry in more than 60 years.
EURO DISNEY PUSHES DEADLINE: Some lenders are balking at Euro Disney's announced plans for a financial restructuring, the theme park company said Monday as it reported that attendance at its two parks east of Paris had declined this spring. The company, which is controlled by the Walt Disney Co., warned again that it would not be able to pay its debts if the restructuring was not approved. It said lenders had agreed to continue negotiating with a new deadline of Sept. 30.
FED CUTS 270 MORE JOBS: Regional Federal Reserve banks will close nine more check-processing centers and eliminate 270 jobs to consolidate operations as check volumes decline, the U.S. central bank's financial services policy committee said. The announcement follows last year's round of consolidation, when the U.S. central bank slashed its check-processing staff by 400 jobs and announced plans to reduce check-handling centers from 45 locations to 32 by the end of this year. The Fed said it plans to close more locations and consolidate into 23 locations by 2006.
T-BILL RATES MIXED: The Treasury Department sold $18-billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.465 percent, up from 1.425 percent last week. An additional $16-billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 1.735 percent, unchanged from the week before. Also, the average yield for one-year constant maturity Treasury bills rose to 2.16 percent last week from 2.12 percent the week before.
INSURANCE CONSUMER ADVOCATE RETURNS: Seven years after leaving the post of insurance consumer advocate, the state's first, because of a political tiff, Steve Burgess is back. Florida Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallager on Monday named Burgess, 56, to the job, replacing Elsie Crowell, who recently retired. Currently Florida's deputy public counsel, Burgess left the consumer advocate job in 1997 after a fallout with then-Insurance Commissioner Bill Nelson.
BELLSOUTH TACKLES CABLE COMPETITION: BellSouth, taking direct aim at cable TV rivals, today will launch a campaign to offer digital satellite-delivered television service to customers in nine Southeastern states. New and existing DirecTV subscribers will get $2, $5 or $10 off their monthly satellite bill if they also subscribe to a bundle of BellSouth services. The size of discount depends on the number of services purchased. BellSouth and other phone companies have been losing customers to cable providers, which are prying them away with discounted bundles of video, phone and high-speed Internet service.
AETNA STARTS OWN PHARMACY: The insurer Aetna Inc. said Monday it will create a joint venture to provide specialty drugs to its members with severe chronic illnesses while holding down costs. Aetna Specialty Pharmacy will be jointly owned by Aetna and Priority Healthcare of Lake Mary, whose expertise is in the specialty pharmacy business, including clinical programs, personnel and proprietary technology. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The venture will operate a 45,000-square-foot distribution center scheduled to open in 2005.
DOW NAMES NEW CEO: Dow Chemical Co. announced Monday that Andrew Liveris would succeed William Stavropoulos as CEO on Nov. 1. Liveris, 50, was elected president and COO last November and was charged with overseeing Dow's recovery plan and reviewing the company's strategy and structure. Previously, Liveris served as business group president for performance chemicals. He has worked for Dow since 1976. Stavropoulos, 65, who ran the company from 1995 to 2000 and returned in 2002 after two years of poor performance, will continue as chairman.
"SENIOR' DIRECTORS LEAVE NIKE: The three oldest members of Nike Inc.'s board of directors have stepped down, citing increased scrutiny of the age of company directors. "People who buy stock look at the age of the directors," said John Jaqua, 84, who has been on the board since Nike's founding in 1968. Jaqua; Richard Donohue, 77, a director since 1977; and Chuck Robinson, 85, a director since 1978, quit together.
EARNINGS
Publix Super Markets Inc.: The Lakeland supermarket chain said its earnings rose 24 percent in the second quarter as sales in stores open more than a year increased 5 percent. Publix stock, which is not publicly traded and distributed only to Publix employees, soared $6.25 to $58.50 a share in its most recent appraisal.
Procter & Gamble Co.: The huge consumer products company reported Monday that its earnings soared 44 percent in its fourth fiscal quarter, with growth in its beauty and health care businesses pushing its full-year sales past $50-billion for the first time.
Ablest Inc.: The Clearwater staffing company said second-quarter earnings rose 10.6 percent over last year.
