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THE DAMAGE SO FAR: Citrus growers in Florida, the largest U.S. producer of oranges and grapefruits, said two hurricanes in the past month caused more than $485-million in crop damage, and that a third storm may cause even more loss. Hurricane Frances last week led to more than $200-million in damage and Hurricane Charley last month resulted in $285-million, Florida Citrus Mutual, a trade group, said. The storms, and concern about Hurricane Ivan, sent wholesale orange juice prices to a 14-month high.
LEFT HOLDING THE BAG: The Transportation Security Administration said Friday that it will pay an average of $110 each to 15,000 airline passengers who claim their possessions were lost, stolen or damaged when their bags were screened for bombs and weapons. The TSA began inspecting all checked bags at the end of 2002, as ordered by Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The requirement created a new chain of custody for checked bags, going from the airline to the TSA and back to the airline. Previously, the airlines had sole responsibility for checked baggage. Airline passengers have since been caught between the TSA and the airlines, who have failed to agree on who would compensate them for missing or damaged items.
WHOLESALE PRICES DIP: The economy got a double dose of encouraging news Friday as wholesale prices went down and moderating energy costs helped improve the country's trade deficit. The latest batch of economic reports suggested inflation, for the most part, is under control, and the economy has emerged from a late spring lull and, in the words of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, "regained some traction." The Labor Department's Producer Price Index, which measures costs of goods before they reach store shelves, dipped 0.1 percent in August after edging up by 0.1 percent in July. Cheaper gasoline, cars and food helped restrain wholesale prices last month. Excluding food and energy costs, core prices watched closely by economists also fell 0.1 percent in August, their first decline since February and an indication that most other prices were well-behaved, analysts said.
QWEST SETTLEMENT REPORTED: Qwest Communications International Inc. has agreed to settle fraud allegations from federal regulators for $250-million, a union official said Friday. John Thompson, a Communications Workers of America vice president, said he was notified by a company official of the tentative settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Qwest spokesman Bob Toevs said he could not comment, saying only that the company was cooperating with the SEC and the Justice Department. The Denver-based company was launched in 1988. After an SEC investigation began in 2002, Qwest restated its financial results for 2001 and 2002, lowering revenue by about $2.5-billion, and former chief executive Joe Nacchio stepped down. Qwest earlier this year put up about $500-million in reserves for ongoing litigation in shareholder lawsuits and securities investigations. Qwest's stock rose 8 cents to $2.96 a share in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
SPRINT, AT&T FINED: Sprint Corp. and AT&T Corp. will pay nearly $1.5-million in civil penalties to settle government claims that the companies violated federal credit laws, the Federal Trade Commission announced Friday. Under the agreement, Sprint will pay $1.1-million and AT&T will pay $365,000. The commission said the two companies either denied service to prospective customers or placed conditions on their service because of their credit reports. Shares in AT&T rose 9 cents to close at $15.13 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange, where Sprint shares fell 11 cents to close at $19.65.