LOCAL INSURER REQUESTS RATE HIKE: Rising costs stemming from a busy hurricane season prompted St. Petersburg insurer American Strategic Insurance Corp. on Tuesday to request an average 8.3 percent rate hike statewide for condominiums and single-family home policies. The Office of Insurance Regulation has 90 days to review the company's request and determine if an increase is justified. The increase would take effect Dec. 1 if approved. American Strategic Insurance is the state's 12th-largest insurer.
FLOATING CHAPEL CERTIFIED: The U.S. Coast Guard has completed certification of the nation's first floating chapel, a craft built for Weddings on Water Inc. of Clearwater. Powered by two 125-horsepower diesel engines, the craft has a capacity of 125 including 100 people seated in pews.
FANNIE MAE TOLD TO SAVE DOCUMENTS: Mortgage giant Fannie Mae, gripped by an accounting scandal and under investigation by the Justice Department, disclosed Tuesday that prosecutors had asked the company to preserve documents - including papers related to a report by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight that alleged earnings manipulation to meet Wall Street expectations and accounting improprieties by the company. In a regulatory filing, the government-sponsored company also reported it has been informed of eight lawsuits on behalf of shareholders that are being prepared or have been filed against it.
STARBUCKS CEO TO RETIRE: Starbucks Corp.'s president and chief executive, Orin Smith, said Tuesday he plans to retire early next year because he wants to slow down and focus on philanthropy, family and hobbies. Smith, 62, will step down March 31, 2005, handing the reins over to Jim Donald, president of the company's North American division. Donald, 50, was previously chairman, president and CEO of Pathmark Stores Inc., a New Jersey supermarket chain.
T-BILL RATES FALL: Interest rates on short-term Treasury securities fell in Tuesday's auction. The Treasury Department sold $19-billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.680 percent, down from 1.685 percent last week.
