OIL TOPS $55, THEN DIPS: Oil futures prices briefly topped $55 a barrel Wednesday after a report showed U.S. supplies of distillate fuel, which includes heating oil and diesel, shrank for a fifth straight week, heightening fears of a winter-fuels crunch. After rising as high as $55.20 per barrel, crude for November delivery settled at $54.92 per barrel, up $1.63 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, reversing a two-day slide.
LOCAL TECH COMPANIES GROW: Four companies in the Tampa Bay area are among the fastest-growing tech businesses in the country, according to the 2004 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 rankings (www.fast500.com) Based on revenue growth between 1999 and 2003, the list had Z-Tel Technologies, a Tampa phone company, at No. 62; Jagged Peak Inc., a Tampa software company, at No. 142; Tampa Internet company NetWolves Corp. at No. 197; and First Advantage Corp., a St. Petersburg software company, at No. 392. Florida had 10 companies on the list, led by Findwhat.com, an Internet company in Fort Myers, at No. 21.
PROGRESS DEBT RATING UNDER REVIEW: Moody's Investors Service said Wednesday it placed Progress Energy Inc.'s debt ratings under review for possible downgrade and changed its outlook on the ratings to "negative" from "stable." Moody's said the review was prompted by concerns about the company's debt levels, uncertainty surrounding a pending Florida rate case and the timing of Progress' recovery of storm-restoration costs after the recent Florida hurricanes. The Moody's action came a day after Standard & Poor's Ratings Service said it had lowered its outlook on Progress' ratings.
AT&T SUIT CAN PROCEED: A Leon County Circuit Court judge decided Wednesday to allow state Attorney General Charlie Crist's lawsuit against long-distance carrier AT&T to proceed. After Crist sued AT&T in April for illegal marketing and billing practices, the phone company sought to move the case to the Florida Public Service Commission. But Leon County Circuit Court Judge Nikki Ann Clark rejected AT&T's request. AT&T said in April that a computer error caused it to erroneously bill about 1-million customers nationwide for services they never requested.
HSN CHOOSES VP: HSN has chosen Jay Herratti senior vice president of strategy and business development. Before joining the TV and Web retailer, Herratti worked as an executive vice president at Gordon Brothers and as senior vice president of e-business strategy and development for Federated Department Stores.
FREEDOM BANK EXPANDS BOARD: Freedom Bank of America, a community bank being planned in St. Petersburg, has added an African-American member and a woman to its board to increase diversity. Bob Blakley, the bank's chief executive, said Wednesday the appointments of local dentist Reggie Ligon and real estate broker Wendy Giffin were not directly spurred by the area NAACP's ongoing campaign to improve diversity on bank boards. "We were committed from day one to have a board representing the community," Blakley said. Freedom Bank also named new senior lending manager Marcus Greene to its board, bringing the panel to 12 members.
DISNEY SELLS MALL STORES: The Walt Disney Co. will sell its chain of 313 mall-based retail stores to the Children's Place while continuing to sells dolls, toys and other Disney-branded products through its catalog and Web site. The Children's Place Retail Stores Inc. said the deal was expected to close next month. The Children's Place will continue to operate the stores under the Disney name with a 15-year licensing agreement and three, 10-year renewal options. It will not make an upfront payment to Disney. Instead, it will provide a "working capital adjustment payment," valued by one analyst at $50-million to $100-million.
COMPETITOR WANTS TO BUY HUFFY: A competitor to Huffy Corp., which filed Wednesday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, said it was interested in buying Huffy, which makes about a third of the bicycles sold in the United States. Chris Hornung, chief executive officer of Pacific Cycle, said parent company Dorel Industries is interested in acquiring Huffy and would keep the company's name. Huffy, which recently said it was considering selling the company, filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday, citing losses largely from a Canadian sports equipment company. The company lost $7.5-million in 2003 after losing $1.4-million in 2002. It has yet to file quarterly financial reports for 2004 and has not said why. The company's stock plummeted from $6.80 a share in December 2003 to 58 cents in August, when the New York Stock Exchange suspended trading because the company's market value had fallen too low.
LVMH TO BUY GLENMORANGIE: French luxury goods company LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis said Wednesday it plans to buy whisky maker Glenmorangie PLC for about $541-million. Glenmorangie put itself up for sale in August. French company Pernod Ricard SA withdrew from the bidding Wednesday, leaving LVMH as the preferred suitor. LVMH will launch its formal offer over the next 28 days, through its Moet Hennessy arm. Glenmorangie, founded in 1893, is the world's sixth-largest Scotch-whisky producer by volume and makes single malts Glenmorangie, Glen Moray and Ardbeg.
EARNINGS
EBay Inc.: The world's largest Internet auctioneer said third-quarter earnings surged 77 percent as the number of listings rose and the company expanded its PayPal e-mail payment service in Europe. Listings grew by 48 percent to 348-million, helped by rising popularity of online auctions in 20 countries outside of the United States.
Pfizer Inc.: Strong sales of key products drove third-quarter earnings at the world's largest drug company up 50 percent. However, the company warned its revenue and income growth could be tempered next year by several factors, including loss of exclusivity on several key drugs and foreign exchange rates.
Linens 'n Things Inc.: The textiles and housewares chain said profit for its latest quarter skidded 18 percent, hurt by lower guest traffic. On Wednesday, the company said it has intensified its marketing and merchandising efforts to drive guest traffic in the fourth quarter.
Eastman Kodak Co. : The world's biggest photography company said third-quarter profit rose almost fivefold on income from the sale of its satellite photography business as part of Chief Executive Officer Daniel Carp's digital imaging strategy.
Allstate Corp.: The second-largest U.S. home and auto insurer said third-quarter earnings tumbled 92 percent as hurricanes erased out most of the company's profits. Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne cost Allstate $1.06-billion.
Office Depot Inc.: The nation's second-largest office supply retailer said third-quarter earnings fell nearly 2 percent as back-to-school and European sales were weaker than expected. The announcement comes just more than two weeks after Bruce Nelson was pressured to step down as chairman and CEO.
Lucent Technologies Inc.: The telecommunications equipment maker, whose multibillion dollar losses forced it to shed 80 percent of its work force, has recorded its first profitable year since 2000. The results marked Lucent's fifth-straight profitable quarter, after 13 quarters of losses.
Wyeth: The maker of the top-selling antidepressant, Effexor, swung to a profit in the third-quarter after reporting a loss in the year-ago period because of a charge to increase reserves for its diet drug litigation. Effexor sales were up 38 percent to $893-million and on track to exceed Wyeth's goal of $3-billion for the year.
Honeywell International Inc.: The aerospace and high-tech manufacturer reported an 8 percent increase in third-quarter profits behind double-digit growth in sales for three of the conglomerate's four business divisions. But Quinten Nuffer, an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group, said the company was expected to exceed expectations.
Bausch & Lomb Inc.: The eye-care products maker, propelled once more by a sharp rise in sales of contact lenses, eye-care drugs and vision-correction surgical products, posted a 34 percent jump in third-quarter profit and handily beat Wall Street forecasts.
Colgate-Palmolive Co.: The consumer-products company posted a drop in third-quarter profit despite improved sales, citing higher marketing and raw-materials costs. The results met Wall Street's diminished estimates, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson First Call.
Northern Trust Corp.: The money manager that oversees $2.4-trillion in assets said third-quarter profit rose 1 percent, helped by increased trust fees, higher net interest income and a strong loan portfolio.
Cingular Wireless LLC: Operating profits slipped 5.5 percent at the second-largest U.S. mobile-telephone company despite gains in subscribers and revenue in what was likely the last full quarter before the company completes its $41-billion purchase of AT&T Wireless Services Inc.
