J.C. PENNEY NAMES CEO: J.C. Penney Co. Inc. named a former chairman and chief executive of Macy's to lead the department store company, replacing Allen Questrom. Myron Ullman III, 57, an executive with luxury retailer LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, will take Questrom's place on Dec. 1, Penney said Wednesday. Questrom said he had planned to finish his contract but left early when the company had a chance to hire Ullman, whom he knew from his days leading Federated Department Stores Inc., which bought Ullman-led R.H. Macy & Co. Inc. in the mid 1990s.
Z-TEL SIGNS DEAL WITH QWEST: Z-Tel Technologies Inc.'s share price more than doubled Wednesday on heavy trading after the Tampa phone company said it signed a network-access agreement with a subsidiary of Qwest Communications International of Denver. Although Z-Tel is shifting to a focus on providing Internet phone services, providing service over traditional phone networks remains a large part of its business. The Qwest pact, which enables Z-Tel to continue providing phone service in Qwest's 14-state territory, suggests Z-Tel's traditional phone business might not shrivel up as quickly or as completely as feared. Z-Tel's shares closed Wednesday at 78 cents a share, up 44 cents, on more than 16 times average volume.
TAMPA ELECTRIC WANTS DECISION RECONSIDERED: Tampa Electric Co. asked the Florida Public Service Commission Wednesday to reconsider its September decision to require the utility to absorb $15.3-million in coal-transport costs it had planned to pass on to customers. The utility also asked for clarification on bidding guidelines included in the PSC's decision. The PSC's vote was based on its view that Tampa Electric hadn't tried hard enough to find the lowest-cost provider of coal transport services before renewing a long-standing contract with TECO Energy subsidiary TECO Transport. Tampa Electric said the transport rate stipulated by the PSC was too low and the commission's alleged failure to consider all relevant facts denied the utility "due process and equal protection of the law."
REGULATORS REJECT WORKERS' COMP RATE CUT: Florida insurance regulators rejected a proposed cut in workers' compensation rates, saying the cut should be deeper. Kevin McCarty, Florida's commissioner of insurance regulation, on Wednesday ordered the National Council on Compensation Insurance to refile its rate request. NCCI, a Boca Raton organization involved in such rate filings nationwide, had proposed an average statewide decrease in workers' comp premiums of 0.9 percent. McCarty called for a revised filing to reduce premiums an average of 5.1 percent, including an 11.8 percent average cut for contractors. McCarty said NCCI's filing did not reflect how much a 2002 overhaul of workers comp by the Legislature improved the system to cover expenses for injured workers. Last year, workers' comp rates were cut by 14 percent. An NCCI spokeswoman said it would review McCarty's order before deciding its next step.
CORRECTION
Progress Energy invested about $7-million in a new building in Raleigh, N.C. A story Wednesday misstated the amount.
