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Business Today

By TIMES WIRE
Published March 16, 2005

GAS PRICES A RECORD: Gas prices have hit a record high in the Tampa Bay area, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge Report, and experts say they're likely to climb higher. The average price of regular, unleaded gas was a record $2.047 Tuesday, up from $1.889 a month ago. Nationally, AAA said gas prices were within a penny of a record high at $2.048 a gallon. Gas prices reached a record $2.054 on May 26. Experts say rising crude-oil costs could push pump prices as high as $2.30 this summer. Mark Baxter, director of the Maguire Energy Institute, a research group, said prices could stabilize and begin to drop after Memorial Day.

TiVo DEAL AN ICEBREAKER: TiVo Inc.'s deal to adapt its popular digital video recorders for Comcast cable subscribers is only the first of the partnerships the struggling pioneer hopes to forge with cable operators, a top executive said Tuesday. Comcast Corp., the nation's largest cable TV system operator, expects to begin marketing the TiVo-brand DVRs by mid to late 2006. The companies refused to release financial details in announcing the eight-year, nonexclusive deal Tuesday.

GREENSPAN SAYS RAISE RETIREMENT AGE: Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress on Tuesday to consider raising the retirement age to help fix Social Security's funding problems, and he made it clear that benefit cuts should be part of any solution. Greenspan also told the Senate Select Committee on Aging that there may be little choice but to encourage older Americans to stay in the work force. Raising taxes could be part of the solution, too, but Greenspan warned against relying too heavily on that.

TOYS R US DELAYS REPORT: Toys R Us Inc., the nation's second biggest toy retailer, said Tuesday it would indefinitely delay the release of its fourth-quarter earnings figures so it could reflect changes in how it accounts for leases. The company announced Feb. 18 that it would correct an error in its accounting practices regarding lease terms, and that financial statements for prior years would need to be restated.

US AIRWAYS MAY GET BACKING: US Airways Group Inc., the seventh-largest U.S. airline, may get an investment from Republic Airways of as much as $235-million to help it exit bankruptcy protection. The agreement includes a $125-million investment when US Airways emerges from Chapter 11 and an option for an additional $110-million in financing if the airline sells some assets, Arlington, Va.-based US Airways said Tuesday in a statement.

AIG TAKES A HIT: Concerned about the upheaval in management at American International Group Inc. and regulatory probes of its business operations, major credit agencies on Tuesday either lowered the insurance company's debt rating or said they would review whether it should be cut. AIG shares sank nearly 3 percent. The board of AIG late Monday removed longtime chief executive officer Maurice "Hank" Greenberg. In one ongoing probe, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission are looking at financial reinsurance, which they contend can be used to manipulate earnings.

T-BILL RATE HIGH: The U.S. Treasury sold $24-billion in four-week bills at a high discount rate of 2.645 percent, the highest since 3.43 percent on Sept. 5, 2001. At last week's auction, the bills drew 2.565 percent. The return to investors is 2.687 percent, with a $10,000 bill selling for $9,979.43.

SEARS OFFERS LANDS' END: Sears, Roebuck and Co. is seeking a buyer for its Lands' End division for an asking price of $1.2-billion, according to a report Tuesday by a retail industry trade publication. That's $700-million less than it paid three years ago for the company. The online report by Women's Wear Daily, citing anonymous sources, comes with Sears in the final stages of being acquired by Kmart Holding Corp. for $11-billion.

[Last modified March 17, 2005, 19:52:07]