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Business Today

By TIMES WIRE
Published March 23, 2005

IAC/INTERACTIVECORP'S CREDIT RATING DROPS: Standard & Poor's Corp. on Tuesday dropped the credit rating of Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp to junk bond status in the wake of the e-commerce conglomerate's announced $2.6-billion purchases of Ask Jeeves and Cornerstone Brands. The rating, which applies to $1.36-billion in IAC debt, was lowered because of the risk of the Ask Jeeves acquisition paying off and Diller's plan to buy back most of the stock used to fund the purchases. IAC has about $1-billion in cash, but plans to issue more stock to buy Ask Jeeves.

COMMERCEQUEST REPORTS PROFIT: CommerceQuest Inc., a Tampa maker of business management software, said Tuesday it closed 2004 with its first quarterly operating profit in three years. For the year, the company was in the red, but revenues were up 20 percent, including a 62 percent growth in its license software revenue. CommerceQuest has increasingly moved out of providing services to the more lucrative license software business. Last year, its revenue mix stood at 60 percent for license software and 40 percent services. "It's been a tough several years in the software business but we do see things opening up and beginning to move," chief executive Mike Forster said. As a private company controlled by majority owner Internet Capital Group, CommerceQuest does not release specific financial data.

LOCAL CFOS EXPECT LITTLE HIRING: Chief financial officers in the Tampa Bay area don't expect to do much hiring or firing during the second quarter. According to a Robert Half International Inc. survey of 100 local CFOs, 7 percent expect to hire accounting or other financial staff, 2 percent expect to lay off some existing staff and 91 percent plan to make no change. All CFOs surveyed work for companies with 20 or more employees.

FREEDOM BANK TO OPEN APRIL 4: Freedom Bank of America says the new St. Petersburg community bank will open April 4 in a temporary facility at 2300 Fourth St. N. The 8,800-square-foot permanent headquarters at 1200 Fourth St. N will be completed in December, said Bob Blakley, president and CEO. Blakley said the bank, which received FDIC approval last week, is looking for a second St. Petersburg location.

[Last modified March 23, 2005, 01:09:16]