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Citizens' new board adds 2 from Tampa

By Times Staff
Published August 2, 2005

Two Tampa representatives are among the first appointees to the new eight-member board of Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-run insurer for those who cannot find property coverage on the open market. Cheryl Herrin of State Farm in Tampa and Earl Horton Jr. of Roger Bouchard Insurance in Tampa were among four appointees to three-year terms announced Monday. The remaining four are expected to be named this week. The new board is charged, among other duties, with deciding whether to impose a surcharge on all property owners to help pay for hurricane claims from 2004.

Danka to outsource several departments

Danka Business Systems said Monday it will outsource human resources, payroll and benefits operations to Gevity HR Inc., a Bradenton company that also is a Danka client. Danka, a British company that sells and services office copiers and printers, said it will transfer 40 employees to Gevity immediately. It did not say how many employees may be laid off at its U.S. headquarters in St. Petersburg, and company officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Auto sales help boost manufacturing index

New orders and increased production pushed manufacturing activity to grow at a faster pace in July than in June, a private research group said Monday. Economists said strong sales in the auto industry helped propel the results as the Institute for Supply Management reported that its manufacturing index rose to 56.6 last month, up from 53.8 in June and greater than the 54.1 analysts expected. But the Commerce Department reported that builders trimmed spending on projects in June, the fourth consecutive monthly cutback. Spending on all construction projects dipped by 0.3 percent in June from the previous month.

Pipeline operator looks to buy rival

Pipeline operator Kinder Morgan Inc. is making a bid to tap into oil reserves in Western Canada by purchasing British Columbia-based rival Terasen Inc. for about $3.1-billion in cash and stock. Houston-based Kinder Morgan believes Terasen's pipelines are well-located to ship growing production from oil fields in northern Alberta, where Shell and others are active in extracting thick bitumen crude.

Consultant endorses Chevron's Unocal bid

Calling a rival bid by China's CNOOC Ltd. "highly uncertain," Institutional Shareholder Services on Monday endorsed Chevron Corp.'s proposed $17.5-billion acquisition of Unocal Corp. ISS, a widely watched proxy advisory consultant, said the uncertainty of the CNOOC proposal stemmed from questions around regulatory issues, as well as U.S. political opposition.

T-bill rates rise

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction to the highest levels in four years. The Treasury Department auctioned $18-billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 3.400 percent, up from 3.345 percent last week. An additional $16-billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 3.600 percent, up from 3.540 percent last week.

[Last modified August 2, 2005, 02:45:17]