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Friedman's closing 51 jewelry stores

By Times Staff
Published December 6, 2005

Embattled jeweler Friedman's Inc., which recently agreed to pay the SEC $2-million to avoid criminal charges in an investigation into securities law violations, on Monday submitted a plan to reorganize its finances and emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy before the end of the year. The Savannah, Ga.-based chain said it will close 51 of its 475 stores after Christmas. The chain, which has six stores in the Tampa Bay area, said there will be no going-out-of-business liquidation sales at the underperforming stores, which were not identified.

SunTrust gains 11 Community branches

SunTrust Banks announced Monday it will acquire 11 of Community Bank's in-store branches at Wal-Mart locations in Florida, including four in the Tampa Bay area: Oldsmar, Tampa, Brandon and Bartow. The 11 branches have a combined $42-million in deposits, 43 employees and more than 8,000 customers. The acquired branches will be integrated into SunTrust's existing organization, which includes 32 branches in other Wal-Mart stores. Conversion of customer accounts is expected to be completed in March. During the transition, SunTrust will waive its ATM usage fee for Community Bank customers.

Gas prices fall another 11 cents

Retail gas prices fell 11 cents in the past two weeks, according to a survey released Sunday. The average price for all three grades dropped to $2.16 a gallon on Dec. 2, said Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the semimonthly Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations around the country. Prices have fallen about 88 cents a gallon since September, Lundberg said. AAA reported the average price for regular unleaded in the Tampa Bay area was $2.075 a gallon, down from $2.50 a month ago.

Anchor Glass to file repayment plan

Anchor Glass Container Corp., operating under bankruptcy protection for the third time since 1996, said it will file a plan this month to repay creditors owed more than $666-million. The Tampa bottlemaker is negotiating a plan with committees representing its unsecured creditors and a group of noteholders to exit bankruptcy. "The debtor anticipates filing a proposed plan of reorganization on or about Dec. 15," Robert Soriano, the company's lawyer, said in court documents.

T-bill rates rise

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction, with the six-month bill climbing to the highest level in three weeks. The Treasury Department auctioned $18-billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 3.930 percent, up from 3.900 percent last week. An additional $16-billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 4.185 percent, up from 4.155 percent last week.

[Last modified December 6, 2005, 11:59:06]