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Business Today

Tight energy markets projected in 2006

By wire services
Published December 10, 2005

People may have to get used to high gasoline and heating costs since tight energy markets are projected through 2006, industry and government officials said Friday.

Howard Gruenspecht of the Energy Information Administration said average gasoline prices are likely to be higher next year, although not as high as in the aftermath of the hurricanes that disrupted supplies from the Gulf Coast region. Crude oil has hovered around $60 a barrel and natural gas prices for delivery in January briefly soared early Friday to a record above $15 per thousand cubic feet. Any increases in natural gas prices paid by Peoples Gas customers must be approved by Florida utility regulators.

A 44-acre tract on Memorial Highway in Tampa that includes a three-story former JPMorgan Chase office building has been bought for $23-million by Lindell Properties. Lindell officials say initial plans are for mixed-used development including stores and homes, according to published reports. But those plans, officials say, will be shaped by discussions with neighbors and city officials.

Citing a steep decline in the need for service, repair and installation of equipment, news cooperative Associated Press plans to eliminate 103 technician jobs, according to a memo from the Communications Workers of America that said AP would offer severance packages to those who volunteer. Remaining staff will be reassigned.

Bill Owens, a former HealthSouth Corp. chief financial officer, was sentenced to five years in prison Friday for his part in a $2.7-billion fraud at the rehabilitation and health services chain. Owens, 47, had been a main government witness in the failed prosecution of fired HealthSouth chief executive Richard Scrushy.

Hurricane Wilma's late-season sprint across Florida will trim citrus production about 15 percent, but more fruit should be harvested than from last year's storm-ravaged crop, federal officials said Friday. Consumers can expect higher orange juice prices starting next month.

Alltel Corp. on Friday announced a $4.9-billion deal to spin off its telephone division. The new company will be combined with Valor Communications Group Inc. of Irving, Texas. The deal's total value will be $9.1-billion, including $4.2-billion in assumed Alltel debt, based on Valor's closing Thursday stock price.

Republican Kathleen Abernathy left the Federal Communications Commission after 41/2 years on Friday. The White House hasn't nominated a replacement. The five-member commission has two open seats.

Burger King Corp. plans to introduce a limited "value menu" featuring items costing $1, to stimulate traffic and better compete with its fast-food rivals.

Its domestic franchisees are to vote by Wednesday on whether to endorse the strategy. The menu's national rollout is scheduled for February.

McDonald's advertises a "Dollar Menu" while Wendy's offers a "Value Choices" lineup of items priced between 99 cents and $1.29.

Burger King's $1 fare would include a Whopper Jr. hamburger, a four-piece serving of Chicken Tenders, a side salad, small French fries or onion rings, a small soft drink and an apple pie.

Individual franchisees would have other optional items they could sell at that price, among them a "Rodeo cheeseburger."

A judge issued sanctions against the owner of Ringling Bros. circus for filing late and incomplete documents in a lawsuit that claims that the owner had established a spy operation against animal-rights groups.

The judge on Thursday also ordered Kenneth Feld, chief executive and president of privately held Feld Entertainment Inc., to disclose his net worth and his most recent tax returns to PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

PETA sued Feld Entertainment more than four years ago, claiming that he ran an extensive corporate espionage campaign against it and other animal-rights groups. According to PETA, Feld - which produces the Ringling circus, Disney on Ice and other shows - went so far as to pay a former CIA operative to help run its spy operation.

The lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial in February.

KELLOGG REDUCING TRANS FATTY ACIDS: Starting early next year, some products made by Kellogg Co. will contain oils derived from genetically modified soybeans to reduce or eliminate trans fatty acids and minimize saturated fats, the cereal maker said Friday. The company will begin using Vistive, an oil made from Monsanto Co.'s genetically modified soybeans that is low in linolenic acid, an essential fatty acid. Kellogg said it will be one of the first food manufacturers to use the oil to lower levels of trans fat and saturated fats in its products.

THEFT, FRAUD, ERROR COST $31-BILLION: Employee theft, shoplifting, vendor fraud and administrative error cost the nation's retailers close to $31-billion last year, according to the National Retail Security Survey. The annual survey, which analyzed theft incidents from 107 of the largest U.S. retail chains, was conducted by the University of Florida with a funding grant from ADT Security Services, a unit of Tyco Fire & Security in Boca Raton.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

[Last modified December 10, 2005, 00:50:10]