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Business today: Holland & Knight forms diversity panel

By Times Wire
Published April 26, 2006

Holland & Knight has formed a diversity council and appointed a chief diversity officer to promote more opportunities for women and minorities among its staff, business partners and suppliers. The 1,150-lawyer firm made news last year when it promoted a Tampa partner accused of sexual harassment to a top national post and, soon after, investigated two Jacksonville partners for allegedly making racially and sexually insensitive remarks during an internal training exercise. None of the diversity council's 11 members works in the Tampa Bay area.

IBM bumps up its dividend by half

International Business Machines Corp. increased its dividend by 50 percent Tuesday in an attempt to jolt the technology bellwether's listless stock price. Before Tuesday, IBM's quarterly dividend of 20 cents per share amounted to about a 1 percent annual yield, based on IBM's recent stock price of roughly $80. The new dividend of 30 cents per share takes effect this quarter and is expected to continue through the rest of the year.

Home Depot Inc., the largest home-improvement retailer, is buying Home Decorators Collection to expand its furniture selection and boost Internet and catalog sales. Home Decorators, a unit of privately held Knights Direct Ltd., sells furnishings, lights, rugs and blinds directly to consumers. No terms were disclosed. The acquisition would double Home Depot's Web and catalog business, said Harvey Seegers, president of Home Depot Direct. Chief executive officer Bob Nardelli expects the direct-sales unit to generate $1-billion in revenue by 2010 and is expanding onto the Web to counter slowing growth at U.S. stores.

Universal Orlando Resort has increased hourly starting wages by 50 cents for new employees to $7.25, the company said Tuesday. New employees will also be offered benefits immediately instead of having to wait up to three months. The move followed a March announcement that SeaWorld was increasing its hourly starting wage by 20 cents to $7. Starting wages at Walt Disney World start at $6.90 per hour, spokesman Jacob DiPietre said, but 60 percent of new hires start at $7.25 or higher, and Disney also offers hiring bonuses up to $750 for certain jobs and previous experience.

General Motors Corp.'s sale of a majority stake in its finance unit to a group led by Cerberus Capital Management has won clearance from U.S. antitrust enforcers. The Cerberus group's proposal to buy 51 percent of General Motors Acceptance Corp., GM's auto loan, insurance and mortgage unit, was included Tuesday on the Federal Trade Commission's list of completed merger investigations. The sale is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter.

[Last modified April 26, 2006, 01:44:15]