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In brief

By TIMES WIRES
Published August 4, 2006

Odyssey to pull out of New Orleans

A year after opening its shipwreck and treasure museum in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tampa's Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. said it will close the attraction next month and reopen it in another city later this year. Odyssey said the ongoing impact of Hurricane Katrina prompted the decision to close. "New Orleans suffered a terrible tragedy with Hurricane Katrina and the devastating consequences continue to be felt, said Greg Stemm, above, Odyssey's co-founder. "Although there is light at the end of the tunnel, the economic climate in the city remains challenging."

Disney resorts to allow hurricane cancellations

Disney is trying to take some of the uncertainty out of hurricane season. Disney says visitors with reservations at one of its Orlando resorts can cancel or reschedule with no financial penalty if a hurricane warning is issued for Central Florida or the tourist's home area within seven days of the planned arrival. It covers reservations made through Disney Destinations and Walt Disney Travel Co., as well as room-only reservations made directly at Disney resorts. The policy does not cover travel and other costs made through third-party companies.

Cheesecake Factory part of options probe

The Cheesecake Factory Inc. said Thursday that it has been contacted by the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding an informal inquiry relating to the company's historical stock option granting practices. The company, which has a restaurant at International Plaza in Tampa, said it intends to cooperate fully with the SEC.

Mortgage rates dip second straight week

Mortgage rates around the country dipped for the second week in a row, a dose of encouraging news for people thinking about buying a home. Mortgage company Freddie Mac, in its weekly survey released Thursday, said that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dropped to a nationwide average of 6.63 percent for the week ending Aug. 2. That was down from last week's rate of 6.72 percent.

New jobless claims climb moderately

The number of people signing up for unemployment benefits climbed last week but still pointed to decent conditions in the nation's job market. New applications filed for unemployment insurance rose by a seasonally adjusted 14,000 to 315,000, the highest since early July, the Labor Department said. Although the level of claims was higher than the 308,000 economists were expecting, it still suggested the job market remains stable. A year ago, new claims stood at 318,000.

CORRECTION

A map that ran in Thursday's edition gave an incorrect location for South Korea. The corrected map is on Page 2D.

[Last modified August 4, 2006, 01:11:01]