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By TIMES WIRES
Published September 22, 2006

Utilities to resume making synthetic fuel

Two Tampa Bay area electric utilities are jumping back into the production of synthetic fuel, a coal treatment that offers tax benefits to the corporations. Both Progress Energy and TECO Energy said they will resume production of synthetic coal. The companies stopped production after higher oil prices reduced tax credits tied to the fuel, which is made from coal byproducts. Oil prices have fallen more than 20 percent since early August. The tax credit phases out as oil prices rise. Conversely, it kicks back in with lower prices.

Carrabba's tops survey of Italian restaurants

Consumers surveyed by Restaurant & Institutions magazine named Carrabba's Italian Grill this year's best Italian restaurant chain. The 217-store chain is owned by OSI Restaurant Partners Inc. of Tampa.

30-year mortgage rates lowest in six months

Rates on 30-year mortgages fell this week to the lowest level in six months, offering support to the sagging home market. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dipped to 6.40 percent, down from 6.43 percent last week. The latest drop puts the 30-year mortgage at the lowest level since it stood at 6.35 percent in late March. Rates on 30-year mortgages hit a four-year high of 6.80 percent on July 20.

Airbus says A380s will be delayed further

Airbus faces the possibility of crippling A380 order cancellations after its parent company confirmed Thursday that the flagship superjumbo program will be delayed a third time. Emirates, the biggest A380 customer so far, said its 45-plane order was now "up in the air." European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., which owns 80 percent of Airbus, said the 555-seater jet program will fall even further behind schedule than the one-year delay already announced, but gave no new timetable or cost estimate.

HP stock price drops as inquiry intensifies

The probe into who-knew-what-when about Hewlett-Packard Co.'s spying schemes threatened to reach into the chief executive's office, rattling investors who feared that the world's largest technology company might be sailing into a perfect storm. Shares of HP fell $1.91, or 5.2 percent, to close Thursday at $34.87 on the New York Stock Exchange after reports that Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd knew more about the skullduggery than previously thought.

[Last modified September 21, 2006, 23:59:43]