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California freeze to drive up citrus prices

By Times staff and wires
Published January 17, 2007

Shoppers will feel the sting from a string of subfreezing nights in California's citrus groves and other farming areas, with prices for oranges, lemons, avocados and other produce poised to double or triple in coming weeks, according to industry officials. Nearly every winter crop is affected by the freeze, but it's the state's citrus crop that stands to take the biggest economic hit. More than 70 percent of this season's oranges, lemons and tangerines - nearly $1-billion worth of fruit - were still on the trees as nighttime temperatures in California's Central Valley dipped into the low 20s and teens on four straight nights beginning Friday. The freeze ruined as much as three-quarters of the California citrus crop, growers say; the fruit is threatened whenever the temperature falls below 28 degrees.

Spurned suitor has new Caremark bid

Pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts Inc. said Tuesday it has begun its $25-billion offer for all outstanding shares of rival Caremark Rx Inc., which has rejected the bid in favor its deal with the drugstore operator CVS Corp. Based on closing stock prices on Friday, the Express Scripts offer has a value of $56.87 per share, or about $25-billion total, and provides Caremark stockholders with a 7 percent premium to the current value of the CVS proposal, worth about $21.2-billion in stock. CVS announced its offer Nov. 1.

Court upholds EDS' Medicaid contract

An appellate court Tuesday upheld a $308-million state contract with Electronic Data Systems to develop and run Florida's Medicaid computer system. The 1st District Court of Appeal rejected a challenge to the contract by one of the losing bidders, Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services Inc. The Agency for Health Care Administration awarded the contract to EDS, based in Plano, Texas, last May.

Bank president takes over as CEO

BankAtlantic president Jarett Levan has added the title of chief executive officer, taking over the role from his father, Alan Levan. The senior Levan remains chairman of the bank and chairman and CEO of the parent company, BankAtlantic Bancorp. The Fort Lauderdale-based bank, which markets itself as open seven days a week, has been expanding aggressively in the Tampa Bay area.

T-bill rates rise

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction. The Treasury Department auctioned $17-billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 4.975 percent, up from 4.940 percent last week. An additional $14-billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 4.950 percent, up from 4.920 percent last week.

[Last modified January 17, 2007, 00:17:03]