Business digest

By TIMES WIRES

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 6, 2001

ETOYS TO FIRE STAFF: Internet retailer eToys said it will lay off its 293 remaining workers and does not expect any investment in the company before it runs out of cash at the end of March. The company also said it expects its stock to be delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market. EToys' stock fell 3 cents to 28 cents.

ALBERTSON'S FILES SHELF REGISTRATION: Albertson's Inc. filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell up to $3-billion in debt securities. The shelf filing said proceeds could be used for purposes including retirement of debt and potential purchases of shares. Albertson's shares climbed 21 cents to $28.70.

TREASURY AUCTION: Interest rates on short-term Treasury securities fell in Monday's auction. The Treasury Department sold $12-billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 4.920 percent, down from 4.980 percent last week. An additional $10-billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 4.755 percent, down from 4.840 percent. The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors: 5.053 percent for three-month bills and 4.940 percent for a six-month bill. In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said Monday the average yield for one-year Treasury bills fell to 4.66 percent last week from 4.83 percent the previous week.

PepsiCo Inc.

The Purchase, N.Y., company reported double-digit profit growth in its snacks and beverage businesses for the quarter ended Dec. 30. Profits at its Bradenton-based Tropicana juice division rose 16 percent.

Lincare Holdings Inc.

The Clearwater company said net income rose 20 percent in the quarter ended Dec. 31. Lincare provides oxygen and other respiratory therapy services to at-home patients.

TECH FEARS BENEFIT DOW: The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 101.75 points as investors unloaded high-tech issues amid their nervousness about bellwether Cisco Systems, which is expected to release earnings today. The Dow closed at 10,965.85, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 17.29 to 2,643.21.

MICROSOFT RENAMES PRODUCTS: Microsoft Corp. announced new names for the next versions of the softwaremaker's biggest products, Windows XP and Office XP. Until now, the desktop operating system had been code-named Whistler, and the applications suite was known as Office 10. XP stands for experience. Chairman Bill Gates said both products would be linked closer to the Internet through the Microsoft.NET strategy. Office XP is scheduled for release late in the first half of this year; Windows XP is scheduled for general release in the second half of the year.

FOOD BRAND SALE: International Multifoods Corp. agreed to buy General Mills' Robin Hood flour business along with Pillsbury's desserts and specialty products line and its baking mix business for $305-million. International Multifoods will gain brands such as Pillsbury and Martha White desserts and baking products and Hungry Jack potato and breakfast product mixes. The agreement will help General Mills, the No. 2 U.S. cerealmaker, gain regulatory approval for its pending acquisition of Pillsbury from Diageo PLC and aid International Multifoods' plans to concentrate on grain-based foods.

BANK CREDIT TIGHTENS: Banks continued to tighten credit to businesses and were more cautious about lending to consumers in the last three months, citing worries about the faltering economy, the Federal Reserve said. A Fed survey said 54.4 percent of banks reported stricter lending policies for large and middle-sized companies, up from 45.6 percent in the previous survey. On the consumer side, 20.4 percent of banks reported they "tightened somewhat" credit standards for approving applications for consumer loans other than credit cards loans. That was nearly double the 11.1 percent from the previous survey.

VIATICAL COMPANY LOSES LICENSE: Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher revoked the license of Accelerated Benefits Corp. after finding the Orlando company purchased fraudulently obtained insurance policies and concealed fraud from the companies issuing them. The decision is part of a series of actions the state has taken against companies involved in the viatical settlement industry, buying or selling insurance policies from people with short life expectancies.

TREASURY OFFERS SEARCH DEVICE: The Treasury Department announced a new link on its savings bond Web site, dubbed "Treasury Hunt," to help people find missing bonds and interest payments and learn whether their bonds have matured. Rather than writing the government to find out, investors can conduct a database search at http://www.savingsbonds.gov by clicking on the Treasury Hunt link and providing their name, city, state and Social Security number.

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