DANKA EXTENDS DEBTOR DEADLINE: Danka Business Systems has extended until April 30 a deadline for short-term noteholders to accept a watered-down return on their investment. Holders of about $89-million in notes, or 45 percent of the $200-million short-term debt, had tendered their acceptance as of the Tuesday deadline. The company needs at least 95 percent of noteholders to accept the plan. The St. Petersburg distributor of copier machines also is trying to sell its Danka Services International unit to raise funds to pay down its debt. Danka spokesman Sanjay Sood said the company expects to complete all the pieces of the restructuring by June.

PENNEY CUT TO JUNK STATUS: J.C. Penney Co. Inc.'s debt was reduced to junk status by Moody's Investors Service because of poor operating performance at the retailer's department stores and Eckerd drugstore chain. The debt-rating company lowered its ratings on Penney's senior unsecured debt and medium-term notes to "Ba2" from "Baa3" and reduced its rating on the company's commercial paper to "Not Prime" from "Prime-3." Penney's shares fell 39 cents to $15.99.

FLORIDA SUES COMPUSERVE: The state attorney general's office filed suit against Internet service provider CompuServe, accusing it of not delivering promised rebates. The state is seeking more than $1-million from the company for deceptive business practices, saying more than 100 customers did not receive a promised rebate from the company or it came months late. The rebates are supposed to take eight to 12 weeks to process, but some customers never received their money while others didn't receive a check for several months, the suit says. CompuServe, which is owned by America Online and has more than 2-million customers worldwide, denies the allegations.

SYKES NAMES NEW AUDITOR: Sykes Enterprises Inc. has tapped Deloitte & Touche LLP to be its new independent auditor, replacing Ernst & Young LLP. The Tampa call-center operator had to restate earnings several times in the past 15 months, causing many investors to sell Sykes' stock. The stock closed at $5.14, down 11 cents.

PROGRESS POSTS DIVIDEND: Progress Energy declared a quarterly dividend of 53 cents per share, unchanged from the previous quarter. The dividend will be payable May 1 to shareholders of record April 10. The company was created last year when CP&L Energy of Raleigh, N.C., purchased St. Petersburg-based Progress Energy. For former Florida Progress shareholders, the dividend is the equivalent of 68 cent per share, a 22.5 percent increase over Florida Progress' last quarterly dividend.

AT&T PRESSES BELLSOUTH CASE: AT&T is trying to compel BellSouth to split up its retail and wholesale operations in the latest move to open Florida to local phone competition. In a filing with the Florida Public Service Commission, AT&T says BellSouth has blocked competition because it acts both as a competitor in the local phone market and as a supplier controlling most local phone lines statewide. It wants to create a separate BellSouth wholesale company that would offer equal access to all retailers, including BellSouth's retail operation. BellSouth defended its business setup and said it has no intention of changing. BellSouth also questioned the timing of the filing, noting it is moving closer to competing with AT&T in the long-distance market throughout the Southeast.

RESTAURANTS LAND SPACE IN TAMPA: Two Tampa shopping centers have signed leases for three white tablecloth restaurants that will be new to the Tampa Bay area market. The Palm Restaurant, a high-end steakhouse founded in New York in 1926 and now based in Washington, will open in WestShore Plaza in July. Decor in the 22-store chain includes caricatures of local business leaders and politicians. The Samba Room, a chain owned by Carlson Restaurant Group Worldwide, will open in Old Hyde Park Village in April. Founded by chef Phil Butler in South Florida, Samba Room features Latin fusion food, a dance floor and cigar room. It will take space once occupied by Cafe Winberie. The village also signed a deal with Naples restaurateur Michael Hernandez, owner of Bistro 41 in Fort Myers, who is developing an as-yet-unnamed restaurant for the former Selena's space.

3COM'S WOES CONTINUE: Struggling network equipment manufacturer 3Com Corp. posted a third-quarter loss and announced plans to cut costs further by discontinuing its Internet appliance business. 3Com lost $246-million, or 72 cents a share, compared with a profit of $506.3-million, or $1.40 a share. Excluding non-recurring costs, 3Com would have lost 36 cents a share, more than analysts' forecasts of 33 cents a share.

P&G CONSIDERS MORE CUTS, REPORT SAYS: Procter & Gamble shares fell 4 percent following a Wall Street Journal report that the company may eliminate 10 percent to 20 percent of its global work force. The Journal reported the consumer products giant is examining the possibility of more cuts to compensate for past restructuring efforts that haven't gone far enough. A P&G spokeswoman would not comment. Procter shares fell $2.70 to $63.20.

AOL, TICKETMASTER PARTNER: AOL Time Warner Inc. has agreed to allow Ticketmaster to sell concert, theater and other tickets to its more than 28-million online subscribers. Terms weren't disclosed. As part of the agreement, AOL's MovieFone unit will promote its Internet movie-ticketing services on Ticketmaster's CitySearch Web sites, which are online travel and event guides.

SALON.COM ASKS FOR FEE: Cash-strapped Salon.com has asked its readers to pay an annual $30 subscription to help keep the online newspaper alive. Readers who pay the fee will receive a new premium service, set to debut next month, that blocks out an onslaught of larger ads that San Francisco-based Salon has started to sell to boost revenues. Salon says the site attracts about 2.7-million monthly visitors. Salon hopes to convince as many as 54,000 customers to subscribe, generating $1.6-million in revenue. Salon's shares closed at 50 cents, up 6 cents.

DELTA, PILOTS TALKS MAKE PROGRESS: Delta Air Lines and its pilots have reached tentative agreement on three sections of the pilots' contract, but the two sides are still split on the most contentious issues. Negotiators have settled disagreements over travel expenses, leaves of absence and a section covering miscellaneous items, the Air Line Pilots Association said. But salary, retirement benefits, back pay, the contract's length and a dual-wage system at Delta Express, the airline's low-cost division, remain unresolved. The pilots and Delta have been discussing a new contract for 18 months.

COMAIR PREPARES FOR STRIKE: Regional airline Comair said it is canceling some flights in anticipation of a pilots strike Monday. The Cincinnati-based carrier, which serves Tampa and nine other Florida cities, said it will scrap dozens of flights starting today and, if a strike occurs, cease all operations Monday. The Air Line Pilots Association is threatening to walk off the job if negotiators don't agree on a new contract deal. Pending issues include wages, retirement benefits and working conditions.

APPLE OS TO DEBUT SATURDAY: Apple Computer Inc. said its new operating system, OS X, will go on sale Saturday. The release is the first major face lift in more than 15 years for the software that runs Apple computers. Most new software for OS X will be released around midyear, chief executive Steve Jobs said. Delayed several times, OS X is reaching the market as demand lags for Macs and PCs. Apple reported its first loss in three years last quarter. Apple's shares rose 44 cents to $20.13.

Earnings

Carnival Corp.

Income fell 25 percent in the fiscal quarter ended Feb. 28 because the Miami cruise operator couldn't charge prices as high as it did a year earlier. Prices also were held down by weaker-than-expected demand for cruise vacations after the company launched four new ships over the past year.

(1stQtr, Year Ago)

Revenue $1.01-bil, $824.9 mil

Net Income $128-mil, $171.5-mil

Per Share 22 cents, 28 cents

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