MERCK-MEDCO EXPANDING IN TAMPA: Merck-Medco Managed Care, a mail-order drug service owned by Merck & Co. Inc., is reorganizing and expanding its Tampa operations and hiring an undetermined number of new employees. The company, which has facilities in Sabal Park and near Tampa International Airport, will lease space in netp@rk.tampabay in the fall. Merck-Medco currently has 1,000 employees in its Tampa operations. A company spokeswoman said that while many workers will be transferred to the new location, there will be additional hiring. Merck-Medco's space at netp@rk has room for 1,000 employees. A representative for PACE, the union that represents Merck-Medco's local workers, said he has been told the airport location will close after the netp@rk facility is occupied.

FIRST UNION SWIPES AT SUNTRUST: First Union Corp. chairman Ken Thompson continued to put pressure on rival SunTrust, saying the bank doesn't bring enough experience or financial resources to the bargaining table in its bid for Wachovia. As First Union was closing scores of high-stakes mergers during the past 17 years, Thompson said at a Washington conference sponsored by Prudential Securities, SunTrust completed two takeovers with a total value of about $1-billion. "This does not prepare it to convert a bank that's three-quarters its size in a hostile merger," Thompson said. Conversely First Union has taken heat for its recent merger-related problems, most notably with CoreStates in 1998.

CONSUMER CREDIT TIGHTENS: The number of banks that have tightened standards for credit card loans surged in the spring amid worries consumers would have difficulty paying debts in a slowing economy. The Federal Reserve survey said that 20 percent of banks reported that they put stricter standards on credit cards loans over the past three months, compared with 12 percent that reported doing so in the final three months of 2000.

POWERCERV PLANS REVERSE SPLIT: PowerCerv Corp. said it plans to offer a reverse stock split to avert delisting of its stock. A Nasdaq panel ruled that the Tampa software company should be moved from the Nasdaq National Market to the SmallCap Market, but can remain there only if its per-share price rises to $1.00 by June 5. Its shares closed Thursday at 29 cents, up 3 cents. PowerCerv will ask shareholders to approve the reverse split -- the ratio yet to be determined -- at its June 1 annual meeting.

PALM CUTS FORECAST: Palm Inc. fiscal fourth-quarter sales will be about half of already-reduced forecasts because of delays in shipping new handheld computers. Palm now expects revenue of $140-million to $160-million for the quarter. It also expects an operating loss of $170-million to $190-million, up from a projected $80-million to $85-million. Palm also canceled its planned $264-million acquisition of software maker Extended Systems Inc. Its shares fell 6 cents to $7.05 in regular trading; the announcement was made after the market closed.

UF RESEARCHERS AID IN GRAPE FIGHT: Researchers at the University of Florida have patented a group of genes that could make grapevines immune to a disease damaging California's $33-billion wine and grape industry. Pierce's disease is caused by bacteria that clogs the water vessels in the vines, causing the plant to dry up and die. Vines resistant to the disease could be commercially available within five years, said Dennis Gray, a professor of developmental biology at the University of Florida Mid-Florida Research and Education Center in Apopka.

NISSAN REVERSES PERFORMANCE: Nissan Motor Co. achieved a dramatic turnaround in earnings, posting $2.7-billion in profits for the fiscal year ended in March. A year ago, the Japanese automaker recorded a loss twice that size -- one of seven years of red ink in the last eight. The remarkable performance has been driven by decisive cost-slashing by Carlos Ghosn, who became chief operating officer and president after French automaker Renault took a 36.8 percent stake in Nissan in 1999. Nissan sold 2.6-million vehicles worldwide, up 4 percent from a year earlier.

NEW BUSINESS AIR FARE: Northwest Airlines added a new domestic pricing category called First Class BizFlex that offers fares as much as 60 percent less than its published first-class prices. The new fares require ticket purchase no less than 14 days before travel -- longer than typical business tickets -- and at least a one-night stay. BizFlex is an attempt to boost business travel, which has been hurt by the economic slowdown. Several rival carriers matched the fare.

KB TOYS GETS ETOYS NAME: KB Toys scooped up the rights to the name and well-known Web site of defunct e-tailer eToys at a bankruptcy auction with a bid of nearly $3.4-million. Visitors to the eToys.com Web site will be kicked to KB's own KBkids.com site. Last month, KB paid $5.4-million for eToys' unsold inventory.

TREASURY BUYBACK: The Treasury purchased $1.75-billion in government bonds from investors at an average yield of 5.977 percent. The government is buying the securities to reduce the amount of outstanding federal debt and reduce interest-rate costs.

HOUGH STEPS DOWN FROM FIRM: William R. Hough Sr. has stepped down as chairman of the St. Petersburg municipal bond firm he founded in 1962. Hough, 74, remains chairman of the investment strategies committee, chairman emeritus and the largest shareholder of William R. Hough & Co. His son, W. Robb Hough Jr., 48, who became the firm's president seven years ago, added the title of chairman. The employee-owned firm is a leading underwriter of Florida municipal bonds.

GRIFFIN DAUGHTER WANTS SETTLEMENT TOSSED: The oldest daughter of the late citrus magnate Ben Hill Griffin Jr. wants a judge to void an out-of-court settlement between herself, her three sisters and brother over their father's fortune. Harriett Harris, 66, asked Circuit Judge Michael Hunter to grant a new hearing on the agreement or nullify it. In the motion, Harris claimed the agreement was signed by individuals who did not represent her interests. Harris, of Bartow, and her three sisters -- Sarah Jane Alexander, 64, of Frostproof; Lucy Anne Collier, 60, of Frostproof; and Francie G. Milligan, 51 -- sued brother Ben Hill Griffin III in January 2000, alleging their brother owed the family trust more than $4-million he'd taken in excessive compensation as chief executive of three family controlled businesses.

HERALD TO CUT WORK FORCE: The Miami Herald Publishing Co. said it will cut its full-time work force by 10 percent, citing a decline in advertising revenue. The company will eliminate 180 positions, including 40 current vacancies, at the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, a Spanish daily. The company will offer buyouts to about 700 employees, and will resort to layoffs if enough employees don't accept them, officials said. Knight Ridder, the newspapers' parent company, announced this month that it planned to cut jobs at most of its 32 daily newspapers.

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