Business today

By Times staff, wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 9, 2000

Business in brief

TECH DATA CLIMBS AFTER REPORT: Shares of Tech Data Corp rose 10 percent one day after the Clearwater company released first-quarter earnings that surpassed Wall Street's projections. The world's second-largest computer distributor reported net income of 68 cents a share, 4 cents higher than analysts' forecasts. Shares rose as high as $43.50 before closing at $42, up $4.

NEWSPAPER PARENT CONSIDERS SALE: Central Newspapers Inc., owner of the Indianapolis Star and the Arizona Republic, is in preliminary talks about a possible sale or business combination. Central Newspapers declined to identify its potential partners, but a story in the Indianapolis Star said suitors could include Gannett Co. Inc., Tribune Co. or Knight Ridder. Other possibilities include Cox Enterprises Inc. and the McClatchy Co., whose newspaper operations are similar in size to Central's. Central's chairman, Louis A. "Chip" Weil III, said there is no guarantee the talks will lead to a sale. Still, shares of Central rose 65 percent, or $20.50, to $52.

H&R BLOCK ISSUES WARNING: H&R Block Inc., the country's biggest professional tax preparer, said it expects to report earnings for its fiscal year ended April 30 in the range of $2.52 to $2.55 a share. Wall Street analysts had estimated the company would earn $2.71 a share. H&R Block cited overstaffing at the end of the tax season, acquisition costs and a one-time expense related to the sale of its mortgage operations. Also, the Kansas City, Mo., company said its tax business didn't grow as much as expected. Shares of H&R Block traded at $31.38 each, down 56 cents.

COREL PLANS JOB CUTS: Corel Corp., the maker of WordPerfect and CorelDraw software, said it will cut 320 jobs, or 21 percent of its work force, as part of a plan to save $40-million in yearly expenses. In addition, Corel chairman and chief executive Michael Cowpland will stop collecting a salary, the company said. Corel has been looking at ways to save money since its effort to take over Inprise/Borland Corp. collapsed last month. Corel had planned to use Inprise's $239.7-million in cash to finance its growth. Corel shares fell 22 cents in Nasdaq trading to $5.03.

INSURER FACES LAWSUIT: Three Hollywood residents filed a lawsuit against American General Life and Accident Insurance Co. seeking more than $200-million in damages in connection with allegations it charged blacks more than whites for burial insurance. The attorneys, who are seeking class-action status for the suit, said almost 100,000 unnamed black Florida residents could be represented by the suit. An investigation by the Department of Insurance concluded that American General was charging black policyholders between 7 percent and 33 percent more than whites, according to state officials. Insurance Commissioner Bill Nelson had ordered the company to stop selling the policies. An American General spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit, but he did say negotiations with the Insurance Department were progressing. The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale.

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