Business: Business digest

Business digest

Compiled from Times wires

MARRIOTT EARNINGS FALL: Marriott International Inc. said fiscal third-quarter profit fell 8.1 percent and that the terrorist attacks will cut its earnings for the fourth quarter and 2002. Marriott said net income fell to $101-million, or 39 cents a share, from $110-million, or 43 cents, a year earlier, matching the estimate of analysts. The company, without estimating how many workers would be fired, said it may take a severance charge in the fourth quarter. Marriott said it may earn 20 cents to 30 cents a share in the fourth quarter; that compares with analysts' forecasts of 53 cents a share.

USA NETWORKS DROPS DEAL: USA Networks Inc. asked a judge to approve the cancellation of its proposed buyout of travel company National Leisure Group Inc., partly because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. USA Networks in July had agreed to buy National Leisure for an undisclosed price as part of a $1.5-billion plan to purchase a controlling interest in online travel service Expedia Inc. from Microsoft Corp. In a lawsuit, USA Networks also said it was dropping the deal because the closely held company, an online cruise and vacation package agency, lost its business with retailer Costco Wholesale Corp. A spokesman for National Leisure would not comment.

NEIMAN MARCUS SALES SLIDE: The Neiman Marcus Group said that its September sales skidded 19 percent from a year ago, as consumers reined in spending. The luxury retailer, which recently opened a store in Tampa's International Plaza, said it is planning for lower earnings this quarter, which ends Oct. 27, but did not provide an estimate. The consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call was for earnings per share of 61 cents per share in the first fiscal quarter, down from $1.01 reported a year ago. Neiman Marcus Class A shares fell 26 cents to close at $26.30.

MORTGAGE RATES FALLING: Mortgage rates around the country dipped again this week with rates on 15-year mortgages hitting their lowest levels since 1991 and rates on one-year adjustable mortgages falling to a five-year low. The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.64 percent, down from 6.72 percent last week, according to the nationwide survey released by Freddie Mac, the mortgage company. It marked the eighth week in a row that 30-year mortgages have been under 7 percent. This week's rate marked the lowest level for 30-year mortgages since they averaged 6.49 percent the week of Oct. 9, 1998.

DELL REITERATES FORECAST: Dell Computer Corp. said fiscal third-quarter sales and profit will meet forecasts, an announcement that invigorated tech stocks. "Sales over the weekend following the tragedy were pretty robust," chairman and chief executive Michael Dell said on a conference call. Dell reiterated its August forecasts for profit of 15 cents or 16 cents a share on sales of $7.2-billion to $7.6-billion in the quarter ending Nov. 2. Dell's news, along with a similar forecast from Cisco Systems on Wednesday, helped push up the Nasdaq Composite Index 16.50 to 1,597.31. The tech-heavy was up as much as 60 points before giving back some ground. Shares of Dell rose $1.68, or 8 percent, to $22.32.

THE OTHER SIDE OF TECH: Gateway Inc. said it had a wider-than-forecast third-quarter loss, which it blamed in part on the terrorist attacks. The loss before charges was 14 cents to 17 cents a share; analysts expected a loss of 4 cents a share. The company echoed comments made Monday by rival Compaq Computer Corp., which said it had a third-quarter loss, and remarks from Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina, who said consumer volume fell 50 percent in the week after the assault. Gateway shares rose 15 cents, to $4.85, in regular trading before the release.

T. ROWE PRICE TO RELOCATE: T. Rowe Price will move its Tampa operations next September to Corporate Center Two at International Plaza. The company said it signed a 10-year lease on 60,608 square feet of space at the center at Lois Avenue and Boy Scout Boulevard. The mutual fund company, which has its headquarters in Baltimore, employs 400 people in Tampa who primarily work in customer service and sales. The office, which includes an investor center, is currently at 4200 W. Cypress St.