AUGUST WHOLESALE INVENTORIES RISE: Wholesale inventories increased 0.6 percent in August, twice the pace of the preceding month, the Commerce Department reported. The rise was led by gains for oil and paper, while inventories of electronics goods also rose. Wholesale sales rose 0.3 percent for the month after falling 0.3 percent in July.

EC OKAYS AOL-WARNER DEAL: The European Commission gave its blessing to the merger of America Online and Time Warner, on the condition that the combined company cut its ties with German media conglomerate Bertelsmann AG. AOL Time Warner's potential to achieve a dominant position in the music business, particularly in the emerging markets for distributing music over the Internet, was a main source of concern for European regulators. The companies still await approval from U.S. regulators.

KMART VICE CHAIRMAN TO RETIRE: Kmart Corp. vice chairman Michael Bozic, once considered a top contender to run the retailing chain, will retire at the end of October. Bozic, 59, has been vice chairman since December 1998, overseeing Kmart's finance, information systems and logistics, among other things. Charles Conaway, who was picked as Kmart CEO in May, praised Bozic's contributions to both Kmart and the company's BlueLight.com Web site. Bozic's duties will be spread among Kmart's senior executives, the company said.

MICROSOFT HEARING DATES SET: A federal appellate court set oral arguments in the Microsoft antitrust case for Feb. 26-27, splitting the difference between what the government and the company proposed. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia also ordered that the company's first brief be filed by Nov. 27 with the government's reply due Jan. 12. The company's rebuttal is due Jan. 29.

GLOBAL CROSSING CEO RESIGNS: Global Crossing Ltd. chief executive Leo Hindery Jr. has resigned just seven months after taking the helm of the fiber-optic network operator. Hindery first gained prominence as the head of Tele-Communications Inc., the giant cable company he led before it was acquired by AT&T last year. AT&T chose Hindery to lead the cable business through an expansion into high-speed Internet and telephone service, but he abruptly resigned a few months later.

SYKES FILES LAWSUIT: Sykes Enterprises Inc. has filed suit against a client that allegedly failed to pay $174,000 in fees. Tampa-based Sykes, which provides technical support to its clients' customers, said Memphis, Tenn.-based Revelation Corp. of America had failed to meet the conditions of two agreements signed last year. The lawsuit was filed in Hillsborough County Circuit Court.

PORT AUTHORITY CHAIRMAN HONORED: Fassil Gabremariam, chairman of the Tampa Port Authority, has been named International Business Person of the Year by the Tampa Bay Women in International Trade. Besides serving on the port's board of directors, Gabremariam is president of the U.S.-Africa Free Enterprise Education Foundation, which promotes trade between American and African businesses.

HEALTHPLAN SERVICES NAMES CEO: Phillip S. Dingle, president and chief operating officer for Tampa's HealthPlan Services Corp., has added the title of chief executive. Dingle, 38, joined HealthPlan Services as chief counsel in 1996. The managed health care services company has worked in recent months to lower its bank debt through asset sales.

COKE TO OFFER DIVERSITY TRAINING: Striving to overcome the tarnish of a race discrimination lawsuit, Coca-Cola Co. chairman Doug Daft has instructed employees nationwide to attend an annual diversity training course. Eight current and former Coke employees filed suit in April 1999, claiming that the company discriminated in pay, promotions and employment evaluations. Details of an agreement to settle the lawsuit are expected to be released in mid-November. Coke has announced several other steps, including naming a diversity director, tying management compensation to reaching diversity goals and beginning an employee mentoring program.

NORDSTROM ISSUES WARNING: Upscale clothier Nordstrom Inc. warned it may post a loss for the third quarter as earnings were dragged down by technology investments and severance costs for fired top executives. Nordstrom said its earnings for the quarter ending Oct. 31 could be as high as 2 cents per share but could wind up as a loss of 2 cents per share. That's far from the estimates of analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson, who had predicted a profit of 24 cents per share. Nordstrom shares closed down $1.06, or 6.8 percent, at $14.63.

INTERNET OUTAGE CONTINUES: Several thousand customers of Tampa-based Titan Hosting Inc. have been without Internet service for more than a week. In April, the company acquired the assets and customers of City-Guide ISP Inc., a Tampa company that advertised $7.95-per-month unlimited Internet access on local billboards. But Titan has been beset by technical problems recently, business director Ken Foster said. Foster predicted the company's Internet service will be functioning again Friday and said Titan likely will credit customer accounts for lost time.

DAVEL RENEGOTIATES DEBT: Davel Communications has renegotiated the terms of its $214-million debt for a fourth time. The Tampa company, which owns and operates pay telephones, has had trouble meeting certain conditions stipulated by its lenders since January 1999 and has recently missed interest payments. But its bankers, led by Bank of America, repeatedly have allowed the company to continue operating. Davel now has until Jan. 12 before it has to renegotiate again. Davel also has appointed Marc S. Bendesky as chief financial officer. He was formerly with Tatum CFO Partners, an Atlanta financial consulting firm, and also spent four years with Tampa-based Tunstall Consulting.

Earnings: Paradyne Networks Inc.

The Largo telecommunications equipment manufacturer reported a loss for the quarter ended Sept. 30, mostly because of a write-off of $34.9-million in inventory that it won't be able to sell. Paradyne also reported revenues that were 3.4 percent lower than a year ago and $6.7-million lower than the company forecasted. Chief financial officer Patrick Murphy said Paradyne has a $6.7-million co-marketing agreement with Rhythms Net Connections, one of its largest customers, but is not certain it will be able to collect on it. So it eliminated the entry from its income statement. "We don't want a negative surprise in the future," Murphy said.

Revenue: 3rd Qtr $55.7-mil, Year Ago $57.7-mil

Net Income: 3rd Qtr -$35.5-mil, Year Ago $1.9-mil

Per Share: 3rd Qtr -$1.12, Year Ago 6 cents

Back to Business

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright

Special Links

Stocks

From the Times
Business report

High-tech housing company to move in

Business today

Benefits company expands area presence

Another theater chain bankrupt

Calif. judge orders recall of 1.7-million Fords

From the AP
Business wire

From the state business wire

Judge denies dismissal of Citigroup shareholder suits

Carnival to buy 4 cruise ships from Italian builder