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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 30, 2001
ATTACKS' EFFECTS ON FLORIDA VARIED: Different segments of Florida's tourism business have been affected in different ways since the Sept. 11 attacks, according to a "tourism industry barometer" compiled by Visit Florida. The state's tourism promotion agency found that RV parks and campgrounds were "relatively unaffected." Business at tourist attractions dropped 40 percent in mid-September but is now down about 20 percent from the same time last year. The report said the state's lodging industry "has remained off by 40 percent and shows no immediate signs of recovery."
NELSON PROPOSES TRAVEL CREDIT: Individuals would get a $500 tax credit for traveling and families would get one worth $1,000 under legislation introduced by Sen. Bill Nelson. The Florida Democrat told Orlando tourism officials that his bill also would create a national tourism office to encourage international visitors to come to the United States. The legislation is part of an economic stimulus package that Congress is putting together in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. The tax credit could be applied to air travel, lodging and cruises and would be good through the end of 2002.
UAL RISES AFTER CEO SWITCH: Investors showed their approval of UAL Corp.'s pick of chief executive, sending shares of United Airlines' parent company as high as 10 percent before leveling off. Industry analysts said John Creighton, facing a difficult year ahead in the airline business, needs to convert that goodwill into substantial labor concessions as he moves to convert troubled United into a smaller but again-profitable airline. UAL on Sunday tapped Creighton, former CEO of Weyerhaeuser Co., to replace James Goodwin at the helm of the struggling airline. Shares of UAL closed at $14.15, up 22 cents.
AIR TRAVEL REMAINS WEAK: About 23 percent fewer people are flying compared with last year, and the number of passengers returning to the skies six weeks after the terror attacks is apparently tapering off. With just two days left in October, the industrywide load factor, or percentage of seats filled, is 64 percent, with international flights even less full than domestic ones, according to the airline trade group, the Air Transport Association. A year ago, the load factor was about 70 percent. However, since Sept. 11 carriers have reduced capacity by about 19 percent by flying fewer routes and smaller planes in response to lower demand. The net result is that there were 2.2-million fewer passengers traveling in the last week of October than the 9.6-million people traveling a year ago.
VENTURE CAPITAL SLIDE CONTINUES: Mirroring the technology industry meltdown, venture capital investments and fundraising continued to evaporate in the third quarter, dissolving hopes for a turnaround early next year. Venture capitalists invested $7.7-billion in start-ups in the three months ended Sept. 30, a 73 percent plunge from the same time last year when the industry reached its quarterly high-water mark of $28.5-billion, according to statistics compiled by industry researcher Venture Economics for the National Venture Capital Association. It marked the industry's lowest investment amount since the first quarter of 1999, when start-ups received $7.2-billion.
USA NETWORKS SETTLES DISPUTE: USA Networks Inc. has paid $20-million for a minority stake in National Leisure Group Inc. to settle a lawsuit filed after USA canceled an agreement to buy the travel company. USA Networks also will promote cruises and other vacation packages sold by closely held National Leisure on a travel-themed cable-television channel that USA plans, a National Leisure spokesman said. USA Networks agreed in July to buy National Leisure, which sells travel packages on other companies' Web sites, as part of a $1.5-billion plan to purchase online travel service Expedia Inc. from Microsoft Corp. USA Networks chief executive Barry Diller has said he plans to complete the Expedia buyout.
FEDEX OUTLOOK POSITIVE: FedEx Corp. said it expects its second-quarter earnings to beat Wall Street expectations even without government assistance being offered to airlines to offset the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Executive vice president and chief financial officer Alan Graf Jr. said solid growth of FedEx Ground, the company's home-delivery business, contributed to the profitability this quarter. The express delivery company said its earnings are expected to be 40 to 45 cents a share for the quarter ending Nov. 30, compared with analysts' predictions of 35 cents a share. FedEx shares closed up $1.38 at $40.86.
FORD OFFER EXTENDED: Ford Motor Co. said it is extending its no-interest finance offer through Nov. 20, following rivals General Motors and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group. The program offers Ford customers 36-month, zero percent financing on cars, sport utility vehicles, minivans and pickup trucks except the Thunderbird and Escape, a spokesman said.
EBAY SAYS GROWTH ON TRACK: EBay executives affirmed their aggressive long-term growth targets and expressed optimism that the company will remain strong despite the economic downturn. Chief executive Meg Whitman said the online auction site is expected to reach $3-billion in revenue by 2005. She expects the company to see sales rise 50 percent in 2002. Nonetheless, eBay shares fell $4.48, or nearly 8 percent, to $52.52.
NEWSPAPER TO OFFER ONLINE EDITION: New York Times Co. is selling a full version of its printed New York edition on the Web to boost sales from people who can't buy the newspaper easily. The newspaper gets about 30,000 subscription orders a year that it can't fill, and international readers also are potential subscribers, said Scott Heekin-Canedy, senior vice president of circulation. The edition is available now to those with high-speed Internet access, and a dial-up service is planned. The New York edition of the Times isn't available normally in print outside metropolitan New York.
TREASURY AUCTION: Interest rates on short-term Treasury securities fell in Monday's auction. The Treasury Department sold $15-billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 2.05 percent, down from 2.17 percent last week. An additional $14-billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 2.005 percent, down from 2.13 percent. The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors: 2.089 percent for three-month bills and 2.054 percent for a six-month bill. In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year constant maturity Treasury bills fell to 2.31 percent last week from 2.37 percent the previous week.
Net income at the Tampa company exceeded analysts' lowered expectations by a penny a share for the quarter ended Sept. 30. Sykes, a major operator of call centers, projected fourth-quarter net income will be in the range of 4 to 6 cents a share on revenues of $120-million to $125-million.
The Louisville, Ky., managed-care giant reported a 30 percent increase in earnings for the quarter ended Sept. 30, as premiums assessed commercial members outpaced rises in medical costs.
The Tampa office equipment consolidator reported a 54 percent increase in net income during its second fiscal quarter, but much of the gain reflected the adoption of a new accounting standard. Global cut 50 jobs during the quarter and expects the move to save $4-million per year. The company also lowered its earnings projection for fiscal year 2002.
Correction
Diana Evans is executive director of the state Board of Funeral and Cemetery Services. An article in Money & Business on Sunday incorrectly identified her in one reference.