MALPRACTICE PROTEST DRAWS 1,000 DOCTORS
THE ORLANDO SENTINEL
About 1,000 physicians rallied in Clearwater Tuesday, continuing the drumbeat call for capping medical malpractice awards in Florida. The doctors, many wearing their white coats, rode on buses from Pinellas, Manatee, Pasco and Hernando counties to decry the high cost of insurance resulting from huge jury awards in malpractice cases. Physicians say the answer is tort reform, and they are calling on the Florida Legislature to cap punitive damages in malpractice cases at $250,000. Doctors from around the state plan to march on the Capitol in Tallahassee on March 27 in another show of solidarity on the issue.
EX-KMART SUPPLIER'S SHARES FALL
Shares of Fleming Cos. fell more than 37 percent Tuesday after the grocery distributor said it would cut 1,800 jobs and take a pretax charge of $290 million as it ends sales to bankrupt Kmart Corp., its largest customer. Fleming also said the Securities and Exchange Commission has upgraded its probe of the company's accounting and sales reporting from an inquiry into a formal investigation. Fleming said the layoffs, closures and write-down of inventory would result in about $290 million in pretax charges. In trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Fleming shares fell $1.12, or 37.7 percent, to close at $1.85, a 52-week low.
KMART CLOSER TO SUING EX-CEO
Kmart Corp. said Tuesday it has found evidence supporting possible legal action against former chief executive Charles Conaway. The company was investigating whether the retailer's deteriorating finances were hidden from the board in the months before the company filed for bankruptcy. The conclusion was part of hundreds of pages of documents related to its internal probe and reorganization plan that were released at federal bankruptcy court in Chicago, where Kmart representatives appeared for a hearing Tuesday. Conaway has denied the claims. Kmart filed for bankruptcy in January 2002.
AMGEN PREDICTS ROBUST GROWTH
Amgen Inc., the world's largest biotechnology company, Tuesday forecast global product sales growth of up to 32 percent a year through 2005 and reaffirmed its 2003 earnings targets. If the projection pans out, Amgen's sales would more than double by 2005 to more than $11 billion from last year's $5 billion, company executives said at an analyst and investor meeting in Los Angeles. Amgen also said it expects annual earnings per share growth of 25 percent to 27 percent from 2002 to 2005. Wall Street analysts, on average, have projected Amgen's EPS growth at 26 percent this year, 22 percent in 2004 and 20 percent in 2005.
MIRANT DELAYS EARNINGS REPORTS
Energy supplier Mirant Corp. said Tuesday it is delaying the release of its quarterly and year-end earnings because of an ongoing audit. Atlanta-based Mirant, a spinoff of Southern Co., had planned to release its earnings later this week. It did not give a new date. Shares of Mirant closed up 2 cents, at $1.62, in trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Clear Channel Communications Inc., the nation's largest radio station operator, posted a fourth-quarter profit of $184 million, or 30 cents per share. That compares with a loss of $366 million, or 61 cents per share, in the corresponding period in 2001. The results were 3 cents a share more than analysts' estimates. Revenue rose to $2.2 billion from $1.86 billion. For the full year, Clear Channel said it earned $725 million, or $1.18 per share, on revenue of $8.4 billion.
Hewlett-Packard Co. posted fiscal first-quarter earnings of $721 million, or 24 cents per share, on sales of $17.9 billion. That compares with the company's pre-merger profits of $484 million, or 25 cents per share, on sales of $11.4 billion in the same period last year. Excluding one-time items, the company earned 29 cents per share, 1 cent more than estimates.
Federated Department Stores Inc. reported a fourth-quarter profit of $341 million, or $1.78 per share, compared with a loss of $447 million, or $2.23 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding the costs of store closings and consolidations, earnings for the quarter were $1.99 per share, exceeding the $1.95 projected by analysts. Sales were $5.02 billion, down from $5.13 billion a year earlier. For fiscal 2002, earnings were $818 million, or $4.12 per share, on sales of $15.44 billion. Federated's stores include Bloomingdale's, Macy's and Burdines.
Home Depot, the nation's largest home-improvement chain, reported fourth-quarter earnings of $686 million, or 30 cents a share, compared with $710 million, or 30 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts were expecting net earnings of 27 cents a share. Revenue slipped to $13.21 billion from $13.49 billion. For all of 2002, Home Depot reported net income of $3.66 billion, or $1.56 a share, on revenue of $58.25 billion.
Meat processor Smithfield Foods Inc. reported third-quarter earnings of $5.3 million, or 5 cents a share, compared with $54.5 million, or 49 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Sales fell to $2 billion from $2.1 billion. The company blamed low prices for live hogs and weak demand for fresh pork for most of the earnings decline.