Morning Briefs
Mar 1, 2007ST. JOE ADJUSTS EARNINGS IN FOURTH QUARTER
The St. Joe Co. revised down its fourth quarter 2006 earnings by about $1.5 million after an unfavorable judicial decision late last month in a decade-old sales commission dispute. The company is modifying its litigation reserves as a result of the decision.
The company's fourth quarter earnings now stand at $22.3 million, a 6 percent decline from the previous statement. Its new 2006 earnings are $51 million.
Joe Light/The Times-Union
STATE FARM DIVIDENDS TOTAL $25.2 MILLION
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.'s Florida auto insurance policyholders will receive dividends totaling $25.2 million, the company said Thursday.
Florida policyholders will receive 2 percent of their semi- annual premium. The amounts will vary significantly depending on the customer's premium amount.
Dividend payments will begin in early April and will continue throughout the year. Policyholders can expect to receive their dividend near the time of their policy renewal. Those policyholders receiving less than $15 will be credited to their State Farm renewal premium.
As a mutual insurance company, State Farm's primary obligation is to its policyholders who are therefore eligible to share in the company's dividends.
Urvaksh Karkaria/The Times-Union
BLOCKBUSTER TRYING TO BUY MOVIELINK
Blockbuster Inc. is in advanced talks to buy Movielink LLC as a way to speed its entry into the online movie-downloading business, according to people familiar with the situation.
Movie-rental giant Blockbuster would pay less than $50 million in cash and stock for Movielink, which is owned by five major studios, according to one of those who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal is not final.
The companies declined to make official comment.
Movielink has offered movie downloads since 2002. Recent competitors include Apple Inc.'s iTunes and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
John Antioco, Blockbuster's chairman and chief executive, has been hinting that the company would get into the digital-download business in 2007. Rival Netflix Inc. launched a movie-download service in January.
Associated Press
THREAT OF FINES ESCALATES MICROSOFT-EU FIGHT
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Union escalated its trans- Atlantic fight with Microsoft Corp. on Thursday, threatening new multimillion fines against the software maker over claims it is asking rivals to pay too much for information that would help their servers work with Windows.
In response, Microsoft charged that the treatment it received from the EU is unprecedented and harmed Europe's efforts to become a thriving high-tech economy.
The EU said the software maker could face daily fines as high as 3 million euros ($4 million), and accused Microsoft of protecting its own interests by setting unreasonable prices for the "complete and accurate" documentation competitors would need to build products that interoperate with Windows PCs and servers.
Associated Press
ORACLE BUYING HYPERION FOR $3.3 BILLION
Business software maker Oracle Corp. will buy Hyperion Solutions Corp. for $3.3 billion in cash, renewing a shopping spree aimed at toppling rival SAP AG.
The deal announced Thursday will give Oracle an arsenal of Hyperion products that are widely used by SAP's customers. Hyperion's tools, known as "business intelligence" software, help chief financial officers and other top corporate executives track their company's performance.
Associated Press
(c) 2007 Florida Times Union. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
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