Business today

SOUTHEAST HEADING TO N.Y.: Southeast Airlines will begin flying to Stewart International Airport, which is 55 miles north of New York City and serves the Hudson Valley region, from St. Petersburg-Clearwater International on May 2. The Largo airline will make one flight daily, except Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Fares start at $59 one-way.

ENRON LIABILITY HIKE BLOCKED: A U.S. bankruptcy judge rejected an attempt by Enron Corp. shareholders to increase the liability of Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and other banks sued over the collapse of the bankrupt energy company. Shareholders asked the judge to let them proceed with their suit against Enron, which has been shielded from litigation during its bankruptcy, the second largest in U.S. history.

FEDS CLIP COUPON RING: Federal agents raided homes and grocery stores in seven states and arrested 16 people in a probe of clip-out coupon fraud that investigators said has netted $4.5-million. Some of the money was sent to Jordan and Israel's West Bank. Among the arrested were five people from Florida. The FBI said there was no immediate evidence that the scheme was related to terrorism.

SIMON TRIES CHARTER CHANGE: Simon Property Group Inc., the largest U.S. mall owner, plans to propose an amendment to the charter of rival Taubman Centers Inc. that Simon says would clear a barrier to its proposed $1.7-billion hostile buyout of its rival mall operator. Simon, along with takeover partner Westfield America Inc., plans to present the charter amendment at Taubman's next annual meeting. A provision in Taubman's charter prevents any individual or company from acquiring more than 8.23 percent of Taubman's shares. Simon has offered to purchase all of Taubman's outstanding common shares for $20 apiece in its $1.7-billion takeover bid.

SURGEON SHORTAGE THREATENS TRAUMA CENTER: Orlando Regional Medical Center said it may suspend its trauma services April 1 due to a shortage of neurosurgeons. The next closest trauma facilities are Tampa General Hospital and hospitals in Jacksonville and South Florida. Although Orlando Regional would no longer meet state criteria as a trauma center, the hospital's emergency department could still treat patients with less severe injuries. The hospital blamed the shortage of neurosurgeons on the rising cost of malpractice insurance.

LUCENT STRIKES SEC DEAL: Lucent Technologies has reached an agreement with the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve an investigation into how certain revenues were reported. The telecommunications equipment maker would not pay fines or make financial restatements under the agreement, which still needs final SEC approval. Late in 2000, the company reported to the SEC that it had improperly booked some revenues during the 2000 fiscal year.

NEW RANDOM HOUSE EDITOR: Random House named Daniel Menaker, an executive editor at HarperCollins and a longtime former fiction editor at The New Yorker, as its editor in chief. Random House is part of the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The search for a new Random House editor in chief has been a subject of keen interest in the book industry because of its recent consolidation with Ballantine.

SPANISH BROADCASTING DEAL: Spanish-language broadcaster Univision Communications Inc. and Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. reached a tentative agreement with federal antitrust regulators, removing the largest snag in their proposed merger. Univision, which owns 50 television stations nationwide, said last year it planned to expand into radio by buying Hispanic Broadcasting, which owns 63 radio stations, in an all stock deal valued at $3.5-billion.

Earnings

Superior Uniform Group Inc.: The Seminole uniform manufacturer said it took a non-cash charge of $4.5-million for the year ending Dec. 31 due to changes in accounting rules. Sales were affected by flat or lower employment levels at the company's customers, which include hospitals, hotels, fast food and public safety.

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