Business briefs for Feb. 3

Tampa airport terminal contract awarded

The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority board on Thursday awarded a $27.6 million design-build contract to Tampa-based Alfonso Architects and HC Beck, LTD to improve the international airside terminal at Tampa International Airport.

The winning team narrowly edged Clark Construction Group, Inc., and HOK Architects on airport staff and prevailed by a 3-0 board vote.

The project, set for completion by November, will add processing booths and baggage claims devices to the Customs and Border Protection area and expand Transportation Security Administration screening to speed processing for international passengers.

In addition, retail, food and beverage concession space will be expanded and added at Airside F.

Deal set for exploration of HMS Victory

Tampa-based ocean explorer Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. reached an agreement with the British Maritime Heritage Foundation for the financing and exploration of the HMS Victory, a warship sunk off Britain in 1744.

Considered the greatest ship in the world when it disappeared, the Victory carried up to 110 guns and gold valued Thursday at $161 million to $1 billion. Odyssey will receive 80 percent of the value of artifacts such as coins and cargo, plus 50 percent of other items such as the fittings and ammunition.

Odyssey discovered the wreck in 2008, far from the site of a lighthouse whose keeper had been blamed in the crash. The discovery led to his exoneration.

Mortgage rates fall to new low at 3.87%

The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell this week to a record low, the ninth time that has happened in the last year. Even with the cheapest rates in history, the housing market remains depressed.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.87 percent this week. That beats the previous record of 3.88 hit two weeks ago.

The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.14 percent, also a record low.

Jan. same-store sales topped estimates

Same-store sales at U.S. retailers in January topped analysts' estimates, led by Limited Brands Inc. and Target Corp., as shoppers took advantage of post-holiday discounts.

Sales at Limited, the Columbus, Ohio-based operator of the Victoria's Secret lingerie chain, climbed 9 percent, beating the average projection for a 2.7 percent gain from analysts surveyed by researcher Retail Metrics Inc. Target Corp., the second-largest U.S. discount retailer, posted a 4.3 percent increase, topping the 2.4 percent estimate.

Sallie Mae alters fee charged to borrowers

The private student lender Sallie Mae is changing how it handles a fee charged to struggling borrowers who seek to temporarily suspend payments.

Sallie Mae isn't cancelling the $50 fee, but said it will now apply the money toward the borrower's loan balance once on-time payments are resumed for six months in a row.

Royal Caribbean forecasts earnings drop

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the world's second-largest cruise operator, forecast 2012 earnings below analysts' estimates after rival Carnival Corp.'s Costa Concordia accident in Italy curtailed new bookings.

Cancellations have remained normal, while new cruise bookings have been hurt, Miami-based Royal Caribbean Thursday in a statement.

Lex Fenwick named new Dow Jones CEO

News Corp. named Lex Fenwick chief executive officer of Dow Jones & Co., the publisher of the Wall Street Journal newspaper.

Fenwick, who replaces Les Hinton, joins Dow Jones from Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP, where he was most recently CEO of Bloomberg Ventures, according to a statement Thursday from New York-based News Corp.

Injunction filed against Martha Stewart Living

Macy's Inc. asked a New York state Supreme Court justice to issue a preliminary injunction against Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. in a filing Thursday in Manhattan.

The retailer sued in New York state Supreme Court on Jan. 23 seeking to stop New York-based Martha Stewart Living from executing a new sales agreement with J.C. Penney Co. Macy's, based in Cincinnati, said it renewed a 2006 agreement for Martha Stewart-branded products that expires in 2018.

Sony more than doubles annual loss forecast

Sony Corp. more than doubled its annual loss forecast, underscoring the challenge for incoming Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai in reviving Japan's biggest consumer-electronics exporter.

The company blamed a stronger yen, cuts in production caused by last year's Thailand floods and the cost of exiting a display-panel venture with Samsung Electronics Co. for widening its forecast to $2.9 billion.

From staff and wire reports