TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

BIZ BITS

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 21, 2009

Changes sought for harbor pilot program
A study commissioned by the Florida Alliance of Maritime Organizations, whose members include cruise and cargo ship companies, has recommended that the state's harbor pilot program be restructured to allow a competitive system for hiring and paying harbor pilots.

The report issued Tuesday said the average harbor pilot pay in Florida is $368,717, including a median salary of $342,498 at the Port of Tampa.

Walter Energy income drops

Walter Energy Inc., a Tampa-based producer of coal from mines in southern Appalachia for use in steelmaking, said third-quarter income from continuing operations was $24.4 million, or 45 cents a share, down from $71.3 million, or $1.26 per share a year ago. Results were more than double second-quarter performance when the company had continuing operations income of $11.3 million.

New home permit applications slip

Construction of new homes edged up slightly in September, helped by a rebound in single-family construction. But applications for building permits fell by the largest amount in five months, a worrisome sign for future housing work.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that construction of new homes and apartments rose 0.5 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000 units.
Sun Microsystems to cut 3,000 jobs
Sun Microsystems Inc. said late Tuesday it will cut 3,000 jobs in the next year as the computer server and hardware maker continues the process of being acquired by Oracle Corp.

Sun said the cuts would be across all of its geographic areas. According to Sun's Web site, the company employs almost 33,000 workers.

Only 15 GM vehicles returned for refund

Just 15 General Motors vehicles out of tens of thousands sold have been returned for a refund under the automaker's advertised money-back guarantee program, a spokesman said Tuesday.

"The way we see that is it's a pretty strong vote of confidence in our products," Tom Henderson said.

A staff and wire report

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT