Business briefs for May 16, 2003

Friday, May 16, 2003 | 10 a.m.

Government touts 'Operation E-con'

WASHINGTON -- The government touted dozens of its most important Internet investigations during 2003 in an attempt to demonstrate that the FBI and other agencies are tackling cybercrime seriously despite the ongoing war on terrorism.

The Justice Department dubbed the effort "Operation E-con," a collection of separate investigations over the past five months that targeted investment scams, sales of stolen software, online banking fraud and even a purported Russian marriage service. Attorney General John Ashcroft called the program "a decisive, nationally coordinated effort to root out and take action against some of the leading online, economic crime."

First-quarter earnings up 31%

ROUND ROCK, Texas -- Dell Computer Corp. continued its dominance of the personal computer industry in the first quarter, reporting a 29 percent surge in worldwide shipments and strong net income.

Dell, the largest personal computer maker, on Thursday reported a 31 percent jump in first-quarter profit to $598 million, or 23 cents per share. That compares to $457 million, or 17 cents per share, a year earlier. The results matched the expectation of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.

Revenue rose 18 percent, to $9.53 billion from $8.07 billion a year ago, roughly matching analysts' expectations.

Westwood exec hired as COO

NEW YORK -- The chief executive of Westwood One, the radio syndication company, will become president and chief operating officer of Infinity Broadcasting, the second-largest radio group in the nation, the company said on Thursday.

Joel Hollander is succeeding John Fullam, who resigned last month after less than a year in the job because of declining revenue at Infinity, which is owned by Viacom. Hollander's appointment will take effect June 16, according to John Sykes, the chief executive of Infinity, which owns 185 radio stations nationwide.

Infinity owns the Las Vegas radio stations KMXB 94.1-FM, KLUC 98.5-FM, KMZQ 100.5-FM, KXTE 107.5-FM, KXNT 840-AM and KSFN 1140-AM.