Business briefs for Nov. 14, 2003

Friday, Nov. 14, 2003 | 9:12 a.m.

Judge delays sentencing

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- A federal judge delayed sentencing for five former HealthSouth executives Thursday after hearing widely varying estimates on how much a massive fraud cost shareholders.

U.S. District Judge Inge Johnson said she needed another month before deciding on the proper punishment for the five, the first people due for sentencing in the accounting scam.

The postponement came after Neal Seiden, an accountant with the Securities and Exchange Commission, presented an estimate that stockholders lost about $2.8 billion because of the fraud. That was about $1 billion higher than an estimate compiled by probation officials.

The loss amount is crucial because Johnson is required to use it in determining penalties.

Firm looks at fund trading

WASHINGTON -- Charles Schwab Corp. today said it had found that "a small number of parties" were allowed to trade rapidly in and out of its mutual funds to rack up profits at the expense of other investors, a practice being investigated by regulators.

The financial-services company said in its third-quarter filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that an internal review had uncovered the improper trading at the Excelsior Funds run by its U.S. Trust Corp. unit.

It had also identified a "limited number" of instances where clients were allowed to enter or process trades after the 4 p.m. EST market close.

That review apparently was sparked by SEC "examinations" of the San Francisco-based company and subpoenas from New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The company said it is cooperating with those inquiries.

Chain withdraws profit projection

BOISE, Idaho -- Albertsons Inc., the nation's second-largest food and drug retailer, indicated Thursday that the lengthening strike against its Southern California stores is taking its toll on corporate profits.

In a terse statement, the Boise-based company withdrew its forecast for an annual 2003 profit of between $1.70 and $1.75 per share of common stock "due to the magnitude and uncertain duration of the current labor dispute in Southern California.

"The company is unable to provide revised guidance at this time," the statement said.

It posted a profit of $1.22 a share for 2002.

The company said it would report its third-quarter earnings on Dec. 5 as scheduled.

Former execs sued

SAN DIEGO -- Federal regulators sued former top executives of Gateway Inc. on Thursday, alleging they fraudulently inflated the computer company's earnings three years ago to meet analysts' expectations.

In its complaint, filed in federal court in San Diego, the Securities and Exchange Commission said the executives had improperly reduced the size of loan loss reserves, improperly claimed revenue and tinkered with accounting in other ways to meet the market's expectations in the second and third quarters of 2000.

The SEC contended that the "principal architect" was John J. Todd, the company's chief financial officer at the time, who in 1997 had held the same position at Boston Chicken, which filed for bankruptcy in 1998.