Business briefs for March 12, 2004

Friday, March 12, 2004 | 11:05 a.m.

Vegas trader seeks dismissal of suit

Daniel Calugar, who is accused of reaping $175 million in gains from improper mutual fund trading, has asked that a fraud suit against him by the Securities and Exchange Commission be thrown out, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing a filing released by the U.S. District Court in Las Vegas.

Calugar, who traded out of a Las Vegas office, called the SEC's suit "half-hearted" in the filing, and said it didn't contain relevant violations, the newspaper reported.

The suit alleges Calugar was one of the most successful fund traders involved in market timing and late trading, two practices at the center of an improper trading scandal, the Times reported.

Delta president to run Branson's budget airline

LONDON -- Virgin USA said today that it hired the president of Delta Air Lines to lead the formation of a new budget carrier in the United States.

Frederick W. Reid, Delta's president and chief operating officer, was hired to get the new carrier off the ground by the first quarter of 2005, Virgin USA announced in New York.

The company is a subsidiary of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, which also operates Virgin Atlantic Airways.

The announcement gave no details of where the new carrier would be based or what routes it intended to serve.

Reid is a former president and chief operating officer of Lufthansa German Airlines, and has also held management positions with Pan Am World Airways and American Airlines.

Hospital operator's results weaken

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Kindred Healthcare Inc., owner of two Las Vegas hospitals and a few associated operations, posted a quarterly loss on costs to prepare for the sale of medical facilities it acquired less than three months ago.

The net loss of $30.5 million, or $1.50 a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with net income of $3.07 million, or 18 cents, a year earlier, Kindred said this week. Revenue rose 5 percent to $831 million.

Kindred is selling 10 unprofitable homes and hospitals it bought from Ventas Inc. in December for $85 million.

Expiration of some reimbursements from Medicare, the government health plan for the elderly, also hurt results.

In Las Vegas, Kindred operates Las Vegas hospitals at 2250 E. Flamingo Road and 5110 W. Sahara Ave. It also operates Las Vegas Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center, 2832 S. Maryland Parkway, Torrey Pines Care Center, 1701 S. Torrey Pines Drive and Kindred Pharmacy Las Vegas, 4755 Nevso Drive.