The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 38

2 Twhf, May 2S IWt TWI TtWwriStJW BUSINESS BRIEFCASE Ojtrfjikd frum Tennessean Xeut Services Coca-Cola sidesteps snags in Cadbury Schweppes deal Coca-Cola Co. is moving to speed up its deal to acquire Cadbury Schweppes' soft drink brands overseas by excluding most of the European Union membership. The companies said the deal still will cover more than 100 countries and is valued at $1.1 1 billion. When announced in December, it covered 126 countries and was worth $1.85 billioa The deal had drawn criticism from the European Union, which raised antitrust questions. As revised, only three EU members Britain, Ireland, and Greece remain involved.

Labor board director rejects doctors' attempt to unionize A landmark attempt to unionize hundreds of doctors in southern New Jersey suffered another setback yesterday after the National Labor Relations Board again rejected their union petition. The case has been watched around the country as many doctors, frustrated by increasing HMO control over their practices, have attempted to unionize. It is the nation's first test of the right of private practice doctors to unionize. Previous NLRB rulings on physician unions concerned doctors employed directly by hospitals or clinics. Dorothy Moore-Duncan, NLRB regional director in Philadelphia, ruled yesterday the doctors in this case are independent contractors and not employees of AmeriHealth whose patients they all treat KRT LUUMNU FUff LEAKS Technician Dave Bickford probes for an exhaust leak at the first repair shop in the nation owned and operated by the American Automobile Association.

The shop, Car Care Plus in Santa Clara, is part of the AAA's campaign to capitalize on its 100-year-old heritage and reputation to continue and expand services to the nation's motorists. Olivetti's acquisition gambit cuts out Deutsche Telekom Olivetti's acquisition of a majority stake in Telecom Italia has dealt a severe blow to Germany's Deutsche Telekom and its ambition of creating a pan-European telecommunications leader and world-class competitor. Olivetti SpA's hostile action has stymied Deutsche Telekom AG's plan to merge with Telecom Italia SpA and left it struggling to mend tattered ties with France Telecom. At the same time, Deutsche Telekom's biggest German competitor, Mannesmann AG, has gained strength and a firm foothold in Italy by buying out Olivetti's stake in two telephone subsidiaries. DeLorean Motor's creditors take $27.8 million settlement A long-running lawsuit on behalf of DeLorean Motor creditors has been settled, marking the end of the defunct automaker's financial battles.

Accounting firm Arthur Andersen has agreed to pay $27.8 million as part of a settlement on behalf of DeLorean's creditors, DeLorean trustee David W. Allard Jr. said yesterday in Detroit He said the settlement, reached Friday, will take care of about 90 of the roughly 260 creditors' bills. Except for a few loose ends, he said this marks the end of the litigation on behalf of the creditors that began more than a decade ago. COAL COMPANY STILL RESPONSIBLE The Supreme Court yesterday refused to free the former operator of two Kentucky coal mines from having to finance health benefits for its retired employees.

The court, without comment, turned away Robert Coal argument a 1992 federal law should not force it to pay for the benefits. Robert Coal operated two mines in Pike County, between 1974 and 1984. During that time, it signed several contracts with the United Mine Workers of America that promised healthcare benefits to its employees. The mines were sold in 1984, and Robert Coal no longer operated them. But the coal miners' union sued the company, saying it still was obligated to provide health benefits to retirees.

In 1992, Congress created the United Mine Workers Benefit Plan to provide lifetime health care benefits. The law requires the company that most recently employed a worker to pay for the benefits. China bans news reports on pager, computer services Pager and computer information services in Shanghai have been ordered to stop carrying news reports, a newspaper reported yesterday. The report by the Xinmin Evening News did not give a reason, but Chinese authorities are trying to muzzle potential sources of dissent ahead of the 10th anniversary of the June 4, 1989, crackdown on prcnlemocracy protests in Tiananmen Square. Shanghai telecommunications officials announced the order at a meeting with representatives of 131 pager and computer services, the newspaper said.

It did not say when the meeting took place. Some pager and computer-based data services carry stock market information and other reports. All news media in China are state-controlled, and Internet users must register with the authorities. The government tries to block access to World Wide Web sites run by dissidents and some foreign news organizations. Macromedia expects bang from Shockwave Web site Software maker Macromedia Inc.

has formed a new unit to promote its Shockwave technology on a Web site it hopes will become an entertainment hub on the Internet The unit, called shockwave.com, will operate a Web site by the same name. Macromedia's Shockwave and Flash software are used to enhance Internet sites by adding animation and sound elements to existing graphics. The site will guide users to games, puzzles and animation using the technology, the company said yesterday. On the Web site, users will be able to download two pieces of software that play Shockwave files. The free Shockwave Remote allows Internet users to search out and play back music, comics and games, and then save up to five pieces of content for use at anytime even when their computers are not connected to the Internet Those who want to save more than five titles can upgrade to Shockmachine, which will be sold for $19.95.

Avis will pay $1.8 billion for Cendant divisions Avis Rent A Car Inc. is buying the auto fleet leasing and fuel card businesses from Cendant Corp. for about $1.8 billion. Avis officials said the deal announced yesterday would help the nation's second biggest auto rental firm expand and diversify its commercial rental business. The deal gives Avis a foothold in Europe.

Avis, based in Garden City, N.J., is buying Cendant's PHH and Wright Express divisions. Business running sweet as honey New York Times Co. starts Internet division To learn more Tennessee Beekeeping Association Dwight Tew, president, 791-1578. National Honey Board In tongmont, Colo. Can be reached at (303) 776-2337, or www.nhb.org.

Ed Johnson Sells honey from his 1206 Dickerson Pike home. Can be reached at 859-7253. Tennessee Beemaster Program For more information, call (423) 974-7138. Web marketplace." The 50 Web sites are expected to generate revenues between $24 million and $26 million this year. New York Times Co.

spokeswoman Nancy Nielsen said the company has no immediate plans to sell shares in its Internet division. But, she added, "we are always looking to increase the value of our company for share-, holders, so this is something we have explored and will ness, although hobbyists tend to focus on honey, said Dwight Tew, president of the Tennessee Beekeepers Association. Many counties also have their own associations, affiliated with the state. The Franklin marketing specialist keeps 15 hives as a hobby and sells mason jars of honey from his home by word of mouth. "It's much more difficult to keep honeybees alive today than 10 years ago, even if you go right by the book for killing mites," Tew said.

"Yet the business is growing significantly, especially for pollination." Getting started in beekeeping costs about $60 for a queen and bees, plus about $50 for a wooden hive. Frames, five or 10 to a hive, cost about 50 cents each. Add in coveralls, gloves, a veil and hat to prevent stings, as well as a smoker to calm the bees, and overall startup costs are relatively low. Tennessee beekeepers must register their hives with the state agricultural department. Registration forms are available from the Extension Service offices.

Last year there were 7,000 honey-producing hives registered. From a single hive, honey production ranges from 5 to 15 gallons arent always successful, UT's Skinner said. "We're not out of the woods yet" The upside has been a greater demand for pollination of crops, due to the lack of wild honeybees. Rental charges range from J30-J50 per hive per cop, with one hive recommended per acre. Thanks to the progress in fighting mites, as well as the mild winter, national honey production rose 12 last year and in Tennessee it swelled 3.2 over 1997.

Nationally, honey produced $144.3 million. Figures on honey demand arent easily available, but industry experts say the amber sweetener is riding the wave of interest in natural and health foods. The agriculture department puts U.S. peropi-ta consumption of honey at about 1.5 pounds a year. Johnson's wildflower honey sells for $5 a quart; clover honey is a buck more.

Johnson also sells jars of bee pollen, small yellow and tan balls believed to strengthen the circulatory system, aid digestion and increase alertness and stamina when eaten. Yet despite rising consumption, a year, Tew said. In its short lifetime, a bee produces about one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey. What you buy from local beekeepers is pure honey, untreated, simply collected and strained. With a gallon of honey weighing about 10 pounds, that means sales of $175 are possible per hive, per year.

"Of course, some years, there's nothing" Tew said. Bees dont make honey year-round either. Their biggest crop runs from the end of April through June. The second honey crop is in the fall. "Beekeeping today takes knowledge, time and money," Skinner said.

Skinner runs a Beemaster program each year, with classes in Knoxville and throughout the state. A one-time, $20 fee covers any courses a beekeeper wants to take, as well as a wealth of pamphlets and other resources. For Johnson, who has been keeping bees all his life, it's a love of bees and pleasure of getting others involved in the business that keeps him going He gets help from his eight children around harvest time and has a ready helper in his wife, Lacy. "More people are getting into it," said Johnson. Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) The New York Times Co.

is grouping its almost 50 Web sites under one business unit, the company announced yesterday. The new division, Times Company Digital, will control all the company's Internet operations, including the site for the company's flagship newspaper, which currently has about 7 million registered subscribers. Other sites under the new unit include a regional information site for New England, which is run by The Boston Globe, one of the company's newspapers. The division will also run a New York City guide called nytoday.com and winetoday.com, a year-old site for wine enthusiasts. Arthur Sulzberger chairman of the company, said the consolidation move "significantly advances our ability to build a high-quality, high-value Internet presence and to respond even more quickly to the fast-moving io iook at Other media companies have, also consolidated their Internet the price has dropped in recent years because of cheaper imported honey from China and Argentina.

That makes competing in the wholesale and bulk honey market tough. Some beekeepers are able to sell to grocery chains or a baker such as McKee Foods the Collegedale, maker of Little Debbie's snacks, Tew said. But the marketing advantage comes in selling honey labeled "local," often at farmers' markets or health-food stores. Pollination makes up about 60 of most Tennessee beekeepers' busi holdings, and some have an: nounced plans to offer shares iri the subsidiaries to the public. Last month, special-interest magazine publisher Primedia' Inc.

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