The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • Page 16

TUESDAY, May 30, 1995 Business B-6 Walking away was out of step for Gates fl RETAIL THE GROUP of Seven industrialized nations will probably reject a controver Microsoft's co-founder surprised many by giving up on the planned $2 billion purchase of Intuit. sial plan to curb currency speculation when they meet in Halifax, Nova Scotia, June 15 for a two-day summit, the author fight Yet he chose to do precisely that with his surprise announcement May 20 that Microsoft Corp. was abandoning its planned $2 billion purchase of Intuit Inc. because of the Justice Department's antitrust challenge to the deal and the prospect of delays. of the plan said Monday.

Nobel Prize-winning U.S. economist James Tobin proposes taxing currency trades to dampen speculation. But Tobin said the leaders of the ma NEW YORK TIMES jor industrialized nations "do not have the will to do it High on the G-7 agenda is said Richard Shaffer of Technologic Partners, a New York consulting company. "Microsoft has momentum, money and market power in this industry, and that is not going to change." Another thing that will not change is continued government scrutiny of Microsoft's every move, if only because of the company's size and reach in the industry. Microsoft's dominant position in personal-computer operating systems with its Windows program, its leading products in applications such as word processing and spreadsheets, and its plans to enter the online business with Microsoft Network ensure that officials in Washington will closely watch the company.

Anne Bingaman, assistant attorney general in charge of the antitrust division, would not say last week whether there were other Microsoft activities her agency was investigating. away by a man known for pragmatism but not known for walking away," said David Coursey, editor of PC Letter in San Mateo, Calif. Giving up on the merger with Intuit is clearly a setback for Microsoft, but not a serious blow to a company that dominates personal-computer software. Intuit's Quicken program is by far the most popular personal-finance software on the market for tasks such as family budgeting and balancing checkbooks. With Intuit Microsoft hoped to quickly gain a leadership position in the new markets of electronic commerce and home banking, which are expected to become multibillion-dollar businesses.

Now, Microsoft must try to build that franchise on its own. And its personal-finance program, Microsoft Money, badly trails behind Quicken. "Losing Quicken will slow Microsoft down, but it won't change its direction," Gates the overhaul of international financial in The reversal by Mi- stitutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. NEWSPAPERS Bill Gates, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, seems to attract admiration and fear in equal measure. In the computer industry and in government circles, he has been called everything from a bril- liant inventor-entre-1 'JQQfffiEl preneur to a ruth- ssUSJ less monopolist Some regard him as the Thomas Edison of the information age; others see John D.

Rockefeller. One thing Gates, America's richest man, is not known for is walking away from a NEWSPAPER SALES fell in most coun crosoft shows the powerful weapon that government litigation can prove to be in fast-moving, high-technology industries. But the decision also shows a side of Gates' character that of the cool, calculating business executive that rarely gets much attention in all the discussion of him as an industry visionary and a competitor along the take-no-prisoners model. This is a pragmatic decision to walk tries in 1994, hitting developed countries hardest, according to an annual survey released Monday by the International Federation of Newspaper Publishers. The survey, released as the federation opened its 48th congress in Paris, showed a fall of 1.87 percent in the European Union, 1.33 per cent in the United States, and 0.17 percent Japan.

Japan led the world in daily sales with 71.9 million, the United States was second with 59 million, and Germany third with 25.7 million. RETAIL Notebook-computer makers use Pentium BROOKS BROTHERS is re-tailoring it self to ride the more casual wave in U.S. businesswear. The problem, Marks Spencer PLC Chairman Richard Green- bury said, is that the well-known retailer is perceived as stuffy in an increasingly casual world. Marks Spencer PLC owns Brooks Brothers.

To address the fashion shortcoming, "We're adding soft classics, somewhere between traditional Brooks Brothers and Armani," said Chris Littmo-den, a director of Marks Spencer's North American business. "We're adding new Dell and other makers of small portables are introducing new models that use the powerful chip. 17 tf ltt j' 1 ti Hi1 him rs REUTERS fabrics and styles. There will also be more formal wear. MANUFACTURING BANGLADESH GARMENT manufac turers said they would try to retain their share 'of the U.S.

market despite a campaign to boycott their products because children are used as laborers. A group of the manufacturers will visit the United States in June to explain their position on child labor. The manufacturers estimate that about 10,000 of the 800,000 people em ASSOCIATED PRESS American Queen, the largest steamboat ever, arrives in New Orleans; it accommodates 436 passengers. Travelers streaming to riverboats High demand prompts Delta Queen to spend $65 million on new vessel ployed in 1,600 garment factories are children younger than 14. But other estimates put the figure much higher.

HOME PRODUCTS SEARS, ROEBUCK and moving into the next phase of its revitalization program, plans to build its business by getting customers where they live at home. Home products and services will drive the retailer's growth in the second half of the decade, Arthur Martinez, chief of the Sears Merchandise Group, told financial analysts. For the past two years, the Chicago-based company has trumpeted its more stylish apparel offerings "the softer side of Sears." That campaign, which will continue, was designed to restore Sears' credibility with adult female shoppers who make most household purchasing decisions, Martinez said. The real growth will come from selling Homelife furniture, Kenmore dishwashers, Craftsman power tools and Sears home improvement services to aging baby boomers, he said. BROADCASTING REUTERS HOLDINGS PLC on Wednesday launched a U.S.

financial television service for the foreign exchange, debt and treasury markets. Reuters Financial Television, or RFTV, which was introduced in Europe last year, delivers live coverage of key market events, including speeches, summit meetings and interviews with company executives. Cameras have been installed in more than 40 trading rooms in Europe, Asia and the United States to get live NEW YORK Dell Computer Toshiba America and Hewlett-Packard Co. are expected today to unveil notebook computers designed around the new mobile version of the powerful Pentium chip from Intel Corp. Pentium chips normally consume a lot of power, but the new version Intel designed for mobile computers uses less power.

Dell said it will introduce a total of nine new models of its Latitude notebook computers, including the Latitude XPi based on the new 75-megahertz and the 90-me gahertz mobile Pentium processors. The XPi has a special launch price of $2,999 and $3,399, with a one-year warranty. With the new XPi models, Dell has also upgraded the battery so that it can last even powering a Pentium chip for an average of almost five hours, or about as long as a coast-to-coast airplane trip. The new Latitude XPi notebooks also have 10.4-inch color screens, standard eight megabytes of memory, a 340-megabyte hard drive, which can be upgraded to a 1.2 gigabyte drive, and weigh about 6.2 pounds. The XPi will be available for mail-order delivery worldwide in mid- to late June.

Dell also will introduce new models based on Intel's 486DX4 processor, called the Latitude XP, with a 75- or 100-megahertz processor. These models have an introductory price of $2,799 and $2,999, respectively, with eight megabytes of memory standard, a 10.4-inch color screen, a 340-megabyte hard drive, upgradable to 1.2 gigabytes, and one-year warranty under the special introduction price. Toshiba America, a unit of Toshiba will introduce a new model, called the Protege 610CT, based on the 90-megahertz version of the new mobile Pentium chip, a spokeswoman said. Hewlett-Packard Co also is expected to launch a new version of the Omnibook, the Omnibook 5000, with the mobile Pentium chip, analysts said. ASSOCIATED PRESS "It's an entertainment-oriented product," Cammisa said.

"If there's any driving force in travel today, it's entertainment Whether you look at New Orleans, Las Vegas, Branson Mo. or Disney World, that's where the growth is." The company posted a $9.2 million profit for the 1992-93 fiscal year. Revenue grew from $38.5 million to $66.7 million, and the boats were 92 percent full. Then came the flooding of the upper Mississippi River in 1993. Few cruises on that waterway were disrupted, and cruises on other rivers were not affected If there's any driving force in travel today, it's entertainment.

Whether you look at New Orleans, Las Vegas, Branson Mo.J or Disney World, that's where the growth is. James V. Cammlsa a Miami-based Industry analyst. NEW ORLEANS -Why in the era of cheap airline fares would anyone spend $9,400 to take a boat from Pittsburgh to New Orleans? Never underestimate the lure of a Mark Twain trip on a paddle wheel The Mississippi riverboat business is booming, with travelers willing to spend big on five- or 16-night cruises. Demand is so high that Delta Queen Steamboat Co.

has spent $65 million to build history's largest steamboat, the 418-foot American Queen. "The trick for us is in the way we treat our passengers. When people are paying $250 a night, it's not so much the ship's facilities but the sincerity of the crew that serves them and how they are served," Delta Queen President Jeffrey Krieda said. The new steamer is in river trials and begins service June 27 with a 16-night cruise from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. Krieda arrived at Delta Queen in 1989 and found the company hovering near the break-even line.

About 80 percent of its two boats' space at all. But the public's link between Delta Queen and the Mississippi led to a sharp drop in bookings about the time the company was faced with a 70 percent rise in potential capacity from the arrival of commentary from analysts as events oc the American Queen. "From '89 to '92, it was like shooting cur. NO MARKETS fish in a barrel," Krieda said. "Everything was routinely booked.

But Delta Queen needed to book more rooms and increase its fares even though they already were some of the highest for domestic vacations, Krieda said. A five-night steamboat journey costs from $740 to $3,030 per passenger. The 16-night voyage aboard the American Queen in a top-of-the-line room runs $9,420. Delta Queen has a strong spot in the travel market, said James V. Cammisa a Miami-based industry analyst we did was right.

The flood of '93 sort of STOCK AND bond markets were closed for the Memorial Day holiday. Listings will return in Wednesday's Business sec pulled the rug out from under us. The company expects a 50 percent in tion. crease in passenger nights this year and perhaps the same rate of growth in 1996, Krieda said. Compiled from staff and wire reports Cowabunga! Mutant Ninja Turtles saying goodbye to Disney-MGM Parks and Attractions, which represents about 5,000 members from 65 countries.

"As of now, 104 parks in 14 countries are participating in the World Passport for Kids the program has just gotten started," said IAAPA president and Walt Disney World exec Ted Crowell Henri Landwirth, the charity's founder, said the passes were created to give the families another "escape" when they return home "in hopes that it might prolong the child's life, if even for a day." Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles kicked off their career at Disney-MGM Studios five years ago when it seemed every kid in the country was wearing green, karate-chopping and yelling "Cowabunga!" But now that the heroes-in-a-half-shell craze has cooled and many a turtle suit traded in for Mighty Morphin garb, Disney is letting the green guys go. Their contract is up Thursday. So today and Wednesday are your last chances to mingle with that pizza-lovm' amphibious fighting force. The turtles will be replaced in coming weeks by a live stage show based on the soon-to-be-released Disney animated film: Pocahontas. Universal Studios Florida finally announced the coming of Terminator 2: Battle Wicross Time, the park's rrfutimillion dollar 1996.

Terminator star Arnold Schwartzenegger is working with film director James Cameron and other special effects wizards to produce a ride that combines live action and 3-D film on three screens. "They're trying to achieve something that has never been done spokesman Jim Hampton. Central Florida is getting another taste of Hollywood. Foster's Hollywood, a movie-making-themed restaurant, is opening three area locations, including one in August on International Drive. Owned by Tampa resident Steve Wine-gar, the Foster's Hollywood idea was created in Madrid, Spain, in 1971 and has grown to 22 restaurants in Spain and Portugal.

Six more are expected to open in Florida by the end of the year, including one in Al- wood, Foster's has some signed black-and-white photos of celebrities decorating the walls. But either Michael Caine and Bob Hope write their names just alike or that cursive scrawl across the top was meant to simply identify the stars. So what do the Foster's people see as the difference between their place and Robert Earl's? "We're based on movie-making, and Planet Hollywood is based on celebrities," said Mitch Walker, the director of operations for the U.S. restaurants. "We sell great service and great food; they're a T-shirt factory." Zing! Families who travel with terminally ill children to Give Kids the World Village will now leave with free passes to theme parks near their hometowns.

The vfiage has been adopted by The International Association of Amusement Leslie Doolittle ON TOURISM tamonte Springs. A Casselberry restaurant opened last week. Each restaurant is divided into five themed areas. There's an airplane fuselage, a French bistro, a movie stunt room, an ocean Iinr and a backstage bar area. Somewhat of a poor man's Planet Holly- Leslie Doolittle welcomes your comments and suggestions.

Mail: The Orlando Sentinel, MP-12, P.O. Box 2833, Orlando, Flo. 32802-2833. Phone: (407) 420-5720. E-mail bsOdoolit on America Online; bSOdooltt(goLconJjt Internet ride set to debut in early summer ri.