The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • C3

Orlando Sentinel: PRODUCT: OS DESK: BIZ DATE: 10-31-2006 EDITION: FLA ZONE: FLA PAGE: C3.0 DEADLINE: 20.45 OP: apinkston COMPOSETIME: 21.57 CMYK Orlando Sentinel TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2006 C3 INSIDE BUSINESS Wanted: More skilled workers Briefcase I News of note Auto-parts maker files for Chapter 1 1 Dura Automotive Systems Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, becoming the fifth major U.S. auto-parts company since February 2005 to seek protection from creditors. Dura, a maker of parking brakes, door hinges, seat recliners and other parts, listed liabilities of $1.73 billion and assets of $1.99 billion in papers filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

The company said it was forced to file for Chapter 11 because of North American production cutbacks by U.S. automakers and rising costs for raw materials such as steel. Dura joins Tower Automotive Collins Aikman Dana Corp. and Delphi Corp. in seeking court protection.

LOCAL Stocks finish mixed after Wal-Mart sales Wall Street ended an erratic session narrowly mixed Monday, largely shrugging off a lackluster sales report from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and news of weak consumer spending last month. The market's ability to withstand bad news especially from Wal-Mart, seen by many traders as a barometer of consumer sentiment illustrates the confidence many investors seem to have in the overall direction of the economy and Wall Street itself. Still, it was clear that investors were somewhat tentative after Friday's weaker-than-expected reading of the gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the economy. Adding to concerns Monday was the Commerce Department report that consumer spending rose an anemic 0.1 percent in September, the smallest increase in 10 months.

Personal income, however, was up 0.5 percent. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A survey to be released by Workforce Central Florida gives a snapshot of the local employment picture. By SARA K. CLARKE SENTINEL STAFF WRITER Skilled workers are in short supply in Central Florida, according to a survey of employers released today. Nine out of 10 employers said they have a problem finding qualified workers, according to the survey, which was conducted by Workforce Central Florida, a publicly funded employment agency.

"Employers are having to compete for employees," said Gary Earl, CEO of Workforce Central Florida. Earl called the competition a dynamic of the area's growing, healthy economy. The results of the survey were scheduled to be unveiled today at the fourth annual "State of the Workforce Summit." The report covers five counties Sumter, Lake, Seminole, Orange and Osceola. As a result of the lack of available sues were improving public education and supporting existing businesses. When asked what types of skills employees needed most, employers reported communication, problem-solving skills and work ethic and readiness in the top three.

Denni Lang, manager of AAA Employment in Winter Park, screens potential hires for her clients, finds out about their stability and checks their references. While many people are legitimate, there are many who have hopped from job to job and whose references don't pan out. "People are just not as conscientious about their work history as they used to be," said Lang, who has been with her company for more than 20 years. As far as basic skills, communication is one that Lang often sees lacking in new recruits "I think it's generational," she said. "I think people aren't taught to listen.

They don't give you their undivided attention." Sara K. Clarke can be reached at 407-420-5664 or skclarkeorlandosentinel.com. skilled workers, half of employers said they've had to increase the workload of their current staff. A quarter of respondents reported declines in quality, 24 percent said productivity had declined and 19 percent said they were unable to expand because of the shortages. But the survey wasn't all sour news employers are using new recruiting technologies, such as the Internet, Earl said.

And, he added, more employers are exploring training opportunities from supervisory training, to safety or linguistic instruction as a means to retain workers. About half of employers said they offered tuition reimbursement to encourage training participation. "A lot of companies out there have people in their work force who are just one cut away from a promotion," Earl said. Many businesses said location was one of Central Florida's biggest strengths, along with the area's robust economy and overall population growth. About 60 percent of employers indicated they have plans to expand during the next 12 months.

Among the critical work-force is Monster co-founder quits board amid options probe Minute Maid ups OJ price 4th time By RON DAY and JONATHAN THAW BLOOMBERG NEWS Monster Worldwide owner of the most-used jobs Web site, said co-founder Andrew McKelvey quit as chairman emeritus after he refused to cooperate with a special committee probing the company's options-granting practices. McKelvey, 72, also rocirfnoH rrm tVio Doard, New York- didn't understand that manipulating the dates on options grants was improper. "There's an options issue from when he was with the company, and some of it falls on his shoulders," said Pacific Crest Securities analyst Steve Weinstein, who rates the shares "sector perform" and said he doesn't own them. "There's talented management in place, and hopefully they can move on unencumbered by the options issue." Monster is among more than 150 companies that have disclosed internal or federal probes into whether they inflated the value of options by dating them when the stock price was at its lowest. The inquiries have led to ousters of more than 40 people, including 10 chief executives, and criminal charges against two of them.

Monster said on Oct. 25 that it plans to restate results for the years 1997 through 2005. The options review has cost about $4.5 million this year and expenses will continue in the fourth quarter, the company said. Monster shares rose $1.03 to close at $41.32 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. based Monster said Monday.

He would not attend a meeting scheduled for Monday and wouldn't guarantee to appear later, his Andrew McKelvey: Also left CEO post. lawyer Steven Reich said in a letter filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. McKelvey, who founded Monster's predecessor in 1967, quit as chief executive officer three weeks ago, saying he didn't have time to take part in the probe and manage the company. Reich wrote in the letter that during a July meeting with the committee, McKelvey said he Nemours Clinics drop Blue Cross Unless one side blinks in the next two months, families covered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida no longer will be able to use their insurance at Nemours Children's Clinics. Nemours said Monday it would terminate its contract with Blue Cross effective Jan.

1, 2007. The insurance provider's reimbursements "are insufficient to support the level of care required by our patients," said Dr. R. Jay Cummings of Nemours. Dr.

Barry Schwartz of Blue Cross said the insurance company "must balance the value provided by the specialty clinic against the absolute need to provide affordable health coverage to our members." Nemours said the termination would affect 42,000 patients in Florida. It pledged financial assistance "to qualifying patients." Hardin starts retail center work Hardin Construction began building walls Monday for a large shopping center development in Winter Garden. The project, called Winter Garden Village at Fowler Groves, calls for a 1.15 million-square-foot open-air retail center located at County Road 535 and 429 Expressway. It is being developed by the Sembler Co. The initial walls will be a part of the Exchange, a row of shops next to the expressway and featuring tenants including Super-Target, Marshall's, Best Buy, Ross Dress for Less and Old Navy.

The project will be divided into three sections including the Exchange, the Crossings and the Grove. Law firm reaches milestone Orlando-based law firm Aker-man Senterfitt said Monday that it has reached a milestone in its growth with 500 attorneys and consultants in 12 U.S. offices. It employs more than 1,100 people nationwide, and in the past year has added offices in New York, Los Angeles and increased the size of its office in Washington, D.C. The firm said it is the largest in Florida with offices in all major metro areas.

Akerman Senterfitt was founded in 1920 in Orlando. Clients include private and public companies, governmental entities, educational institutions and high net-worth individuals. STATE Busch Gardens closes Python Python one of Busch Gardens first roller coasters stops running today after 30 years. Busch Gardens Tampa plans to tear down Python and redevelop much of the park's Congo area to make room for what officials say will be a major new attraction. Spokesman Gerard Hoeppner said Busch is not ready to release information about the new development, which will be under construction into 2008.

Other Busch attractions being affected include the ViVi Restaurant, which is now closed, and the Claw Island White Tiger Exhibit, which will be lost to public view when construction walls go up this week. Python, a double-corkscrew coaster, opened in 1976. Winn-Dixie adds walk-in clinics Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. said Monday that it's joining with Well-spot Medical Clinics Inc. of Birmingham, to open free-standing walk-in medical clinics in three Jacksonville-area Winn-Dixies.

The clinics are due to open in mid-November. Winn-Dixie said it plans to add additional clinics in the Jacksonville area early next year, and expand the clinics to Winn-Dixies with in-store pharmacies in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana through the end of 2007. NATION Delphi, SEC reach settlement Delphi Corp. won't pay fines or admit wrongdoing under a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which sued the bankrupt auto-parts maker and 13 individuals for fraud and other accounting violations Monday.

Former Chief Executive Officer J.T. Bat-tenberg and eight other former Delphi executives were accused of fraud or aiding in accounting violations, the SEC said in a statement. Three of the nine, including former finance chief Alan Dawes, agreed to pay fines to settle their cases. The SEC also sued four people who didn't work at Delphi. Monday's moves by the SEC may ease Delphi's exit from bankruptcy.

EARNINGS FPL Group Florida's largest utility owner, said third-quarter net income rose to $524 million, or 1 .32 a share, from $339 million, or 87 cents, a year earlier. Revenue increased 34 percent to $4.69 billion. Juno Beach-based FPL Group is the parent of Florida Power Light. Faro Technologies Inc. reported third-quarter net income of $3.2 million, or 22 cents a diluted share, compared with $2.6 million, or 18 cents a diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.

Sales rose 17.8 percent to $38.4 million. Lake Mary-based Faro and its subsidiaries design, develop, manufacture and market software and portable, computerized-measurement devices. Information from Bloomberg News and The Associated Press was used in this report. Mark Chediak, Scott Powers and Harry Wessel of the Sentinel staff also contributed. By JERRY W.JACKSON SENTINEL STAFF WRITER Florida's small citrus crop is boosting the price of orange juice even more.

Minute Maid, the Houston-based business unit of Coca-Cola North America, announced Monday its fourth wholesale price increase of the year. Before 2006, Minute Maid had not raised prices in five years. Wholesale prices for Minute Maid's Simply Orange Juice brand and Minute Maid Premium Orange Juice will increase 9 percent to 1 1 percent this month, the company said. That will bring the total of the four increases this year to about 16 percent or 17 percent, company spokesman Ray Crockettsaid. "After January 1, our trade spending also will be curtailed," he said, reducing or eliminating promotions such as two-for-one deals and other discounts.

The list-price increase plus cuts in trade spending together will boost prices as much as 20 percent to 25 percent across the company's chilled and frozen juice portfolio. Mike Saint John, Minute Maid's business-unit manager, said the recent Florida orange-crop estimate of 135 million boxes was below expectations, driving up the price of fruit and orange-juice futures and prompting the latest price increase. Minute Maid, which was based in Orlando in the 1960s before moving to Houston, produces juice from an Auburndale plant in Polk County and under contract with the Cutrale juice company and its plants in Leesburg and Auburndale. Minute Maid also has a research-and-development facility in Apopka. Other juice companies, including Pepsi's Tropicana, have been raising prices as Florida's crop has been hit by hurricanes and tree losses in recent years.

But the Florida Department of Citrus said this month that retail orange-juice prices on an inflation-adjusted basis were lower than they were five years ago. Jerry W. Jackson can be reached at 407-420-5721 or jwjacksonorlandosentinel.com. NAI Realvest exec leaves to start own company in 1988 and started with three people. Today, the company has 63 people, including 27 brokers.

The company did more than $300 million in commercial real estate transactions last year. It has offices in Maitland, Jacksonville and Daytona Beach. As part of a company restructuring, Livingston announced the appointment of Rebecca York to head the Capital Markets Division, which manages real estate investments. Livingston said the company will also be expanding, with new offices and increased development activities. The company has been developing between 300,000 square feet and 500,000 square feet of commercial space annually.

The new offices are to open in south Orlando and in Polk County early next year. Jack Snyder can be reached at 407420-5094 or jsnyderorlandosentinel.com. By JACK SNYDER SENTINEL STAFF WRITER Stephen Neveleff, president of NAI Realvest, a major commercial real estate investment company and brokerage based in Maitland, has resigned to start his own company. Neveleff has been with NAI Real-vest for 13 years, the past two as president and a principal. He said national and international investors whose business he has developed over the years will become the base for his new real estate investment company.

Neveleff also said that for the past seven years he has worked with investors outside of his NAI Realvest responsibilities. George Livingston, NAI Realvest's founder, chairman and chief executive officer, said a nationwide search will be launched to find Neveleff successor. Livingston founded the company DHbert I Scott Adams Intuit to open customer-support center INTUIT FROM CI LUCKILY I HAVE ttsanoth i OF USELESS WORK AND i lJACCOKPLISHKEN'Tj A MEANINGFUL PERSONAL LIFE RATBERT BROKE THE XBOX. NOTHING! i it's business-level products, while under-grads majoring in business, accounting or finance could handle calls about the company's consumer tax-preparation products. Intuit, based in Mountain View, employs about 4,000 people in call centers worldwide, Runda said.

About half are based domestically and the rest are Intuit call center sites in the U.S. include Tucson, Reno, and San Diego. Chris Cobbs can be reached at 407420-5447 or ccobbsorlandosentinel.com. with a goal of having 150 full-time-equivalent staff by Jan. 1, Rundasaid.

Of the 150, about 75 will be full-time, hourly workers, he said. Another 75 full-time-equivalent positions will consist of 150 part-timers each working about 20 hours a week. Staff levels are likely to vary during the year, reaching a peak during the January-to-April income-tax season. Graduate students with tax or accounting backgrounds may be hired to field questions about Intu-.