Cyprus cruise operator charters former ms Patriot

The cruise ship that operated in Hawaiian waters as the ms Patriot for a year has been chartered to Louis Cruises, a com- pany in Cyprus. The Mediter- ranean operator says it will sub-charter the ship to a British business, Thomson Holidays.

The 1,212 passenger ship will undergo its third name change, to become the Thomson Spirit, said its owners, the Holland America Line subsidiary of Carnival Corp. Originally the Nieuw Amsterdam, the ship was acquired by American Classic Voyages and operated as the Patriot under the United States Lines brand from December 2000 until American Classic went bank- rupt in October 2001. The ship was reclaimed by Holland America in a foreclosure auction in January, was renamed the Nieuw Amsterdam and left Hawaii March 15 for the Bahamas.

Tight inventories help Federated, Gap

New York >> Federated Department Stores Inc.'s fiscal first-quarter earnings were higher than forecast and Gap Inc., the largest U.S. clothing-store chain, had an unexpected profit as the retailers controlled inventory, according to a Bloomberg News report.

Earnings at Federated, owner of the Macy's and Rich's chains, were as much as 18 cents higher than the company had projected. Gap said it will report a profit of 2 cents to 3 cents a share. Analysts had expected a loss of 4 cents.

Profit margins at Federated were better than projected because the company had less merchandise going into the quarter, spokeswoman Carol Sanger said. Gap's inventory per square foot will be down 20 percent from the year-earlier period, Chief Financial Officer Heidi Kunz said.

"I think it's turning (around)," said Patrick Adams, manager of the Englewood, Colorado-based Choice Investment Management.

In other news . . .

Seoul >> Hynix Semiconductor Inc. endorsed a proposal by creditors that may lead to the breakup and sale of the world's third-largest computer memory chipmaker. Hynix has been under pressure from creditors and the government to agree to a breakup after lenders refused to provide fresh loans following Hynix's rejection of a $3 billion takeover by Micron Technology Inc. Creditors want to recoup almost $5 billion in debt.

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