HAWAII

Small Business awards seeking nominees

The U.S. Small Business Administration is accepting nominations for the 2003 SBA Small Business Awards. The Hawaii district office is seeking out small businesses success stories from each island. Candidates generally represent a great diversity in industry and trade as well a having a range of interesting experience and business strategies. The awards also acknowledge strong community involvement. In the past 10 years a number of Hawaii SBA award winners have made it the national awards held in Washington, D.C.

Nomination forms, which must be completed and returned to the SBA by Nov. 15 can be obtained from SBA by calling (808) 541-2990.

MAINLAND

Homestore execs to plead guilty to fraud

WASHINGTON >> Three former executives of Homestore.com, the nation's largest Internet-based provider of residential real estate listings, have agreed to plead guilty to fraudulently inflating company earnings, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced today.

Two former executives of Homestore.com Inc. -- chief operating officer John Giesecke and chief financial officer Joseph Shew -- agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Giesecke also agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud and former vice president John Desimone will plead guilty to insider trading charges, Ashcroft said at a Justice Department news conference.

"Our actions in this case in particular stand as a warning to corporate executives: the Department of Justice will pursue allegations of corporate fraud, regardless of the size or the prominence of the company under scrutiny," Ashcroft said. "We will prosecute those individuals and companies that seek to take advantage of the information technology boom in the economy to steal other people's money."

Giesecke's lawyer, Jan Handzlik, confirmed his client will plead guilty to the charges.

Fleming Cos. will sell food retail division

NEW YORK >> In a highly anticipated move, leading U.S. grocery supplies distributor Fleming Cos. Inc. said yesterday it would sell its low-price food retailing unit and focus on growing its distribution business.

But at the same time, the company slashed its financial outlook for 2002 and 2003 due to a sluggish economic climate and as a result of its move to ditch its retailing operation.

The retailing unit, which consists of about 127 stores, has been a drag on Fleming's profitability due to its declining sales amid fierce competition from the expansion of the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. , and other rivals.

The unit's sale is expected to yield proceeds in excess of $450 million net of taxes, Fleming said in a statement.

Enron's Fastow could be charged next week

ARLINGTON, Va. >> Prosecutors are expected to announce an indictment of Enron's former chief financial officer, Andrew Fastow, as soon as next week, USA Today reported in today's editions, citing legal sources close to the investigation.

A criminal indictment would be the first against one of the former top executives of Enron, a global energy giant whose collapse last year cost shareholders billions, left thousands of workers unemployed and turned a spotlight on corporate ethics.

The indictment is expected to charge Fastow and several of his subordinates with fraud and other crimes related to the vast web of partnerships Enron used to move debt from its books and inflate profits fraudulently, the newspaper said. Investigators say Fastow made at least $30 million on the partnerships during his tenure as CFO from 1999 until October.