IN THE COURTS

FASTOW SAYS SKILLING WANTED TO ‘JUICE’ ENRON’S EARNINGS

A former chief financial officer at Enron, Andrew Fastow, testified yesterday that his boss, Jeffrey Skilling, told him to use off-the-books partnerships to “give me all the juice you can” on earnings. Fastow’s remarks, in response to prosecutors’ questions, were the first attempt to show Mr. Skilling, the former chief executive officer, and former Chairman Kenneth Lay, were participants in an accounting fraud that drove Enron into bankruptcy. Fastow, who pleaded guilty to the fraud, said he interpreted Mr. Skilling’s comment to mean he should “juice the earnings so we could report the numbers we wanted to report.”

– Bloomberg News

PUBLISHING

GREENSPAN SELLS MEMOIRS FOR $8 MILLION

Pearson PLC’s Penguin Press imprint paid an $8 million advance for the memoirs of the former Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site yesterday. The book is expected to be released next year.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

AIRLINES

DELTA TO INCREASE FLIGHTS OUT OF JFK

Delta Air Lines yesterday announced a significant expansion of flights flown from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport as part of an effort to better serve its expanding network of international and transcontinental routes, as well as certain key destinations in the Southeast. The Atlanta airline, which filed for bankruptcy protection in September, said it will add 46 new daily flights from JFK to 17 destinations, mostly in the Northeast. The new routes will be introduced from June through September.

– Dow Jones Newswires

FOREIGN INVESTMENT

MIDDLE EASTERN INVESTMENT IN AMERICA PICKS UP

Middle Eastern investment in America is once again picking up steam, showing big gains since the tense period following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. And while some takeovers are triggering alarm – most famously, the purchase by a Dubai-owned company of a seaports management firm – others are evoking warm welcomes.

Spearheading the trend is Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktum (popularly known as “Sheik Mo”), ruler of the freewheeling city-state, which is part of the United Arab Emirates. The ports deal is just one of a series of recent purchases by companies he controls. Other acquisitions include a $1 billion portfolio of 21,000 apartments in Sun Belt cities; a 2.2% stake in the automotive giant Daimler-Chrysler AG that cost $1 billion; and a Manhattan landmark building, 230 ParkAve.

Last week came news that yet another Dubai acquisition is drawing Bush administration scrutiny because of the national security risks – this time of plants in Georgia and Connecticut that make precision components used in engines for military aircraft and tanks. But an entirely different reaction greeted the disclosure several months ago that Dubai Investment Group had acquired the Essex House hotel in Manhattan and promised to sink $50 million into renovating it.

That announcement prompted Mayor Bloomberg to exult: “Another iconic hotel overlooking Central Park will be preserved and its unionized workforce protected. This is excellent news for New York’s tourism and hospitality.”

– The Washington Post

IN BRIEF

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts named Daryl Brewster chief executive officer as it tries to rebound from accounting investigations and a sales slump … Public Storage agreed to buy rival Shurgard Storage Centers for $3.1 billion, the industry’s biggest takeover.

– Bloomberg News