BUSINESS BRIEFS
CheapTickets, Orbitz for sale?
Advertiser News Services
Cendant Corp. said it received several offers for its travel business, which includes Orbitz and CheapTickets.com, and may sell the unit rather than spinning it off as part of a planned breakup.
Analysts estimate the business may fetch as much as $4 billion. Several buyers have expressed interest, the New York-based travel and real-estate services company said today in a statement.
Through a subsidiary, Cendant owns Coldwell Banker's residential and commercial real estate business on O'ahu.
SUN CEO QUITS AMID LOSSES
SAN FRANCISCO — Scott McNealy, the often outspoken co-founder of Sun Microsystems Inc. and one of Microsoft Corp.'s most vocal critics, stepped down as CEO after 22 years yesterday as the pioneering maker of computer servers reported a wider quarterly loss.
Jonathan Schwartz, Sun's president, retains his current position and takes over as chief executive, while McNealy will remain chairman and a full-time employee of the Santa Clara-based company.
Sun's shares surged nearly 9 percent after the announcement of McNealy's exit and the $217 million loss that met Wall Street expectations. McNealy was under increasing criticism from analysts and former executives, who said he wasn't doing enough to restore the company to profit.
PAPA JOHN'S PLANS 10-MINUTE PIZZA
The fast in fast food is about to take on frantic new meaning: the 10-minute pizza.
Papa John's today is expected to announce head-spinning plans to roll out what it claims will be the fastest made-to-order pizza in America. If all goes as planned, the No. 3 chain would eventually become the first national pizza retailer to promise fresh pizzas in 10 minutes — or less.
It's dubbed: Papa's 10 Minute Carry-out Customer Guarantee. In limited test marketing, the guarantee had been that if the pizza doesn't arrive in 10 minutes during lunch hours only, it's free. Papa John's test stores miss the 10-minute mark less than 1 percent of the time, the company says.
Correction: Papa John's guarantees a pizza to be ready for customers to pick up in 10 minutes or less after ordering or it's free. The offer applies to lunch hours only.
