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FBI INVESTIGATES KIOSK OPERATORS IN HUNT FOR TERRORIST NETWORK

Agents of the FBI and the Immigration and Naturalization Service have visited scores of mall-based jewelry kiosks since late June, looking for any links the operators may have to terrorist operations overseas. The investigators have visited shopping centers in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Most of the kiosks are operated by Intrigue Jewelers, whose kiosks, the newspaper says, are franchised by a company called Gold Concept, owned by Orlando, Fla., businessman Arif Rajan.

SIMON JOINS S&P 500

Standard & Poor’s has added Simon Property Group to its S&P 500 index, the first retail REIT to be included in the listing. Simon, which was signed up June 25, is the fourth REIT to join the index.

PRIME RETAIL STAVES OFF BANKRUPTCY

Outlet mall owner Prime Retail avoided bankruptcy in July by winning a 45-day extension on a $15.5 million principal payment on a mezzanine loan from Greenwich (Conn.) Capital and Fortress Investment Fund, New York City. With the loan balance now standing at $35.4 million, Prime Retail has until Aug. 15 to make the payment, according to a company statement. Prime Retail operates 43 centers in 25 states and Puerto Rico. Financial problems have plagued the firm since 2000, when it experienced plummeting sales, earnings and occupancy rates, among other woes.

KONOVER CHANGING HANDS

Konover Property Trust has agreed to be bought by Prometheus Southeast Retail Trust, a Lazard real estate fund subsidiary that already owns 67 percent of the company. Under the agreement, Prometheus, in turn, will sell a 45 percent share in Cary, N.C.-based Konover to New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Kimco Realty Corp., which will manage Konover’s properties. Prometheus is paying $26.5 million for Konover, or $2.10 per share of common stock, with the deal scheduled to close by the end of the third quarter. A group of preferred shareholders is challenging the deal, claiming that Konover is being bought at “a bargain price.”

DELL TO SELL COMPUTERS AT KIOSKS

In an effort to boost its sales of personal computers to individual consumers, Dell Computer Corp. is putting kiosks in 20 shopping centers, following a successful test at two malls. The company, which does not sell in stores, gets about 85 percent of its business from corporations, schools and governments.

AMAZON TO ADD APPAREL?

Amazon.com plans to start selling apparel this summer or early fall, according to press reports, which say the online retailer has talked to Gap and Nordstrom about including their wares on its site. But Amazon will not likely become the primary venue for such retailers, as it has for Borders Books & Music and other chains, Dorothy Lakner, a retail analyst at CIBC World Markets, told SCT. Many leading apparel companies already have profitable Internet operations, she observed. Amazon refused to comment.