COVINGTON - A federal bankruptcy court judge Wednesday dismissed the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Madison Entertainment LLC, owner of the Madison Theater in Covington. The action could lead to a bank foreclosure on the theater, which still is operating, if a sale of the property cannot be worked out with the agreement of creditors.

The U.S. Trustee had proposed the dismissal, arguing that Madison Entertainment had not met requirements for the bankruptcy.

Owners of the theater had negotiated a preliminary deal to sell the theater for $1.2 million, but the future of that deal is uncertain.

"If there's a possibility for a sale without need for a foreclosure, that's great," said Bob Sanker, a lawyer representing Provident Bank, a creditor for about $2.8 million from the theater's owners. "If not, we'll pursue the foreclosure."

A lawyer for Madison Entertainment could not be reached for comment.

Stock options rule delayed 6 months

The U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board agreed to delay by six months implementation of a rule that will force companies to treat employee stock options as an expense.

The 5-2 vote by the Norwalk, Conn.-based board came after two years of debate that pitted proponents such as billionaire investor Warren Buffett against Craig Barrett, chief executive officer of Intel Corp. The delay, until June, will give companies more time to set up procedures to value options and may aid opponents who hope to scuttle it.

The change would force companies to more clearly state the cost of awarding employee stock options, which until now has mostly been relegated to footnotes in financial statements. Such accounting would have reduced per-share profit among companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index by 3 percent in 2003, according to a study by Bear Stearns Cos.

Phone customers will keep getting subsidy

Some 30,000 low-income customers of Cincinnati Bell Telephone will continue to receive an additional $5.25 a month discount on their bills, under a decision Wednesday by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

The commission denied a company-requested waiver under its alternative regulation plan which would have ended the additional discount under one of the company's "lifeline" plans. Spokesmen for the Ohio Consumers' Counsel and Communities United for Action, representing low-income customers, hailed the decision. A Bell spokeswoman said the company was disappointed and was considering an appeal.

McDonald's predicts fatter times ahead

CHICAGO - McDonald's Corp. said Wednesday its third-quarter profits will come in well above Wall Street estimates, reflecting a sales resurgence in its U.S. restaurants.

The announcement prompted the latest jump in McDonald's stock, which has doubled since the company began reviving flagging sales and earnings in spring 2003. Shares rose $1.31, or 4.8 percent, to close at $28.86 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The fast-food giant said its per-share profits for the quarter will top last year's by about 42 percent, due largely to impressive September sales. Its earnings estimate of 61 cents per share is 12 cents higher than the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.

SEC checks reports of newspaper numbers

NEW YORK - The Securities and Commission is conducting an investigation into circulation reporting in the newspaper industry following several disclosures of fraudulent practices in recent months.

The SEC has asked for information from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, an organization that tracks readership, and from publishers of papers including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

Circulation bureau spokeswoman Martha Dittmar declined to say what the SEC sought. Data from the bureau, based in Schaumburg, Ill., and run by publishers and advertisers, is used to set advertising rates.

The SEC, in keeping with its usual practice, declined to comment on whether any such investigation was under way.

Staff/wire reports