Business today

MICROSOFT PRESIDENT TO RESIGN: Microsoft Corp. president and chief operating officer Rick Belluzzo said he was stepping down after a little more than a year in the position. Microsoft said in a statement Wednesday that Belluzzo would remain in his position until May, and would stay at the company until September to organize the transition. Belluzzo said in a statement he planned to start his own company. The company said it has no plans to replace him. Microsoft said its seven major business units will be given more responsibility for their fiscal and operational performance. At the end of regular trading, shares of Microsoft closed at $56.33, down 97 cents.

JOB CUTS AT WORLDCOM: WorldCom Inc. is eliminating 3,700 jobs in the United States to better align costs with projected revenue this year. The cuts were limited to the company's WorldCom Group, which includes the high-growth data, Internet and international businesses. They amount to 6 percent of WorldCom Group's employment and 4 percent of the company's 75,000-member global work force. Separately, more than 30 WorldCom employees have filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging widespread racial discrimination at the company. The complaints allege that black workers were hired at lower pay, were subjected to racial epithets, weren't promoted and are more likely to be fired when the company cuts jobs. Shares of the WorldCom Group fell 27 cents to $6.51.

TECH DATA LANDS HP ACCOUNT: Hewlett-Packard Co. has chosen Tech Data Corp. to distribute its all-in-one copier/printer/scanner/fax machines. The deal makes Tech Data the primary distributor for HP's so-called multifunction products. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Tech Data shares fell 44 cents to $45.04.

DYNEGY SHARES FALL AFTER REPORT: Dynegy Inc.'s stock dropped more than 4 percent after a report that the one-time Enron Corp. suitor indulged in complex accounting aimed partly at bolstering its balance sheet. The Wall Street Journal reported that internal Dynegy documents show a financial vehicle launched a year ago that boosts reported cash flow and cuts taxes but has little other purpose. Dynegy said the financial vehicle provides a steady gas source as well as tax benefits. Dynegy's stock fell $1.30 to close at $28.79.

FINANCIAL GROUP TO CUT JOBS: PFPC, a subsidiary of PNC Financial Services Group, plans to lay off 100 workers at its Tampa office. According to Florida's Agency for Workforce Information, PFPC, which provides financial services to mutual fund companies, will trim its staff between June 1 and Oct. 1. PFPC incurred pretax charges of $36-million in the fourth quarter of 2001 to pay for the consolidation of some of its offices.

MILITARY CONTRACT: A Canadian company that specializes in flight simulators has won a $32-million contract to design a helicopter simulator for an Army special operations unit. CAE Inc. of Toronto said it would be the prime contractor for the Army Special Operations Forces Aviation Training and Rehearsal Systems that will help train air crews of AH-6 and MH-6 helicopters. CAE chief executive Derek H. Burney credited the company's decision last year to acquire Reflectone, a U.S. flight simulator company in Tampa, with its ability to land the contract. The AH-6 and MH-6 helicopters, known as Little Birds, are used for a range of missions, including close-air fire support, resupply operations in hostile areas and personnel recovery.

DELTA TO ADD KIOSKS: Delta Air Lines Inc., the second-worst major U.S. carrier for on-time flights in February, is tripling the number of self-service ticket kiosks to try to move passengers through airports faster. The carrier will install 300 upgraded kiosks at domestic airports this year and make them available to all travelers with electronic tickets. Delta will install kiosks for the first time in airports such as Boston, Phoenix and Houston, and add them in cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, New York and Washington. Previously, only certain Delta frequent-flier members could use the kiosks. Delta's on-time performance for February was 81.2 percent; only Alaska Airlines, at 77.9 percent, was worse.

BRISTOL-MYERS LOWERS OUTLOOK: Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said its earnings for the first quarter and the full year would be between 25 and 30 percent below last year's levels because of lower-than-expected sales. The New York drugmaker also announced a shift among its top managers as it struggles to shore up its drug pipeline after losing several key patents. Chairman and chief executive Peter Dolan will assume responsibility for the company's global pharmaceuticals business, the company said. Richard Lane, the company's president for worldwide medicines, will be leaving the company, while the company's chief scientific officer Donald J. Hayden, will become an executive vice president and report directly to Dolan. Bristol-Myers shares fell 26 cents to $37.70 during the regular session.

AIRLINE TRAFFIC MIXED: Airlines reported mixed results for March. United, Delta and Northwest said passenger traffic fell as air travel declined and the carriers reduced service. United's traffic, or number of miles flown by paying travelers, slid 13.1 percent; Delta's traffic declined 6.7 percent and Northwest's traffic slid 7.2 percent. Southwest bucked the trend, saying its traffic rose 1 percent. American Airlines said Tuesday that March traffic fell 12 percent. America West Airlines said traffic fell 8.2 percent.

LOUISIANA SAYS NO TO ANDERSEN: Louisiana's top government auditor has prohibited state and local agencies from signing new contracts with Arthur Andersen because of the accounting firm's indictment in the Enron scandal. Legislative Auditor Dan Kyle said Andersen will be allowed to finish audits it has under way. But the firm will not be approved for new contracts with government and quasi-public bodies for the time being. "We're just being cautious to protect the interests of the state of Louisiana," Kyle said. A spokesman for Andersen blamed Kyle's action on what the company calls an unwarranted indictment of the entire firm. Separately, affiliates of Andersen Worldwide in Singapore and Thailand have struck separate agreements to merge with accounting rivals. Andersen Singapore and Ernst & Young have agreed to merge their operations, and the Thai units of Andersen and KPMG International have reached a preliminary agreement.

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