7E7 GOING TO EVERETT: The Boeing Co. plans to assemble its new fuel-efficient 7E7 jetliner in Everett, Wash., where it has been building planes for decades, the company said Tuesday. The announcement capped an intense rush by other communities to woo the aircraft maker's newest model. The midsized, 210-passenger jet couldn't be formally launched until mid 2004 or enter the market before 2008. But a decision to begin offering it for sale is an important landmark for a company that has been overtaken by Airbus in the airplane manufacturing business it had long ruled.
PUTNAM FIRES 9 MORE: Putnam Investments has fired nine more employees for alleged improper trading, the fund company said Tuesday in a letter to shareholders announcing the results of its internal investigation into market timing. Chief executive Ed Haldeman said other employees were "strongly admonished" but not fired because they had not been aware of company policies or had stopped the practice after being warned. Putnam said its review of all trading activity, going back nearly six years, found most improper trading took place between 1998 and 2000 in international and global funds. The company said none of the nine who were fired managed money for Putnam, and no current employees had engaged in improper trading.
KRAFT DEMOTES CO-CEO: Kraft Foods Inc. removed Betsy Holden from her duties as co-chief executive officer Tuesday after a series of setbacks involving products, personnel and sluggish sales at the nation's largest food and beverage company. The demotion of Holden to an undisclosed post at Kraft leaves Roger Deromedi as the sole chief executive of the company. Deromedi, 50, had headed Kraft's international operations while sharing the CEO's title with Holden. In a news release announcing the move after the stock market closed, Kraft praised Deromedi'a strategic and financial acumen and did not say why it was demoting Holden, 49, who remains a member of the board of directors.
HONEYWELL LOWERS FORECAST: Aerospace and high-tech manufacturer Honeywell International said Tuesday that revenues and profits will be up in its four business segments next year, but its earnings-per-share forecast for 2004 falls well below analysts' expectations. Honeywell cited a 30-cents-per-share increase in expenses for pensions and other benefits to former employees. Honeywell said it expects earnings next year to range from $1.40 to $1.55 per share. The mean forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call is $1.59 per share; their forecasts ranged from a low of $1.40 to a high of $1.75 per share.
MOTOROLA NAMES ZANDER CEO: Motorola Inc. named former Sun Microsystems president Ed Zander as its chairman and CEO on Tuesday, hoping a Silicon Valley veteran with a reputation as a strategist and operations whiz can restore the cell phone giant's lost luster and lagging market share. Christopher Galvin, the grandson of company founder Paul Galvin, couldn't accomplish those objectives in seven years at the helm before announcing his intention to resign in September. President and chief operating officer Mike Zafirovski, while well-regarded, also was unable to prevent Motorola's periodic operating stumbles and was passed over for the top job.
Note to readers
Robert Trigaux's column will return soon.
Year-End Markets
Was your investment a winner in 2003? On Friday, Jan. 2, watch for the Year-End Markets report with closing prices for thousands of stocks and mutual funds. You don't have to call or write for a copy. This special report will appear inside that day's St. Petersburg Times.
