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Coca-Cola boss will step down as CEO in July

By Times Wires
Published December 7, 2007

ATLANTA

In a surprise move, the chief executive of the Coca-Cola Co. will step down after four years as head of the world's largest beveragemaker and be succeeded by his second-in-command, the company said Thursday. Neville Isdell, 64, will step down as CEO on July 1 and will be succeeded by the company's president and chief operating officer, Muhtar Kent, 55. Isdell, CEO since June 2004, will remain chairman until the company's annual meeting in April 2009, the company said. The split of the chairman and CEO roles at Coca-Cola will be a first for the company. Isdell said it is the right time for him, and the company, to pass the CEO chair to someone else.

NEW YORK

Turkey Day aside, retail sales falter

The holiday shopping season got off to an uneasy start as consumers took advantage of big Thanksgiving weekend discounts and then pulled back, leaving retailers with mixed sales results for November. As retailers reported their sales results Thursday, warehouse club operators like Costco Wholesale Corp. and discounter Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which kept crowds coming with special offers, proved to be winners. Plenty of others, such as mall-based apparel stores like Limited Brands Inc. and teen retailer Wet Seal Inc., had disappointing results.

Dow Jones chief to leave after sale

Richard Zannino will depart as CEO of Dow Jones & Co. after the financial news publishing company is sold to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., the company announced Thursday. Zannino became CEO of Dow Jones, which publishes the Wall Street Journal, in early 2006. Dow Jones said in a statement that Zannino's successor would be announced "shortly." Dow Jones shareholders are scheduled to vote on the News Corp. deal on Dec. 13, and it is expected to close shortly after that.

MINNEAPOLIS

Ex-United CEO gets options penalty

Former UnitedHealth Group Inc. chairman and CEO William McGuire has agreed to surrender more than $400-million to settle a lawsuit related to a stock options backdating scandal, the company and the Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday. McGuire, who stepped down a year ago as the highest-profile corporate chief caught in the inquiry, will give up $320-million in stock options and forego more than $99-million in other retirement and executive savings benefits, the company said.

WASHINGTON

Mixed results on employment front

The number of laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week by the largest amount in three months. The Labor Department reported that applications for jobless benefits dipped by 15,000 last week to a total of 338,000. The decline was the largest since the level of claims had dipped by 22,000 in the first week of September. Analysts cautioned against reading too much into the improvement given the volatility in the numbers around holiday periods. The four-week average for claims continued rising to 340,250, the highest level for this gauge in two years.

[Last modified December 7, 2007, 01:58:22]