Western declares dividend

Former Kansas University Chancellor Gene Budig met Tuesday in Lawrence with members of Western Resources Inc.’s board of directors, who declared a first-quarter dividend of 30 cents per share, payable April 1, on the company’s common stock.

Budig declined to discuss the company’s future, its recent financial performance or other matters.

On Monday, Topeka-based Western Resources said it lost $20.9 million last year, after earning profits of $136.5 million in 2000.

Retail: Wal-Mart’s earnings increase

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced a 9.5 percent rise in earnings for its fourth fiscal quarter, matching Wall Street expectations.

The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer said Tuesday it earned $2.19 billion, or 49 cents a share, for the three months ended Jan. 31, up from $2.00 billion, or 45 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose to $64.8 billion from $57.1 billion a year ago.

Securities: Treasury auction rates rise

Interest rates on short-term Treasury securities rose in Tuesday’s auction.

The Treasury Department sold $16 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.730 percent, up from 1.715 percent last week. An additional $14 billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 1.830 percent, up from 1.810 percent.

The three-month rate was the highest since Feb. 4, when the bills sold for 1.735 percent. The six-month rate was the highest since Dec. 26 when the rate was 1.850 percent.

Greetings: Hallmark’s revenues drop

Kansas City, Mo.-based Hallmark Cards has reported its first significant revenue decline in at least a decade, with the greeting card company’s family entertainment unit chiefly responsible for the drop because it held back on film production.

Privately held Hallmark, which does not report detailed financial results required of publicly-owned companies, said Monday that consolidated net revenues for 2001 dropped 8 percent to about $4 billion. That compared to revenues of roughly $4.3 billion in the previous year.

Leadership: Honeywell taps new CEO

Honeywell International named David M. Cote its new CEO Tuesday, replacing Lawrence A. Bossidy as head of the struggling aerospace technology company.

Bossidy, 66, said he would remain chairman and a member of the board of directors until June 30 and then retire, ceding the chairmanship to Cote.

Bossidy had rejoined Honeywell in July 2001 after retiring in 2000, promising to stay a year to try to turn around the maker of high-tech aerospace, automotive and security products.

Honeywell has an avionics plant in Lawrence.

Cote, 49, has served for about six months as chairman, president and CEO of TRW, a service provider for the space, defense and automotive industries.

Cote spent 25 years before that in various management and leadership positions for GE.

Bankruptcy: Kmart to list store closings

Kmart Corp. has told a federal bankruptcy judge that it will release by March 11 a list of the stores it plans to close in an effort to cut its losses.

The company also plans to hire a liquidator to sell off the contents of those stores, it said in filings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago.

The nation’s No. 3 discount retailer filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in January after a disappointing Christmas season, credit ratings downgrades and a plummeting stock price.