Drug giant: Bayer replaces leader of pharmaceutical business
The head of drug and chemical giant Bayer AG's battered pharmaceutical business has been replaced by the chief of its U.S. drugs division, the company said Wednesday.
The departure of David Ebsworth, who had headed the drugs division since 1999, follows months of turmoil at Bayer after the withdrawal of the company's No. 3 drug, cholesterol-lowering Lipobay.
The Germany-based company gave no details of the circumstances surrounding Ebsworth's departure.
Thomas Schiessle, who follows Bayer for Delbrueck Asset Management in Frankfurt, said the company appeared to be trying to clean its slate before the Jan. 24 listing of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
Brokerage firm: Merrill Lynch cuts jobs
Merrill Lynch & Co., the nation's biggest brokerage firm, said Wednesday that it had cut 9,000 additional jobs, or nearly 14 percent of its work force, as part of a plan to slash costs by $1.4 billion a year and boost profitability.
David Komansky, chairman and chief executive, said the cuts would make the company "leaner, more competitive, more focused than ever on serving clients in our chosen markets around the world."
The cuts and other changes will result in a pre-tax charge of $2.2 billion against earnings in the recently completed fourth quarter, the company said.
Economic development: Mississippi officials mum on Nissan plant recruitment
More than 200 people, including the governor and lawmakers, signed pledges to keep secret the details of Mississippi's recruitment of a Nissan auto plant, a review by The Associated Press found.
The plant, scheduled to open next year in Jackson, is expected to employ 4,000 workers and create another 26,000 jobs at spin-off businesses. The state pledged an estimated $295 million toward the $930 million assembly plant.
Bankruptcy: Government task force to investigate Enron Corp.
The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Enron Corp., whose employees lost billions of dollars when the company went bankrupt.
The department has formed a task force, headed by the criminal division, that is comprised of federal prosecutors in Houston, San Francisco, New York and several other cities, a Justice Department official said.
The Labor Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are conducting civil investigations.
One likely focus of the Justice Department investigation: possible fraud based on Enron's heavy reliance on off-balance-sheet partnerships that took on Enron debt.
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