Kmart shares tumble after rating lowered
Standard & Poor's, one of the nation's biggest debt-rating agencies, lowered its credit rating for Kmart Corp. and said it was reviewing the retailer's financial situation to see if further cuts are warranted.
S&P officials said the actions were based on heightened concerns about Kmart's loss of financial flexibility in recent weeks. Kmart has a store and distribution center in Lawrence.
The retailer's stock price has tumbled in recent weeks. It closed Monday at $2.84 a share, down 14 percent since Friday and below its previous 52-week low of $2.99.
Downtown: Bartlett & West expanding into Gene Fritzel building
The Lawrence office of Bartlett & West Engineers already has moved into its new home in downtown Lawrence, but there's still plenty of work left to do.
The building's owner-occupant hasn't left yet.
"We're cohabitating," said Bob Schulte, vice president of Gene Fritzel Construction Co. Inc., 628 Vt.
Bartlett & West's Lawrence office, with 12 employees, last month relocated to the Gene Fritzel building from 1811 Wakarusa Drive, where space had become so cramped that a conference room had been converted into work stations for three employees.
Bartlett & West will be able to complete its relocation in March, when Gene Fritzel moves into its new third-floor offices of a building at 643 Mass., above retail shops including Gap and Eddie Bauer.
"It's going to help us tremendously, just in terms of efficiency," said Stan Meyers, office manager for Bartlett & West, whose lease on Wakarusa Drive ended Dec. 31. "There, we were sitting on top of each other."
Pharmaceuticals: Bayer suit goes international
An attorney who sued German drug maker Bayer on behalf of U.S. users of its Lipobay anti-cholesterol drug said Monday he was expanding the lawsuit to include users in other countries.
More than 50 deaths worldwide have been linked to Lipobay, described as a cutting-edge cholesterol-fighting drug until Bayer AG withdrew it Aug. 1, 2001. Other users of the medication, sold as Baycol in the United States, have been diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, a muscle ailment.
People from at least six other countries will be added to the U.S. complaint in hopes of securing a settlement for the estimated 6 million people who used the drug before it was withdrawn, attorney Kenneth B. Moll said in Berlin.
Merger: Hewlett-Packard, Compaq workers await bonuses
Hewlett-Packard Co. and Compaq Computer Corp. would shell out $634 million in bonuses to key employees as an incentive to stay on if their merger goes through, both companies disclosed Monday.
Hewlett-Packard would pay $33.1 million to 10 top executives and $337 million to about 6,000 selected employees over two years, according to an updated merger prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Compaq would pay $22.4 million to seven top executives and $242 million to an undisclosed number of employees over two years.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.