Accounting: Xerox facing lawsuit

A lawsuit filed against Xerox Corp. alleges that the company misled employees about the soundness of its stock, causing them to lose millions of dollars in their retirement plans.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Hartford, Conn., came days after the Stamford, Conn.-based copier and printer company announced it would restate billions of dollars in revenue from 1997 through 2001. Xerox had used improper accounting techniques to accelerate the recognition of equipment revenue.

The lawsuit was filed by Keller Rohrback LLP and Susman & Watkins in Seattle on behalf of Thomas Patti, a former Xerox employee. It seeks class action status to represent more than 50,000 participants in the company’s retirement plan.

Aviation: Boeing’s jet deliveries down

Boeing Co.’s second-quarter commercial jet deliveries dropped by more than 25 percent compared to the same period a year ago, the company announced Wednesday.

The company said it delivered 112 commercial jets in the second quarter of the year, down from 141 delivered during the quarter in 2001. Boeing, however, is still on pace to meet its annual projections of between 350 and 400 commercial jet deliveries during 2002. It has delivered 222 during the first half of the year.

The company, however, will not meet last year’s total of 527 commercial jets delivered.

Boeing, with more than 10,000 employees in Wichita, is the state’s largest private employer.

Litigation: Waddell & Reed to appeal $50 million court verdict

Overland Park-based Waddell & Reed Financial Inc. said it will appeal an Alabama court ruling ordering the company to pay $50 million to a former business partner.

The 2-year-old case, which was tried in Jefferson County, Ala., involves a dispute between Waddell & Reed and United Investors Life Insurance Co., which at one time provided life insurance policies to Waddell & Reed customers.

Waddell & Reed also recently announced its quarterly dividend. The board approved a dividend of 13 cents per share, which will be paid on Aug. 1.

Economy: Auto sales decline slightly

The expected freefall in U.S. vehicle sales never materialized in June, as automakers on Tuesday reported sales down 1.5 percent compared to June 2001.

Strong truck sales and performances from foreign automakers and U.S. automaker General Motors Corp. helped buoy the industry that expected to see a marked sales decline last month.

Of the domestic automakers, GM was the only one to report a sales increase last month with a 4.3 percent improvement over sales in June 2001.