Meat producer reports purchase boosted profits

Tyson Foods, the world’s largest meat producer, announced a third quarter profit Monday of $107 million, due largely to the acquisition of meatpacker IBP Inc. last September.

Tyson’s earnings of 30 cents per share compared with $19 million, or 9 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

The company projected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings in the range of 24 cents to 28 cents per share.

“I am pleased with our results for the quarter,” said John Tyson, above, chairman and CEO. “Despite the difficult challenges we continue to face, our value-added protein portfolio worked to enable us to meet our per share earnings guidance.”

Travel: Parent firm of Ryder files for Chapter 11

The parent of Budget Rent-A-Car and Ryder truck rentals filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday, blaming the post-Sept. 11 drop-off in travel.

Budget Group Inc., which owns the world’s third-largest car and truck rental company in Budget Rent-A-Car Systems, said customers and franchisees would not be affected by the filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

The Daytona Beach, Fla.-based group listed assets of $4.05 billion and debts of $4.33 billion.

Telecommunications: WorldCom names CFO; Nasdaq delists stock

WorldCom named John S. Dubel as its new chief financial officer and Gregory F. Rayburn as chief restructuring officer for the telephone and Internet service company’s bid to reorganize its debts and operations.

The Nasdaq Stock Market, meanwhile, announced that it will delist the nearly worthless shares of WorldCom and its MCI long distance unit. The move, effective today, was blamed on the bankruptcy case. and WorldCom’s inability to stay up-to-date with the federal filings expected of public companies.

Corporate fraud: Bush ready to sign penalties into law

President Bush is ready to sign with considerable fanfare a bill substantially changing business accounting practices and imposing tough penalties for violators.

As the president described the soon-to-be law in a speech Monday in South Carolina, the measure just passed by Congress “says as clearly as we can possibly say out of Washington, D.C., that if you’re a CEO and you think you can fudge the books in order to make yourself look better, we’re going to find you, we’re going to arrest you, and we’re going to hold you to account.”

Bush will sign the corporate responsibility bill today, in a big ceremony involving members of Congress and officials from the Justice Department, Securities and Exchange Commission and the new multiagency financial crimes “SWAT team.”

The splashy ceremony has a dual aim: raise confidence in stock markets shaken by revelations of corporate wrongdoing and inoculate Bush and congressional Republicans against political harm at a time when the economy is struggling.