State wheat harvest begins

The Kansas wheat harvest is under way. Grain cutting in the Kiowa area in south-central Kansas was reported on Sunday.

Farmers, like Russell Molz, pictured above while harvesting wheat near Hardtner, said test weights were a little low and the crop was very dry. Not enough progress has been made on the harvest yet for farmers to track yields.

The Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service also released its crop report for the state Monday. The wheat crop was rated 45 percent poor or very poor, but the corn crop fared much better, with only 10 percent rated poor or very poor.

Investigation: Tyco CEO latest to resign

Dennis Kozlowski, the dealmaking titan who built Tyco International Ltd. into a massive conglomerate with 277,000 employees, resigned Monday to face an investigation over possible sales tax evasion.

Investors already worried about the company’s future sold Tyco stock with a vengeance, sending its shares down nearly 27 percent Monday in extremely heavy trading. Tyco stock is now down 73 percent since Jan. 1.

Although the investigation appeared to focus on how Kozlowski managed his vast personal fortune, much of it from sales of company stock, analysts said it raised serious concerns about his oversight of Tyco and its finances.

Agriculture: Farmland conducts business as normal after bankruptcy

Farmland officials said Monday that the company’s recent bankruptcy filing has not stopped the cooperatives key suppliers from conducting business with the Kansas City-Mo. based company.

Jerry Leeper, Farmland vice president of livestock operations, said in a news release that the Kansas City-based company North America’s largest farmer-owned cooperative had spoken with all its hog suppliers since it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday.

“Each and every one has agreed to deliver us hogs today and on a continuing basis, ensuring that our Farmland Foods operations will continue uninterrupted,” Leeper said.

Farmland owns a nitrogen fertilizer plant east of Lawrence but it has been inactive for more than a year. Its status has not changed.

Telecommunications: Sprint names new CFO

Former General Electric executive Robert Dellinger has been named chief financial officer of Sprint Corp., the company announced Monday.

Dellinger, 42, was named executive vice president of finance for Sprint in March, when CFO Arthur B. Krause announced he would retire after 31 years. Dellinger was expected to replace Krause upon his retirement, effective this month.

Before joining Sprint, Dellinger was president and chief executive of GE Frankona Re, part of General Electric’s Kansas City-based Employers Reinsurance Corp.

Wall Street: Cable company pulled from Nasdaq listings

Adelphia Communications stock was dropped Monday from the Nasdaq Stock Market, tightening the financial tangle ensnaring the sixth-largest cable television company since it divulged billions of dollars in off-the-books debt in March.

Nasdaq notified Adelphia last week the stock was being delisted because of the company’s failure to file financial statements, including its annual 10-K report that was due April 1. Adelphia officials didn’t immediately return calls Monday for comment on the delisting.