ConAgra halts offering stock options to leaders

ConAgra Foods has stopped offering stock options to its top executives as debate continues over executive compensation.

Omaha, Neb.-based ConAgra awarded restricted stock in fiscal 2003 to Chief Executive Bruce Rohde and other managers, the firm said in a proxy statement issued before its Sept. 25 stockholders meeting.

Stock options have been blamed for giving employees incentive to manipulate earnings to inflate the stock price and cash in at a later date. Restricted stock gives shares outright with some payout promised regardless of what happens to the company’s shares.

Utility

Aquila CEO sells shares

Kansas City, Mo.-based Aquila Inc. announced Wednesday that Richard Green Jr., the company’s president and chief executive, sold 551,018 shares of stock in the company to pay a personal income tax bill.

Green said in a press release that the sale was not an indication that he had lost confidence in the recovery plan for the struggling utility company. He said it was the first time since 1999 that he had sold shares in the company and that he still owns about 1.2 million Aquila shares.

The company did not release how much the shares sold for. Aquila is the natural gas provider for Lawrence.

Real estate

Enron building up for sale

The “For Sale” sign is going up at Enron Corp.’s headquarters.

Granite Partners LLC, a New York real estate investment banking firm, announced Wednesday it has been retained to sell the 50-story glass tower at a time when top-notch office space in downtown Houston is cheap and plentiful.

Richard Rudd, senior managing director for Granite Partners’ Houston office, said he hoped to close a sale on the 1.2 million-square-foot headquarters by December. No firm price was being set for the building; Rudd said the firm would wait to see what people were willing to pay. The local county government values the building at $92.5 million.

Investment

UBS to pay $500,000 for lack of supervision

Investment firm UBS agreed to pay $500,000 Wednesday to settle federal regulators’ charges that it had failed to supervise a stockbroker who looted tens of millions of dollars from clients of its former PaineWebber unit between 1994 and 1998.

The broker, Enrique E. Perusquia, pleaded guilty to securities fraud last year and is serving a 6 1/2-year sentence for secretly investing client funds in highly speculative gold mines in exchange for kickbacks, and other unauthorized trades. He was ordered to make restitution of $68 million and has been barred from the securities industry for life.

Aviation

Continental loosens up on rescheduled flights

Continental Airlines relaxed rules for passengers who need to reschedule flights. The Houston-based airline’s Wednesday announcement came a day after American Airlines announced similar plans.

Continental said customers with nonrefundable tickets that allow changes would, as of Wednesday, have up to a year from the original date of travel to reschedule flights without losing the ticket’s value. Previously, the airline required those travelers to rebook flights and obtain new tickets no later than the date of the original departure.