DaimlerChrysler leader blames media for lawsuit

DaimlerChrysler AG Chairman Juergen Schrempp testified Wednesday that comments he made three years ago about the merger of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler were misrepresented by the media, but that he made no effort to clarify them.

In a 2000 Financial Times interview, Schrempp said the deal was billed as a merger of equals “for psychological reasons” and described Chrysler as a “division” of Daimler.

Testifying in a lawsuit filed by Kirk Kerkorian, who claims Daimler-Benz falsely characterized a takeover as a merger, Schrempp said a headline declaring that he never intended a “merger of equals” was “definitely not consistent to what I said.”

Investigation

HealthSouth executives get reduced sentences

A judge sentenced one former HealthSouth executive to five months in prison and four others to probation Wednesday in the massive accounting fraud at the rehabilitation services giant.

All five said they took part in the scheme to inflate earnings out of fear of losing their jobs, and all five got reduced sentences from U.S. District Judge Inge Johnson for their help in the investigation.

Aviation

Airbus monitors Boeing

European aircraft maker Airbus said it had been gathering information on public aid to Boeing Co. to check whether Washington has breached an agreement with Brussels.

Airbus is particularly concerned about pledges of U.S. government support for its U.S. rival’s planned new fuel-efficient passenger jet, the 7E7 “Dreamliner,” which is scheduled to be partially built in Wichita.

Under the terms of a 1992 bilateral accord on civil aviation, the United States and the European Union pledged that government loans would not be allowed to exceed 33 percent of total investment by their respective aerospace companies.