Former Enron leaders face pension charges

Enron Corp. and some former executives violated pension laws by allowing employees to accumulate overpriced company stock in retirement plans that collapsed with the company, the Labor Department charged Thursday.

The lawsuit, filed after a 19-month investigation by the Employee Benefits Security Administration, names former Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay and former chief executive Jeff Skilling, and Wendy Gramm — former head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and wife of former Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas.

The lawsuit seeks to have the defendants barred from any future positions of responsibility as trustees of pensions funds.

Grocery

Former KU business dean steps down at Kroger

David Dillon, president of the Kroger Co. since 1995, is being promoted to chief executive to succeed Joseph Pichler, who is preparing to retire after helping build Kroger into one of the nation’s biggest supermarket chains.

Kroger’s board of directors said it was promoting Dillon, 52, effective immediately to CEO on Thursday at the company’s annual meeting of shareholders.

Pichler, 63, chairman and chief executive since 1990, had told the board three years ago of his desire to retire before age 65. He will remain as chairman. Pichler is a former dean of the Kansas University school of business. Kroger owns the Dillons supermarket chain, which operates four stores in Lawrence.

Transportation

Kansas City Southern merger clears hurdle

The proposed merger of Kansas City Southern Industries Inc. and Mexico’s Grupo TMM,S.A., has overcome the first of three regulatory hurdles, Kansas City Southern announced Wednesday.

The company said it had received written approval from Mexico’s Competition Commission, which found the deal would not impede competition within the transportation sector.

Under the deal announced in April, Kansas City Southern will change its name to NAFTA Rail and manage Kansas City Southern Railway Co., Texas Mexican Railway Co. and TMM. The new holding company will be headquartered in Kansas City, Mo.

Agriculture

ConAgra earnings slide

ConAgra Foods Inc. reported Thursday its earnings fell nearly 22 percent for the fourth quarter, as sales slumped because of lost revenue from assets divested over the past year.

The Omaha-based food company earned $150.4 million, or 28 cents a share, in the three months ended May 25 compared with $192.2 million, or 36 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago.