Westar to pay down debt

Westar Energy Inc. said Tuesday it would repay $187 million of its bank term loan using proceeds from the August sale of part of its stake in Oneok Inc., an energy company.

Topeka-based Westar sold $13.6 million worth of Oneok stock, or 718,000 shares, leaving Westar with a 14.5 percent ownership in Oneok.

In a press release, Westar said since the beginning of the year, it had reduced consolidated debt by more than $600 million. The reduction includes the sale of Protection One Europe, the sale of Oneok securities and the redemption of $120 million in Western Resources securities, Westar said.

Retail

Former Gap leader to create Kmart vision

Kmart Holding Corp. on Tuesday announced the hiring of a former Gap executive to help forge the discount retailer’s creative vision for store merchandising.

The Michigan-based company, which operates a distribution center in Lawrence, appointed Lisa Schultz as senior vice president and chief creative officer. In the newly-created CCO position, Schultz is responsible for the creative vision related to products and merchandising at Kmart’s more than 1,500 stores.

Schultz was executive vice president of product development and design at The Gap Inc. from 1987 to 2001. Since then, she has been a fashion and beauty business consultant. She previously held executive positions at Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein.

On the Nasdaq Stock Market, Kmart shares were down $1.54, or 5 percent, to close at $29.13 Tuesday.

Merger

Courier company to cut more than 2,800 jobs

DHL said Tuesday it would lay off 2,870 U.S. workers due to its acquisition of the ground-express delivery operations of Airborne Inc.

The layoffs represent about 6 percent of the company’s total U.S. work force of more than 44,000 employees, DHL spokeswoman Kim Levy said.

DHL’s pick-up and delivery services now will be handled by couriers servicing Seattle-based Airborne’s delivery network, which DHL bought Aug. 15 for $1.05 billion.

Workers will be paid and receive benefits through Oct. 31 and will receive severance packages.

People who will lose their jobs include couriers, mechanics and office workers, but Levy could not say what part of the country would be most affected.

Wall Street

Tech upgrades boost Dow

The Nasdaq composite index soared to a 17-month high Tuesday following a string of upgrades of such tech heavyweights as IBM and Dell Computer. The buying intensified late in the day and spread across the market, sending the Dow Jones industrials up more than 100 points in the final hour of trading.

Analysts attributed the rally — which also lifted the Dow and Standard & Poor’s 500 to new 14-month closing highs — to momentum and increasing optimism.

The Dow’s biggest winner was IBM Corp., which soared $3.75 to $85.76 after Goldman Sachs upgraded computer hardware stocks. Dell Inc., included in that upgrade, rose 97 cents to $33.59.