Bridgestone CEO leaving

Bridgestone Americas CEO John Lampe, who led a turnaround at the company after a recall of millions of Firestone tires linked to fatal accidents, announced Wednesday that he is retiring in March.

Lampe, 56, who joined the company 30 years ago changing tires at a Cincinnati Firestone store, became CEO of the American subsidiary of Tokyo-based Bridgestone Corp. in October 2000, two months after the recall began.

Lampe will be replaced by Mark Emkes, 50, who has been chief executive and president of the North American tire unit of Bridgestone Americas since 2002.

WorldCom

Government lifts contract ban on MCI

MCI may resume bidding on government contracts, the General Services Administration announced Wednesday.

Last July the GSA banned the scandal-plagued telecommunications giant from seeking any new contracts. The agency said MCI, formerly known as Worldcom, lacked internal controls and business ethics.

MCI has in the past had government contracts valued at more than $1 billion each year.

The firm collapsed into bankruptcy in 2002 amid revelations it had falsified its books by roughly $11 billion.

Agriculture

Monsanto loss grows

Monsanto Co.’s loss widened to $97 million in its fiscal first quarter as big charges more than offset the impact of a 22 percent increase in sales.

The agricultural products company said Wednesday its loss amounted to 37 cents a share for the three months ending Nov. 30 versus a loss of $18 million, or 7 cents per share, a year earlier.

Sales rose to $1.03 billion from $846 million, largely due to higher sales of Roundup herbicide in the United States and Brazil. Roundup is the nation’s best-selling herbicide.

Monsanto officials reiterated that the company expected earnings per share for fiscal 2004, including estimated restructuring charges, in the range of 55 cents to 65 cents per diluted share.