Pringles to sport trivia

Procter & Gamble has announced a special promotion that would use new technology to print trivia questions on Pringles chips.

The Cincinnati-based company has partnered with Hasbro Inc., the maker of the Trivial Pursuit board game. Proctor & Gamble said it soon would start production of the new chips, above. According to published reports, each chip will have a question from Trivial Pursuit’s Junior edition and the answer will be printed upside down on the chip.

Investigation

Former Enron executive pleads guilty to charges

The former No. 2 executive in Enron Corp. investor relations pleaded guilty to an insider trading charge Wednesday for cashing out stock options after learning about bad news for Enron’s highly-touted broadband unit.

Paula Rieker agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department’s continuing investigation and turn over to the government $499,333 in profits from her illegal stock sales.

Earnings

Goodyear loss flattens

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. said Wednesday it had a narrower loss in the fourth quarter of 2003 than a year earlier in a financial report delayed by two months while it investigated accounting irregularities at its European operations.

The world’s largest tire maker said it lost $434.4 million, or $2.49 a share, during the last three months of 2003 versus a loss of $1.19 billion, or $6.96 a share, in the same period in 2002. The company, which has a manufacturing plant in Topeka, said its latest results were helped by increased sales and fewer charges against earnings.

Aviation

Cessna boosts hiring

Cessna Aircraft Co. plans to hire 400 workers in Wichita, citing an increase in its delivery schedule and the introduction of new jet models.

The company is calling back some laid-off workers and advertising open positions, said Cessna spokeswoman Jessica Myers. Most of the openings are for production jobs, although other positions are available in engineering and aircraft completion.

Cessna, which has cut 3,300 jobs during the past two years, now employs 8,500 workers in Wichita.

Military

Boeing executive says tanker deal ‘not dead’

Boeing Co. Chief Executive Harry Stonecipher said the company hasn’t given up on a deal to supply 767 tanker airplanes to the U.S. military.

The deal has been sidetracked because of complaints about costs and about the unconventional way it was structured. It’s unclear when the government will make a decision.

“The tanker is not dead,” Stonecipher said during a presentation Wednesday. “The customer has not changed (its) mind one iota about wanting the 767 tanker program.”