Briefcase

As predicted, profits decline for Krispy Kreme

Doughnut maker Krispy Kreme on Tuesday reported its first quarterly loss since going public in 2000 after warning earlier this month that low-carb diets were hurting its results.

The Winston-Salem, N.C.-based chain said it lost $24.4 million, or 38 cents a share, for its first fiscal quarter ended May 2, in contrast to a profit of $13.1 million, or 22 cents a share, a year ago.

Military

Defense secretary delays tanker deal for 6 months

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Tuesday delayed for at least six months a decision on an Air Force plan to acquire 100 refueling tankers from Boeing Co.

The delay will give officials time to complete two additional studies he has ordered. Rumsfeld’s decision was based in part on recommendations made by the Defense Science Board, which submitted a report critical of the tanker deal earlier this month.

A Boeing spokesman had no immediate comment.

Despite signs the contract was in jeopardy, Boeing has been maintaining publicly for months that it expected the deal to ultimately go forward. But the company acknowledged to regulators in a March filing that it was braced to take a $310 million charge if it was rejected.

Economy

Improving job outlook doesn’t boost confidence

Consumer confidence barely budged in May as an improving outlook about jobs offset worries about rising gasoline prices and heightened political uncertainty overseas, the Conference Board reported Tuesday.

The Consumer Confidence Index edged up to 93.2 from a revised 93.0 reading in April, the New York-based group said. The latest reading was slightly below the 94 figure that analysts had expected.

Still, Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board’s consumer research center, was upbeat and said that strong employment gains in March and April were helping boost consumers’ assessment of current conditions.

Accounting

Former Rite Aid leader gets jail time in scandal

The first of six former Rite Aid Corp. executives to face sentencing in an accounting scandal at the drugstore chain was ordered Tuesday to spend five months in jail and five months under house arrest.

Eric Sorkin, 55, said he planned to “spend the rest of my life trying to earn back the respect” of family, friends and colleagues. He pleaded guilty in June to conspiring to obstruct justice and could have gotten five years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Sylvia H. Rambo also fined him $5,000 and placed him on two years’ probation after his release.