Everett-based Unova Inc., parent of Intermec Technologies, will pay $13.5 million to settle a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed against it by Tower Automotive Inc. The suit was filed against Lamb Technicon, an industrial division that Unova sold earlier this year. Tower is under bankruptcy protection, so a federal judge will have to approve the settlement, which will result in a one-time charge of $6.5 million for Unova.
T-Mobile tops 20 million users
Bellevue-based T-Mobile USA has surpassed 20 million customers for its wireless phone services – doubling its customer base since early 2003, the company said Wednesday. For the second consecutive year, T-Mobile ranked highest in its industry for customer satisfaction, according to a study released earlier this month by J.D. Power and Associates.
Hurricane Rita boosts oil prices
Crude-oil prices rose Wednesday as traders braced for the possibility that Hurricane Rita could smash into key oil facilities in Texas. Workers fled oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Katrina tore through the same region. Light, sweet crude for November delivery rose 60 cents to settle at $66.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after surging as high as $68.27 earlier Wednesday.
WorldCom victims to split $6.1 billion
A federal judge Wednesday approved legal settlements that will return more than $6.13 billion to investors who suffered losses in the massive WorldCom Inc. accounting fraud. The deals, approved by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote, will divide payments among about 830,000 people and institutions that held stocks or bonds in the telecommunications company at the time of its collapse in 2002. The judge said the settlements were “of historic proportions.” Money for the payouts will come from a long list of defendants, including investment banks, auditing firms and former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers, who was convicted of fraud earlier this year and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Retiring pilots drain Delta fund
A continuing exodus of Delta Air Lines Inc. pilots has drained the company’s pension fund to the point where future lump-sum payouts to retirees by the bankrupt carrier may be in jeopardy, according to the pilots union. The chairman of the union’s executive committee, John Malone, said in a letter to members Tuesday night that there was a significant likelihood that lump-sum payments will not be immediately available to pilots who are considering retirement after the end of this month.
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