Boeing Co.’s former chief financial officer is expected to plead guilty to aiding and abetting the company’s illegal hiring of a former top Air Force official, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported Monday. They cited unidentified sources as saying Michael Sears, the former CFO, will enter the plea early next month in Virginia. Sears, 58, would plead guilty to one criminal count in connection with Boeing’s hiring of Darleen Druyun, a former Pentagon official who was still representing the government in a multibillion-dollar contract with Boeing for Everett-built 767 refueling tankers, the newspapers said.
Talk show features economist, investor
Investing and the state of the economy are two major topics for today’s “Getting Your Dough to Rise,” the personal finance show on Snohomish County’s public radio station, KSER (90.7 FM.) The hour-long show, hosted by Chuck Noel, begins at 4:30 p.m. Guests are Matt Rudolph, a hedge fund principal, and James McCusker, a Bothell economist and Herald columnist.
Boise Cascade to sell 2 key assets
Boise Cascade Corp. plans to sell its paper and timber assets by November to a private investment group for about $3.2 billion. The Idaho-based company said Monday that the sale will be to a new company formed by Madison Dearborn Partners LLC, a Chicago investment firm. Boise Cascade will change its name to OfficeMax, acquiring the name of the Cleveland-based office-products seller it bought late last year for $1.2 billion.
Microsoft lawyers meet with judge
Microsoft Corp.’s lawyers have their first meeting today with the European judge who will decide whether to freeze sanctions imposed by European Union antitrust regulators pending the company’s appeal of a landmark antitrust decision against it. Bo Vesterdorf, the Danish president of the Luxembourg-based Court of First Instance, described the closed-door meeting as one to discuss procedural issues, such as when to hold a hearing on Microsoft’s request for a stay on a record fine of $613 million and demands for changes in how the company, operates in Europe.
Home sales set national record
Sales of existing homes hit an all-time high last month as rising mortgage rates triggered a rush by fence-sitters. Analysts predicted that even if sales slow as expected in coming months, 2004 will still be another banner year for housing sales. The June increase pushed the annual rate of existing home sales to 6.95 million units, beating the old record set in May of 6.81 million units, the National Association of Realtors reported.
From Herald staff reports and news services
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