In The Region
Bethlehem chief, PBGC discuss pension takeover
The head of Bethlehem Steel Corp. met with officials at Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. in Washington yesterday to discuss the government agency's termination Wednesday of the bankrupt steelmaker's pension plan.
Bette Kovach, a Bethlehem spokeswoman, said the company and the federal pension agency are working out the transition from a Bethlehem-administered plan to one that would be administered by the government. The takeover of the pension, which is $4.3 billion under- funded, is subject to court approval. The federal agency would be liable for about $3.7 billion.
Kovach said the federal agency's termination Wednesday is still effective, though Bethlehem reserves the right to challenge the date in court. The agency said it filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia on Wednesday to become trustee of the pension plan.
Lockheed to modernize Albania air control system
Lockheed Martin Corp. has won a $29 million contract to modernize Albania's air control system in what is the first major U.S. commercial investment in the Balkan nation.
A U.S. Embassy statement said yesterday that the Albanian government had approved the contract with the Bethesda defense company.
The statement said the project is expected to generate more than 250 technical jobs for Albanians.
Perry's Ice Cream picks Baltimore PR firm
Sawmill Marketing Public Relations said yesterday that it has been named public relations agency of record for Perry's Ice Cream.
The Baltimore agency will design and execute a national consumer publicity and special events campaign to launch the 85-year-old ice cream manufacturers series of new products scheduled for 2003.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Elsewhere
Dynegy to pay $5 million to settle fake trades case
Dynegy Inc. agreed yesterday to pay $5 million to settle a regulatory investigation into fake trades reported to industry publications.
The Houston company agreed to pay the fine without admitting or denying the findings of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which concluded that Dynegy submitted false information to skew energy prices in its favor.
Dynegy fired six traders and disciplined seven other workers after an internal investigation found that they reported false trade information to various industry publications. One of the seven workers disciplined has since been fired.
WorldCom wins contract with State Department
WorldCom Inc. has won its third government contract since early November, a sign that the telecommunications company is convincing government agencies that its massive bankruptcy has not hindered its ability to provide large-scale services.
The latest contract, announced yesterday, is a 10-year agreement for WorldCom to provide as much as $360 million in data and Internet services to the State Department.
EU expects antitrust probe of Microsoft to end soon
The European Union expects to wrap up its 3-year-old investigation into Microsoft Corp. early next year, the EU antitrust chief said in comments published yesterday in Brussels, Belgium.
A preliminary ruling in the EU case had been expected by the end of this year, but EU officials were holding off while Microsoft's settlement with U.S. authorities was pending. A judge in Washington approved that settlement last month.
Under EU law, Microsoft could be fined up to 10 percent of its worldwide sales if it is guilty of antitrust violations.
This column was compiled from reports by Sun staff writers, the Associated Press and Bloomberg News.