BUSINESS BRIEFS
Bank of America, Chevron to join Dow Jones index
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Bank of America Corp. and Chevron Corp. will replace tobacco company Altria Group Inc. and manufacturer Honeywell International Inc. in the Dow Jones industrial average, giving the stock market's best-known indicator bigger slices of the banking and energy sectors.
The changes to the index, which since 1928 has comprised 30 stocks, reflects changes at Altria, better known by its former name, Phillip Morris Cos. The maker of Marlboro cigarettes last year spun off its Kraft Foods Inc. division after earlier selling most of its Miller Brewing unit, and it will soon corral its international tobacco operations into a separate company.
The blue chip index's parent, Dow Jones & Co., said the slimmed-down Altria will be too small and narrowly focused to warrant inclusion in the Dow. Phillip Morris became part of the index in 1985.
LAWYER GIVEN 2 YEARS IN PRISON
LOS ANGELES — William Lerach, a former partner at a well-known New York law firm, was sentenced yesterday to two years in federal prison for his role in a lucrative kickback scheme involving class-action lawsuits against some of the nation's biggest corporations.
Lerach, 61, was also sentenced to two years probation and 1,000 hours of community service. He was ordered to forfeit $7.75 million and pay a $250,000 fine.
"This whole conspiracy corrupted the law firm and it corrupted it in the most evil way," U.S. District Judge John Walter said during the hearing.
HASBRO NAMES NEW CHIEF EXEC
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Hasbro Inc.'s Chief Executive Alfred J. Verrecchia will step down in May and be replaced by Brian Goldner, who as chief operating officer has played a key role in the toymaker's turnaround in the past several years.
The announcement by the world's second-biggest toy company came as it reported a hefty 24 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit and said sales rose 16 percent, driven by its core brands including Transformers, Littlest Pet Shop and Star Wars.
Verrecchia, who turns 65 this week, will become chairman of the board at the Pawtucket-based company when Goldner, 44, starts his new job May 22.
PROBE LOOKS AT FIRES IN GM SUVS
WASHINGTON — The government is investigating reports of engine fires in General Motors' full-size sport utility vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a posting on its Web site that it has received two reports of fires on 2007 model year Chevrolet Tahoe SUVs.
Both reports allege that the vehicles were parked in a home garage with the engine shut off when the fires occurred, causing significant property damage.
The probe, which also includes the 2007 GMC Yukon SUV, involves about 423,000 SUVs.
A GM spokesman said the company was cooperating with the government.
MICROSOFT STEPS UP, BUYS DANGER
SEATTLE — Microsoft took another step yesterday toward its goal of developing a mobile device that can handle everything consumers need — whether they're at work or play.
The software behemoth bought Danger, a Palo Alto, Calif., company best-known for creating the technology behind T-Mobile's chic Sidekick smart phones.
The companies did not disclose financial terms of the deal, which comes just weeks after Danger filed plans in December to go public.
"From the beginning we have talked about one phone for life," said Scott Rockfeld, group product manager for Microsoft's mobile communications business.
Danger is not a household name. But the Sidekick phone became a fashion phenomenon in recent years among "tween-agers" and 20-somethings after being spotted in the hands of celebrities such as Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton.
