BUSINESS BRIEFS
Boeing assembly workers' strike delayed 48 hours
Associated Press
SEATTLE — Boeing Co. aircraft assembly workers have voted to strike for an unprecedented second time in three years. But their contract has been extended 48 hours at the request of Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire and a federal mediator.
The vote late last night was 87 percent in favor of a strike recommended by machinists' union negotiators. Under union rules, a strike requires at least two-thirds support from those voting.
In separate balloting, union members also voted 80 percent to reject Boeing's most recent three-year contract offer, which included pay raises averaging 11 percent.
The walkout was to begin at 12:01 a.m. (Pacific Daylight Time) today, after the expiration of a contract covering more than 27,000 workers.
U.S. ECONOMY STILL STRUGGLING
WASHINGTON — The nation is struggling with slow economic growth and still-high prices that are weighing on consumers and businesses alike.
The Federal Reserve's new snapshot of business conditions, released yesterday, underscores the toll the housing, credit and financial debacles are having on the economy and the challenges likely to be faced by the next president.
Problems are expected to persist into next year.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues are all but certain to leave a key interest rate alone at 2 percent when they meet on Sept. 16, and probably through the rest of this year.
NOT-GUILTY PLEA IN $1 BILLION SCHEME
NEW YORK — A former Wall Street broker pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges he and a colleague duped investors into purchasing more than $1 billion in high-risk securities by making it look as though the trades were protected by the federal government.
An indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn said that because the securities actually were tied to subprime mortgages, Eric Butler and Julian Tzolov stood to pocket higher commissions.
The alleged scheme was exposed when the subprime market collapsed.
If convicted, each faces up to 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine.
PLEA DEAL IN KBR NIGERIAN BRIBERY
WASHINGTON — A former chief executive of construction firm KBR Inc. pleaded guilty yesterday to federal bribery and kickback charges in connection with the company's work in Nigeria from 1995 to 2004.
The Justice Department said Albert "Jack" Stanley entered a guilty plea in federal court in Houston to conspiring in a decadelong scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials in return for engineering and construction contracts.
Under his plea agreement, Stanley, 65, faces a sentence of seven years and payment of $10.8 million in restitution.
COCA-COLA BIDS $2.5B IN CHINA
HONG KONG — The Coca-Cola Co., the world's biggest beverage company, moved to expand its operations in the fast-growing Chinese market yesterday with a $2.5 billion bid for major juicemaker China Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd.
Under the deal, Coca-Cola's wholly-owned subsidiary Atlantic Industries would purchase the Chinese company's shares for $1.56 each, almost triple their last closing price, the companies said in a joint statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
That would value the Beijing-based juice producer at around $2.3 billion.
Coca-Cola has also offered to pay for all outstanding convertible bonds and options, bringing the deal's total to as much as $2.51 billion.
According to research firm Dealogic, it is the largest-ever deal in China's food and beverage industry.
