Former CEO fined for improper trades

MILWAUKEE - Strong Financial Corp. founder and former CEO Richard Strong agreed Thursday to a $60 million fine to settle allegations he made improper mutual fund trades, becoming the highest level executive so far to admit his role in what has become an industrywide scandal.

The deal, and a related agreement for the company to pay $115 million in related penalties, could smooth the way for a sale of the company, analysts said. The agreement also bans Strong and two other company executives from the financial industry for life.

WB stars to sport Kmart apparel

TROY, Mich. - Stars of five shows on the WB television network will sport clothes from Kmart's revamped apparel lines next season as part of the retailer's strategy to distinguish itself from ever-expanding competitors.

More than a dozen cast members from returning shows 7th Heaven, One Tree Hill and Reba, as well as from the new shows Summerland and Blue Collar TV, will wear clothes from the new back-to-school lines in multiple episodes, Kmart and the WB said Thursday. The cast members will also appear in Kmart advertising.

Kmart, which emerged from bankruptcy in May 2003, posted a profit in the first two quarters of 2004. However, it continues to lose market share, and the company is banking on redesigned merchandise to help boost sales.

Safeway boss survives attempt to oust him

PLEASANTON, Calif. - Safeway Inc. chairman Steve Burd easily fended off an attempt to oust him from the board of directors of the struggling supermarket giant Thursday, but still faced a fusillade of angry shareholders during an acrimonious company meeting.

Of the shareholders who cast ballots, 16.7 percent withheld their votes from Burd's re-election as the Pleasanton-based company's chairman, well below the 25 percent disapproval vote sought by dissident shareholders seeking to force Burd to separate his job as chairman and CEO.

Safeway investors have had plenty of reasons to be disappointed recently. Two-thirds of the company's market value has evaporated since the end of 2000, wiping out more than $20 billion in shareholder wealth.

Economic indicators edge up in April

NEW YORK - A private research group's closely watched indicator of future economic activity edged up in April, providing more evidence of a sustained recovery.

The Conference Board said Thursday its Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators rose 0.1 percent in April after a revised gain of 0.8 percent the previous month.

The index is tracked as a measure of the economy's direction during the coming six months.

In other economic news Thursday, the Labor Department reported that initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 12,000 to 345,000 last week. Analysts had forecast 326,000. The more stable, four-week moving average of claims declined to 333,500, the lowest level since November 2000.

Yum! to pay dividends after cutting debt

LOUISVILLE - Yum! Brands Inc., the operator of the Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut restaurant chains, will start paying a cash dividend to reward shareholders after reducing its debt by more than half since its 1997 spin-off from PepsiCo Inc.

The quarterly dividend of 10 cents a share is payable Aug. 6 to shareholders of record July 16, the company said. Based on its 291 million shares outstanding in March, the payments will cost $116.4 million a year, equal to 19 percent of last year's net income.

Air Canada wins wage concessions

Air Canada, the country's largest airline, won wage concessions from the Canadian Auto Workers union, which had been holding up a $618 million financing deal to help the company exit bankruptcy.

Deutsche Bank AG, Europe's second-largest lender by assets, had threatened to withdraw unless all of the airline's nine labor groups agreed to concessions.

Obtaining the labor-expense savings was one of three main conditions in the Deutsche Bank proposal.

Air Canada has operated under protection from creditors since April 1, 2003.

From wire reports