Probe into utility meetings may continue

FRANKFORT - The Kentucky Attorney General's Office may continue investigating whether there were improper meetings between the state's Public Service Commission and LG&E Energy officials during the utility's recent push to increase rates, a judge ruled Thursday.

The commission had asked Franklin County Circuit Judge Roger Crittenden to quash an investigation by Attorney General Greg Stumbo. "The attorney general has established a minimum basis for the investigation," Crittenden said in his ruling.

The commission maintained that Stumbo had neither the authority nor sufficient evidence to issue subpoenas and pursue the investigation.

Takeover target Pearle endorses Luxottica bid

CLEVELAND - Directors of Pearle Vision owner Cole National Corp., the target of competing takeover bids by eyeglass makers in Asia and Europe, endorsed Luxottica Group's sweetened offer of up to $495 million Thursday.

Cole National said its board recommended shareholder approval of the Luxottica bid based on price, financing arrangements, timing and uncertainties associated with another proposal. Shareholders will meet later this month in Cambridge, Mass.

Media firm admits more number problems

CHICAGO - Tribune Co. disclosed further circulation misstatements at two of its newspapers Thursday.

The media company said it was moving aggressively to address the circulation reporting problems at Newsday of Long Island and the Spanish-language Hoy of New York. It said it was nearing an estimated $35 million settlement with advertisers who claim they were overcharged based on the faulty numbers.

Southwest CEO out as profits plummet

DALLAS - The chief executive of Southwest Airlines stepped down Thursday, hours after the low-cost carrier reported a 54 percent decline in profit and fell short of Wall Street's expectations. James F. Parker, 57, had spent three years in the job.

Chief financial officer Gary Kelly, 49, was immediately promoted to CEO.

Union OK reversed for private campuses

WASHINGTON - Graduate teaching assistants at private universities do not have the right to form unions, the National Labor Relations Board has ruled, reversing its 2000 landmark decision that resulted in thousands of new union members.

The board, led by three Republicans appointed by President Bush, ruled that about 450 graduate teaching and research assistants at Brown University in Providence, R.I., could not be represented by the United Auto Workers because they were students, not employees.

The two Democrats on the five-member panel opposed the decision, which does not affect public universities.

Suit: Over-50s were assumed tech-less

CHICAGO - A federal lawsuit filed Thursday alleges Maytag Corp. improperly demoted some managers over the age of 50 because the appliance maker feared the older workers would not understand new computer-based sales procedures.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges Maytag violated age discrimination laws when it eliminated 13 of 22 regional sales manager positions in 1999.

Of the 11 managers who were demoted during the restructuring, eight were over the age of 50, the lawsuit alleges. Only one employee over 50 was allowed to keep his job.

Ex-CEO of Yukos pleads not guilty

MOSCOW - Russia's richest man, ex-Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky, pleaded not guilty Thursday to a raft of charges that could jail him for 10 years, while authorities tightened the grip on the beleaguered oil company's key production assets.

Khodorkovsky, who was arrested at gunpoint nearly eight months ago in a Siberian airport, faces charges including tax evasion, fraud, misappropriation and forgery.

The case is part of a complex web of legal actions, including a $3.4 billion back taxes bill that Yukos, Russia's largest oil producer, says could force it into bankruptcy.

From wire reports