Markets slide, AOL reports
NEW YORK, July 23 (UPI) -- The markets slid Wednesday despite elation over news Saddam Hussein's sons were killed in a shootout in Iraq.
In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 24.65 or 0.27 percent at 9,133.80, while the Nasdaq composite index was down 2.97 or 0.17 percent at 1,703.13. The Standard & Poor's 500 was down 5.21 or 0.53 percent at 982.90.
No major economic reports were due to be released Wednesday and investor are likely to remain focused on earnings reports as well as developments in Iraq.
AOL Time Warner reported second-quarter net more than doubled to $1.1 billion.
Asian stock markets ended mostly higher, with Wall Street's rebound Tuesday boosting markets throughout the region. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed up 129.37, or 1.36 percent to 9615.34.
UAW and Big 3 battle over overseas parts
DETROIT, July 22 (UPI) -- A key issue in bargaining this year between automakers and the United Auto Workers is expected to center around China.
Automakers want to keep costs low by buying materials from China and other low-cost foreign outlets, while the union opposes the move.
The UAW, which last week kicked off contract talks with the General Motors Corp., the Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler AG, vehemently opposes the move to find costs savings in less-expensive parts from nations, such as China.
The Wall Street Journal said China has lower production costs and a rising level of quality that makes it an ideal parts source at a time when car builders are trying to reduce costs.
The union considers the effort a threat to their members' job security and a factor contributing to an erosion of America's manufacturing base.
Laid off Enron workers sue for bonus money
HOUSTON, July 23 (UPI) -- Lawyers representing about 4,000 Enron employees fired days after bonuses were paid to a favored few workers are suing to recover the bonus money.
The bonuses infuriated laid-off workers, most who received severance of less than $15,000.
"We intend to hold 11th-hour bonus recipients accountable for their self-dealing as Enron fell into bankruptcy," Richard Rathvon, co-chair of the employee committee, told the Houston Chronicle.
About 75 commodity traders and 500 other traders were given bonuses from $5,000 up to $8 million to remain at Enron for 90 days to keep the business going, the Chronicle reported.
The employee committee, which negotiated an increase in severance payments for fired employees to $13,500 with Enron last summer, won the right to pursue the bonus payments as part of the deal.
"We think the bonuses were legitimate retention bonuses paid for a valid business purpose," said Duane Morse, a lawyer representing some of the Enron workers being sued.
Feds investigate Boeing's rocket unit
SEATTLE, July 23 (UPI) -- Federal investigators are focusing on a high-ranking executive in Boeing's rocket unit for allegedly helping snare a rival's proprietary documents.
Justice Department and Pentagon investigators are examining the activities of Thomas Alexiou, currently program director of the military version of Boeing's Delta IV rocket. He is the immediate supervisor of two former Boeing employees already charged in the case, sources told the Wall Street Journal.
Last week, the two men were indicted for conspiring to illegally gather and distribute within Boeing proprietary Lockheed Martin documents in a multibillion-dollar competition to build the government's next-generation rocket.
Meanwhile, a separate civil inquiry by the U.S. Air Force could end in the next few days, potentially causing Boeing's struggling space unit to lose nearly $1 billion of government business, people familiar with the details told the Journal.
Through a Boeing spokesman, Alexiou declined to comment.
