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Archway recalls holiday cookies

ASHLAND, Ohio » Holiday cookies that may contain pieces of glass have been recalled by Archway Cookies.

The company said in a statement that it was voluntarily recalling a limited quantity of its 10-ounce Archway Holiday Cashew Nougat Cookies sold nationwide.

The company is investigating how the glass got in the cookies, which are made in Ashland and at another plant in Indiana.

Only the holiday cookies with the following 2005 dates have been recalled: Feb. 20, Feb 28, Feb. 29, March 3, March 4, March 5, March 10, March 11 and March 24. The product code, which can be found on the right-hand side of the package, is 2750002054.

No serious injuries or illnesses have been reported, Archway said in the statement.

The cookie maker is asking customers to not eat the cookies and return them to the store for a refund, or call 1-800-850-2307 for more information.

Japan lowers outlook for economic growth

Japan's economy will likely expand 1.6 percent in the fiscal year starting in April, slower than the expected pace for the current fiscal year because of dwindling capital expenditures and housing investment, the government said yesterday.

But the Cabinet Office also said consumer prices will rise for the first time in seven years, signaling a possible end to deflation. The announcement came the same day that the government downgraded its economic assessment in December, the second such move in as many months, saying that the economy is recovering at a slower pace. The world's second-largest economy has been rebounding over the past two years after stagnating for more than a decade.

Westar executives may be retried

KANSAS CITY, Kan. » Federal prosecutors are considering whether to retry two former Westar Energy Inc. executives on fraud charges after a hung jury resulted in a mistrial.

After 6 1/2 days of deliberation, the six-man, six-woman jury said yesterday it was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on more than half of the 40 charges against the men.

Former Westar Chief Executive David Wittig and former Executive Vice President Douglas Lake were accused of looting the largest electric utility in Kansas, including charges of wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy. The men denied wrongdoing, saying their actions were done openly and with the approval of company officials.

U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson, who declared the mistrial, has scheduled a Jan. 4 hearing in Topeka to decide where to go next.

U.S. Attorney for Kansas Eric Melgren declined to comment on the case, saying in a statement that he would meet soon with prosecutors "to decide what our next move will be."

Disney settles charges of failing to disclose

WASHINGTON » The Walt Disney Co. agreed yesterday to settle federal regulators' charges that it failed to disclose benefits received by some directors and their relatives, including former directors Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold, who led a shareholder revolt this year against chief executive Michael Eisner.

Disney was not fined in the agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission but did agree to refrain from future violations of securities laws. The media giant neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing in the settlement.

The SEC said that between 1999 and 2001, Disney failed to disclose the transactions benefitting directors and their families in its proxy statements distributed to shareholders and annual reports filed with the SEC.

Probe will delay OfficeMax buyback

CHICAGO » OfficeMax Inc. is delaying a planned stock buyback as it investigates allegations that workers inappropriately sought promotional payments and falsified documents involving $3.3 million in claims billed to a vendor, the office products company announced yesterday.

OfficeMax shares tumbled on the news, falling $1.37, or 4.2 percent, to close at $31.13 yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $28.58 to $38.01.

The former Boise Cascade Corp. took the name of the Cleveland-based office products seller it bought late last year for $1.2 billion in cash and stock. The sale of its paper and timber assets closed Oct. 29.

OfficeMax had earlier said it would use a portion of the proceeds of the sale to return equity to shareholders, according to Vince Hannity, a company investor relations spokesman. Yesterday, the Itasca, Ill.-based company said it intends to buy back $775 million to $815 million of its common stock, although that will be delayed during the investigation.