AUTOMOTIVES

DAIMLER CHRYSLER CEO RESIGNS

DaimlerChrysler AG said Chief Executive Juergen Schrempp will step down at year-end and be succeeded by Dieter Zetsche, the president of Chrysler Group.

DaimlerChrysler also reported yesterday that its second-quarter net rose 28%, despite further restructuring costs at its Mercedes Car Group division, which posted a surprise profit. Mr. Schrempp’s unexpected resignation will take effect December 31. Chrysler’s chief operating officer, Tom LaSorda, will succeed Mr. Zetsche. The head of research and development at Chrysler, Eric Ridenour, will be the new chief operating officer of Chrysler, the company said. DaimlerChrysler’s shares rose 8.8% to $47.75 in midday trading on the Frankfurt stock exchange after the announcement. Mr. Schrempp’s resignation comes nearly three years ahead of the scheduled expiration of his contract in 2008. “From a timing point of view, this is ideal. We’re on an upward trend,” a company spokesman said.

Mr. Schrempp’s resignation marks the end of an era at the world’s fifth-largest automaker by sales, and sets the stage for a potential retreat from his strategy of expanding the company’s holdings.

– Dow Jones Newswires

REAL ESTATE

METLIFE PROFIT RISES AFTER SALE OF LANDMARK BUILDINGS

MetLife Incorporated, the largest American life insurer, said second-quarter profit more than doubled on gains from selling two landmark buildings in New York City.

Net income climbed to $2.25 billion, or $3.02 a share, from $957 million, or $1.26, a year earlier, the company said in a statement yesterday. Profit excluding the real estate gains and changes in the value of investments was $1.17 a share, higher than the 92-cent average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

MetLife recorded a $1.2 billion gain after selling its namesake building at 200 Park Ave. and its former headquarters at 1 Madison Ave. to help finance its $11.8 billion acquisition of Citigroup’s Travelers Life & Annuity business. The company became the biggest American seller of life insurance to individuals after completing the purchase this month.

– Bloomberg News

SENATE COMMITTEE TIGHTENS OVERSIGHT OF FANNIE MAE, FREDDIE MAC

The Senate Banking Committee approved a bill that would tighten oversight of mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and shrink their combined $1.5 trillion investment portfolios.

The Republican-sponsored legislation would compel the companies to sell portfolio assets unrelated to their mortgage bond business. The approval followed rejection of a rival bill backed by Democrats that would have authorized a regulator to reduce the mortgage holdings without requiring such cuts.

Approved in an 11-9 vote along party lines, the measure faces an uphill battle in becoming law and will compete with a bill approved by a House committee in May that is similar to the defeated Democrat-sponsored legislation. The inability of senators to come to bipartisan agreement may again doom attempts by Congress to tighten regulation of the companies.

– Bloomberg News

IN THE COURTS

FORMER WORLDCOM CFO TO SURRENDER ASSETS IN SETTLEMENT

A federal judge in Manhattan gave preliminary approval yesterday to bids by a former WorldCom chief financial officer, Scott Sullivan, and two other former executives to settle a class-action lawsuit stemming from a massive accounting fraud at the telecommunications giant.

In the Southern District of New York, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote on Monday approved a settlement agreement in which Sullivan would give up his multimillion-dollar Florida mansion and his 401(k) holdings. The judge also approved separate settlement pacts with a former WorldCom controller, David Myers, and former accounting director, Buford Yates Jr.

Lawyers for the New York State Common Retirement Fund, the case’s lead plaintiff, have said they expect to recoup as much as $5 million for victimized investors from the sale of Sullivan’s home in Boca Raton, Fla., after satisfying outstanding liens and brokers’ commissions. Sullivan’s home is being offered for sale at $10.9 million, according to the Web site of Florida real estate firm Premier Estate Properties Incorporated. Investors also are expected to net about $200,000 from the liquidation of Sullivan’s 401(k) holdings.

– Dow Jones Newswires

TECHNOLOGY

JUDGE BLOCKS GOOGLE FROM HIRING MICROSOFT RESEARCHER

A plan by Google to open a research center in China was disrupted yesterday in Seattle, where a state judge temporarily blocked the company from hiring a former Microsoft executive to head the facility. Judge Steven Gonzalez issued a temporary restraining order barring the former Microsoft vice president, Kai-Fu Lee, from working on competing projects at Mountain View, Calif.-based Google. Microsoft claims Mr. Lee was privy to confidential information about its strategy for China.

– Bloomberg News