STAMPS

POST OFFICE PLANS ‘FOREVER’ STAMP The post office is planning a “forever” stamp for letters, good no matter how many times postal rates increase.

That means folks could say goodbye to those annoying two- or three-cent stamps that have to be added to letters every time rates go up. Sheets, rolls, books, or loose stamps in the drawer would still be good.

The idea for the special stamps, which would be sold at the same price as other first-class stamps, was included in proposals announced yesterday that would also raise stamp prices 3 cents – to 42 cents – next year.

Here’s how it would work. If the 3-cent increase takes effect next year, the forever stamp would be made available for 42 cents, the same as other first-class stamps. If the first-class rate were to rise to 45 cents in a few years, the 42-cent forever stamp would still be honored for postage on letters. Once the new price took effect, forever stamps would then sell for 45 cents.

– Associated Press

LEADERSHIP

RAYTHEON PUNISHES CEO; HE ADMITS COPYING MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES

Raytheon, the world’s largest missile maker, said it won’t raise Chief Executive William Swanson’s 2006 salary after he lifted material for a booklet on management principles from a 62-year-old text.

The company’s board also decided to reduce the amount of restricted stock Swanson can receive by 20%, lead director Michael Ruettgers said yesterday in a joint statement with outgoing lead director Warren Rudman. Mr. Swanson was paid a $1.12 million salary and $2.96 million in restricted stock in 2005.

The file of material that made up “Swanson’s Unwritten Rules of Management” included a copy of the 1944 text by W.J. King called “The Unwritten Laws of Engineering,” Mr. Swanson told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting yesterday in Arlington, Va. Raytheon provided more than 300,000 free copies of Swanson’s booklet over its Web site, and its 33 aphorisms on management helped burnish his reputation as a corporate leader.

– Bloomberg News

MUSIC

WARNER MUSIC TURNS DOWN $4.23 BILLION OFFER FROM EMI Warner Music Group, controlled by a group led by Edgar Bronfman Jr., rejected a $4.23 billion offer from EMI Group, the third time the British record company has been thwarted. Warner Music shares rose as much as 7%.

EMI, home to artists Coldplay and Joss Stone, offered $28.50 in cash and stock for New York-based Warner, whose musicians include Madonna and James Blunt. The bid, 4.4% more than the closing price on Tuesday, isn’t “in the best interests of our shareholders,” Warner said in a statement yesterday.

The rejection leaves EMI Chairman Eric Nicoli struggling to expand as piracy and downloading hurt record companies’ sales. Mr. Nicoli has tried for six years to buy Warner, a purchase that would vault his company from a distant third to second place among the world’s record distributors. An enlarged EMI would have a quarter of the market, ranking behind Universal Music Group.

– Bloomberg News

IN THE COURTS

CIGARETTE DISTRIBUTORS SUE STATE A group of cigarette distributors and sellers filed a lawsuit against the state yesterday seeking to overturn a law banning Internet, telephone and mail order tobacco sales.

The suit by the Association of Responsible Cigarette Sellers, filed in Erie County Supreme Court, contends the 2000 state law violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The group’s lawyer, David McNamara, said his case was bolstered by last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down laws in New York and Michigan that banned wine shipments from out-of-state producers. The Constitution prohibits states from passing laws that discriminate against out-of-state businesses.

– Associated Press