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DECEMBER 29, 2003
Edited by Monica Roman Roger Deromedi: Big Cheese At Kraft 
And then there was one: After more than two years as co-CEO of Kraft Foods (KFT
) alongside Betsy Holden, Roger Deromedi, 50, became the sole survivor on Dec. 16. Holden, 48, will move into an unspecified global leadership position. A series of missteps, plus waning support from Kraft Chairman Louis Camilleri, who is also CEO of parent company Altria Group (MO
), led to Holden's downfall.Now that he stands solo atop the world's largest food company, Deromedi, a 26-year Kraft veteran who ran its international business, vows a swift shakeup of the company's management and global business units. He has plenty to do. All of Kraft's core businesses -- from cold cuts to cheese -- lost U.S. market share this year. In July, the company, which is 84%-owned by Altria, failed to meet second-quarter earnings estimates and cut its 2003 profit outlook. The third quarter wasn't much better: Net income fell 6.8%. Kraft's stock is now trading just above its June, 2001, initial public offering price of $31 after losing nearly 19% this year. By Brian Grow New Broom At The Big Board The Securities & Exchange Commission on Dec. 17 voted unanimously to approve a governance overhaul of the New York Stock Exchange, despite complaints by some big investors that the reforms are insufficient. Interim NYSE Chairman John Reed agreed to split the chairman and CEO jobs. Under the plan, the NYSE will also have a chief regulatory officer who reports to outside directors, not management, and an independent board. Still, the California Public Employees' Retirement System blasted the plan for not completely severing the regulatory function from day-to-day operations. A day earlier, CalPERS filed a class action against the NYSE and seven member firms, alleging that fraudulent trading practices cost investors millions of dollars.   Citizen Wasserstein  Financier Bruce Wasserstein appears to be ready to settle in for the long haul as a publishing mogul. By using his personal money rather than private equity to buy New York magazine from Primedia on Dec. 17 for $55 million, Wasserstein demonstrated that he isn't looking for any quick fix-up and exit, sources say. Instead, he's interested in investing in the weekly and perhaps creating businesses that are brand extensions. Of course, Wasserstein, who is also chief executive of Lazard LLC, is no newcomer to media. Wasserstein & Co. owns American Lawyer, The National Law Journal, and the mergers-and-acquisitions trade publication The Deal. Intel Inside Your TV Intel is looking for a bigger piece of the increasingly competitive consumer electronics market. The semiconductor giant is expected to announce in January that it has developed a new chip for rear-projection television sets that could substantially reduce a set's size and weight, according to The New York Times. Consumers are flocking to digital television sets, but mainly those with thinner plasma and liquid-crystal displays. The chipmaker is gambling there will still be room in the marketplace by 2005 for cheap, larger formats like rear projection. Son Of NAFTA? The Bush Administration and four Central American nations -- Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras -- on Dec. 17 unveiled a draft free-trade agreement similar to NAFTA. The deal would phase out all quotas and tariffs over 15 years but give immediate duty-free treatment to 80% of U.S.-manufactured exports. The pact has plenty of opposition, though: Democrats said it would not pass Congress in its current form, while Costa Rica pulled out over U.S. demands that it privatize its telecommunications and insurance industries. U.S. business hailed the deal, citing increased copyright and trademark protections. The U.S. Agriculture Dept., meanwhile, reassured American peanut, sugar, dairy, and meat producers that they'll remain protected. Et Cetera... -- Data-storage giant EMC bought VMware of Palo Alto, Calif., for $635 million. -- Bankrupt UAL secured $2 billion in financing from J.P. Morgan and Citigroup. -- Orbitz shares fell 3.9%, to $24.98, on their first trading day after underwriters raised the price and size of the IPO. Closing Bell: Circuit City Stores  Circuit City Stores (CC
) shares fell 7% on Dec. 16, to $10.22, after it saw a $1.5 million profit for the quarter ended Nov. 30. Investors fear the consumer-electronics retailer is losing ground to archrival Best Buy (BBY
), whose earnings rose 107%, to $122 million, during the same period.
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