In brief: Microsoft names Hood chief financial officer

REDMOND, Wash. – Microsoft says its new chief financial officer is Amy Hood, previously CFO of the Office division.

She replaces Peter Klein, who announced his departure three weeks ago.

Hood, 41, joined Microsoft Corp. in 2002. Before that, she worked at Goldman Sachs. She has a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University.

Lew’s signature appears more legible on report

WASHINGTON – Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew’s loopy signature is showing signs of improvement as he gets ready to affix his “Jacob Lew” to the nation’s currency.

President Barack Obama joked in January when he nominated Lew for the Treasury post that he had never noticed before how illegible Lew’s signature was.

Lew’s scrawl consisted of a series of loops that bore no resemblance to his name.

After just two months in the Treasury job, there are signs that Lew has been practicing. All the letters of Lew’s last name could be made out in his signature on the annual report of the Financial Stability Council, which came out in late April.

Agreement could reduce ex-Enron CEO’s sentence

HOUSTON – Convicted ex-Enron Corp. CEO Jeffrey Skilling’s more than 24-year prison sentence for his role in the once-mighty energy giant’s collapse could be reduced by as many as 10 years if a federal judge approves an agreement reached Wednesday between prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Under the agreement, Skilling’s original sentence will be reduced to somewhere between 14 and 17.5 years.

The agreement still has to be approved by U.S. District Judge Sim Lake, who is set to hold a June 21 hearing in Houston.

Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr said the agreement will allow victims of Enron’s collapse to finally receive more than $40 million in restitution. The ongoing status of the case has so far prevented the government from distributing Skilling’s seized assets to victims.