Sprint to settle suit for $29 million

Sprint Nextel Corp. has agreed to pay almost $29 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by current and former employees who claim their retirement accounts were degraded by being tied to the company’s stock.

U.S. District Judge John Lungstrum approved the agreement last week, which will cover more than 85,000 employees who had money in the company’s retirement plan since 1998.

Susan Meagher, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, said employees who file claims would each receive between $400 and $1,000 in cash, increased company matching for their retirement plans or other benefits. Sprint also will provide financial planning classes.

•Two leading retail stalwarts — J.C. Penney Co. and discounter Target Corp. — reported on Thursday better-than-expected profits in the second quarter. Still, the outlook for consumer spending in the coming months remains muddled amid higher energy costs, rising interest rates, war in the Middle East, and the latest terrorist threat.

Target, the nation’s second-largest discounter behind Wal-Mart Stores Inc., overcame its sales slowdown in July and reported a 13 percent increase in second-quarter profits. The results were fueled in part by the strength of its credit card operations. The company maintained its profit outlook for the year.

Target, based in Minneapolis, said it earned $609 million, or 70 cents per share, during the quarter that ended July 29, up from $540 million, or 61 cents per share, during the quarter that ended July 30 last year.

Revenue rose 11.3 percent to $13.3 billion. That included credit card revenue of $388 million, up 20 percent.

Penney, based in Plano, Tex., said it earned $179 million, or 76 cents per share, in the quarter ended July 29. It said earnings from continuing operations were 75 cents per share.

Analysts had expected 73 cents per share, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. A year earlier, the company earned $131 million or 50 cents per share.

Revenue rose 6.5 percent, to $4.24 billion, from $3.98 billion a year earlier. The sales results were slightly above the $4.19 billion forecast by analysts.

•Investors bailed out of Imax Corp. on Thursday after the giant-screen film company said its five-month auction process failed to find a buyer, at least at a price acceptable to the board.

Imax shares plunged $3.90, or 40 percent, to close at $5.73 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock fell as low as $5.48, its lowest point since October 2004.