Workers ask court to hear IBM case

IBM Corp. workers have asked the federal appeals court in Chicago to again hear a high-profile case that had exonerated the company’s cash-balance pension plan.

On Aug. 7, three of the appellate court judges ruled that the plan does not discriminate against older workers. On Monday, lawyers representing certain IBM workers filed a petition “en banc,” which asks all 11 active judges on the bench to review the opinion.

The petition said the rulings conflicted with two of the court’s prior decisions.

If the appellate court rejects the petition, the plaintiffs could appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

•Medical device maker Medtronic Inc. said Tuesday its first-quarter profit rose 87 percent, but the company pronounced it a disappointment and said sales in its key cardiac rhythm management unit slipped.

Medtronic had net income of $599 million, or 51 cents a share, during the quarter that ended July 28, up from $321 million, or 26 cents a share, during the same period last year. Revenue rose 7.6 percent to $2.9 billion from $2.69 billion last year.

Medtronic said it earned 55 cents a share, but that excluded 4 cents a share from a $40 million payment to settle civil allegations that it paid kickbacks to doctors.

Medtronic is the top maker of implantable defibrillators, and that unit was weak during the quarter, the company said.

That was offset by strong growth in its spinal, vascular, neurological and diabetes unit.

•Borders Group Inc., the No. 2 bookstore chain behind Barnes & Noble, on Tuesday said it swung to a second-quarter loss on declining sales and provided a weaker-than-expected outlook for the rest of the year, sending shares lower in the aftermarket session.

For the quarter that ended July 23, the company posted a loss of $18.4 million, or 29 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $1.3 million, or 2 cents a share.

Revenue totaled $866.3 million in the recent quarter, down 4 percent from $901.1 million a year ago.

The company attributed the decline to weakness in its best sellers category and a tough comparison with last year’s quarter, which got a boost from the release of the sixth “Harry Potter” book.