Raytheon gets Army deal for surveillance system

THE REGION

The US Army yesterday said it awarded Raytheon Co. a nearly $39 million contract for long-range advance scout surveillance systems. The system provides the ability to detect, identify, and locate distant targets without putting troops within direct fire range of the threat, according to Raytheon. The contract is a modification to an existing deal, and work is expected to be complete by May 31, 2008. The fifth-largest defense contractor is based in Waltham. (AP)

Sonus Networks Inc., a provider of Internet phone-calling equipment, delayed the release of second-quarter earnings, citing an internal stock-options probe. Sonus said the voluntary review of options-grant practices prevented it from reporting net income or earnings per share figures. The Chelmsford company said revenue rose 7.3 percent to $64.4 million from $60 million a year earlier. (Bloomberg)

Orthopedic medical device maker Orthofix International NV said it will pay $333 million in cash to buy privately held Blackstone Medical Inc., maker of spinal implants and fusion devices. Orthofix, based in the Netherlands Antilles, said the acquisition of Springfield-based Blackstone will make it one of the largest spinal products companies in the world. Blackstone had net income of $1.2 million in the second quarter on sales of $22 million. Revenue has grown at least 25 percent a year for the last three years. (AP)

THE NATION

Two relatives won legal guardianship of the ailing 91-year-old heiress to the Eli Lilly and Co. pharmaceutical fortune after a judge heard testimony that Ruth Lilly is mentally and physically impaired. Marion, Ill., Probate Court Judge Charles Deiter granted the request from family members to remove Lilly's authority to make financial and personal care decisions. Her wealth was estimated in 2002 at more than $1 billion. Named guardians were Lilly's nephew, Eli Lilly II of Indianapolis, and her niece, Ruth Virginia Lilly Nicholas of Boston, wife of Boston Scientific cofounder and chairman Pete Nicholas. Ruth Lilly is the only surviving great-grandchild of Eli Lilly, who founded the pharmaceutical company that bears his name. (AP)

A South Carolina jury ordered Ford Motor Co. to pay $15 million to a woman who claimed she was injured when her 1995 Explorer accelerated on its own and crashed. The woman, Sonya Watson, was left a quadriplegic after the December 1999 accident. The Greenville, S.C., jury also awarded $3 million to the estate of her fatally injured aunt, Patricia Carter. A Ford spokeswoman said the company will appeal. (Bloomberg)

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's chairwoman said she will step down when her five-year term expires at the end of this month. Cari Dominguez took over the agency responsible for enforcing US workplace antidiscrimination laws in August 2001. Naomi Earp, commission vice chairwoman since April 2003, will become acting chairwoman starting Sept. 1, the EEOC said. (Bloomberg)

General Motors Corp. filed a multibillion-dollar claim against Delphi Corp., the bankrupt auto parts supplier said. Delphi said the automaker submitted the claim July 31, the deadline for filing unsecured claims against the auto parts supplier, which has sought bankruptcy protection. Delphi used to be a subsidiary of GM and is still its biggest supplier. Delphi's ability to continue operations affects GM's viability, the automaker has said in the past. Delphi has said it also has claims against the automaker. (AP)

Southern California and urban centers from Northern Virginia to New York face the most critical power grid problems, an Energy Department report warns. The grid congestion report to be released today is a first step to the government proposing electricity transmission corridors this year to try to ease bottlenecks and avoid blackouts. The report identifies four other problem areas: New England; the Phoenix-Tucson area; the Seattle-Portland area; and the San Francisco Bay area. (AP)

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