Trouble looming over Baxter SEC investigation under way as profits dip, layoffs increase.(Business)

0 Comments | Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), July, 2003 | by Comerford, Mike

Byline: Mike Comerford Daily Herald Business Writer Baxter International was raising all kinds of red flags on Thursday as it reported profits are down, layoffs are up and the government is investigating. Ongoing troubles at the Deerfield-based maker of medical products, whose stock has fallen 44 percent in the last year, has prompted speculation about its direction and the fate of its chief executive officer, Harry Jansen Kraemer Jr.

Exacerbating investors once again, Kraemer trimmed the company's growth and earnings projections for the third time since March. "They just can't get it right," said Kenneth N. Flammang, a trader with Bannockburn Securities LLC, in Northbrook. "If it were me, I'd look for a new CEO and a new CFO." With 4,700 workers in...