Business & Finance

Jeffrey McMahon resigned as Enron's president and chief operating officer, effective June 1. In a statement Friday, McMahon said he was "making room for new leadership" as the bankrupt energy trader reorganizes. He was the highest-ranking executive remaining since Enron collapsed in December and has emerged as a key witness for investigators looking into the company's complex accounting practices.

United Airlines will ask for wage concessions at a meeting with union leaders this week, the Financial Times reported. United, the main subsidiary of UAL Corp., has some of the highest labor costs in the industry and last week reported a first-quarter loss of $510 million. Analysts say they expect United to file for government aid under a $10 billion loan-guarantee program set up in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The $4.4 billion acquisition of Husky Energy Inc. by China's largest oil producer no longer is "realistic," a senior government official in Beijing said. He said the share price in Husky has risen so high, since reports surfaced in February that PetroChina was negotiating to buy its "upstream" assets, that "we can't buy it." The Calgary, Alberta-based company is one of Canada's largest oil and gas producers. Its majority owner is Li Ka-shing, a Hong Kong tycoon with close ties to the Chinese government.

Long lines of anxious depositors quickly formed outside automated teller machines in Argentina's capital Friday after the government ordered another – and indefinite – suspension of most banking transactions until a program to convert savings accounts into bonds is completed. The move is aimed at putting the brakes on lawsuits challenging the new restrictions, thousands of which already have resulted in court orders against the freeze that have left many banks short of cash. Argentina is mired in the worst economic crisis in its history because of a four-year-long recession, a more than $140 billion default on its debt, and a steep devaluation of the peso.