John R Walter

AT&T Corp. President John R. Walter on Thursday pushed ahead with a much-awaited overhaul of the company, centralizing control of its disparate businesses and cutting hundreds of management jobs. The action, just four months after Walter was hired as the future replacement for Chairman and Chief Executive Robert E. Allen, is intended to revitalize core businesses, cut costs and make management more accountable to Walter.

AT&T Corp. faced another crisis of leadership and direction Wednesday after President John Walter resigned because the company backed out of its promise to make him chairman and chief executive. Walter, 50, joined the nation's largest phone company eight months ago following a prolonged search for a successor to Chairman Robert Allen as chief executive. Walter, who had been CEO of R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co.

Tapping a relative unknown to solve its high-profile problems, AT&T Corp. surprised the business world Wednesday by naming John R. Walter, 49-year-old chairman of commercial printer R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., as the telephone giant's new president, chief operating officer and heir to Chairman and Chief Executive Robert E. Allen.

AT&T Corp. President John R. Walter on Thursday pushed ahead with a much-awaited overhaul of the company, centralizing control of its disparate businesses and cutting hundreds of management jobs. The action, just four months after Walter was hired as the future replacement for Chairman and Chief Executive Robert E. Allen, is intended to revitalize core businesses, cut costs and make management more accountable to Walter.

AT&T Corp. faced another crisis of leadership and direction Wednesday after President John Walter resigned because the company backed out of its promise to make him chairman and chief executive. Walter, 50, joined the nation's largest phone company eight months ago following a prolonged search for a successor to Chairman Robert Allen as chief executive. Walter, who had been CEO of R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co.

AT&T Corp. named Dan Somers, a Bell Canada senior executive, as its next chief financial officer, the telecommunications company's biggest outside hire since John R. Walter became president last fall. Somers, 49, replaces Richard W. Miller, 56, who quit last month after four years with the company amid several other high-level departures in the wake of Walter's rise to power.

MCI Communications Corp. reported a 6.7% decline in second-quarter profit, reflecting the trouble besetting MCI as it tries to break into the local phone business. The nation's second-largest long-distance company earned $280 million, or 40 cents a share, compared with $300 million, or 43 cents a share, a year ago. . . . AT&T Corp.

Putting his first major stamp on AT&T Corp., new President John R. Walter has replaced the head of the company's ailing consumer unit with one of its top marketing managers. Gail J. McGovern, executive vice president of AT&T's business markets division, succeeds Joseph P. Nacchio in running the consumer and small business unit.

AT&T's chief financial officer said Monday that he is quitting, the second top-level departure from the giant long-distance phone company since John R. Walter took over as president last fall. Richard W. Miller, 56, will continue as chief financial officer until a replacement is found, expected by the end of March.

Tapping a relative unknown to solve its high-profile problems, AT&T Corp. surprised the business world Wednesday by naming John R. Walter, 49-year-old chairman of commercial printer R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., as the telephone giant's new president, chief operating officer and heir to Chairman and Chief Executive Robert E. Allen.

AT&T Corp.'s board of directors met Wednesday to ponder the selection of a new chief executive--a pivotal decision that could determine the future direction of the beleaguered phone giant--but broke up without an announcement. Speculation on a successor to Robert E. Allen has focused largely on two contenders--insider John D. Zeglis, AT&T vice chairman, and outsider C. Michael Armstrong, chief executive of Hughes Electronics Corp., a Los Angeles-based unit of General Motors Corp.

Stocks sent investors home for Christmas on a happy note, zipping into the close of Tuesday's abbreviated session led by a rebound in bellwether technology shares. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 33.83 points to 6,522.85, moving within 25 points of Nov. 25's all-time best close at 6,547.79. It was the sixth straight winning session for the barometer of 30 big U.S. companies, which is up more than 1,400 points, or nearly 27.5%, on the year with four trading days left.