Stilwell Financial Inc

Janus Capital Corp., which has had more than $2 billion of investor withdrawals from its retail funds this year, cut 546 jobs in its operations unit, its second round of staff reductions since February. Janus, last year's best-selling mutual fund firm, said it is closing its 3-year-old Austin, Texas, telephone-call center and reducing staff in Denver. The cuts amount to 25% of the Denver-based firm's work force and follow the elimination of 468 positions in February.

A hedge fund family that holds a large stake in Stilwell Financial Inc. on Monday urged the company -- operator of the Janus mutual fund family -- to rein in compensation for employees and reconsider selling its stake in DST Systems Inc. In a letter to senior management, Boston-based Highfields Capital, now the second-biggest shareholder of Stilwell stock with 8% of the shares, made public for the first time its concerns about the company's reorganization plans.

Stilwell Financial Inc. said Friday it will buy 600,000 shares of Janus Capital Corp. from Thomas H. Bailey, founder of the mutual fund giant. The deal, for undisclosed terms, will raise Stilwell's stake in Denver-based Janus to 88.7% and cut Bailey's stake approximately in half. Bailey, who founded Janus in 1969, called the transaction part of a "long-term financial plan." Stilwell Chief Executive Landon H.

Stilwell Financial Inc. said it expects nine of 13 Berger Funds to change portfolio managers after the company consolidates its investment advisory business under the Janus brand late this year. The biggest of the nine funds is Berger Growth Fund, which has $506 million in assets, said Berger spokeswoman Elizabeth Stout in Denver. The funds' trustees have begun discussing options for a new advisor.

Stilwell Financial Inc. said it expects nine of 13 Berger Funds to change portfolio managers after the company consolidates its investment advisory business under the Janus brand late this year. The biggest of the nine funds is Berger Growth Fund, which has $506 million in assets, said Berger spokeswoman Elizabeth Stout in Denver. The funds' trustees have begun discussing options for a new advisor.

Kansas City Southern Industries Inc. got the go-ahead Monday from the Internal Revenue Service to do a long-awaited spinoff of its financial services companies that could value the companies at $8 billion. Kansas City Southern plans to spin off all these companies, which include the top-performing Janus Funds group, into one entity, called Stilwell Financial Inc.

A hedge fund family that holds a large stake in Stilwell Financial Inc. on Monday urged the company -- operator of the Janus mutual fund family -- to rein in compensation for employees and reconsider selling its stake in DST Systems Inc. In a letter to senior management, Boston-based Highfields Capital, now the second-biggest shareholder of Stilwell stock with 8% of the shares, made public for the first time its concerns about the company's reorganization plans.

Other earnings, excluding one-time gains or charges unless noted, include: * Avis Group Holdings Inc., which is being acquired by Cendant Corp., said fourth-quarter earnings rose 42% to $15.3 million, or 32 cents a share, a penny better than expectations, as sales edged down less than 1% to $1 billion. * Cardinal Health Inc., the second-biggest U.S. drug wholesaler, said fiscal second-quarter profit rose 21% to $214.6 million, or 75 cents a share, from $176.

Stilwell Financial is rumored to be in talks to buy Merrill Lynch & Co.'s Los Angeles-based money management arm formerly known as Hotchkis & Wiley, according to the Web site InvestorForce.com. Meanwhile, the L.A. unit's former portfolio management team headed by Sarah Ketterer, which ran the Mercury HW International Value Fund before defecting from Merrill last week, has set up shop in West Los Angeles as Causeway Capital Management. Kansas City, Mo.

Kansas City Southern Industries Inc. (ticker symbol: KSU) again delayed the long-awaited spinoff of its financial services businesses Monday because of regulators' questions related to its Janus Capital Corp. unit that could scuttle the transaction, analysts said. The Securities and Exchange Commission may require KSU to recast Janus as an equity investment rather than a consolidated subsidiary, the company said. That may trigger the Internal Revenue Service to reexamine whether K.C.

Stilwell Financial is rumored to be in talks to buy Merrill Lynch & Co.'s Los Angeles-based money management arm formerly known as Hotchkis & Wiley, according to the Web site InvestorForce.com. Meanwhile, the L.A. unit's former portfolio management team headed by Sarah Ketterer, which ran the Mercury HW International Value Fund before defecting from Merrill last week, has set up shop in West Los Angeles as Causeway Capital Management. Kansas City, Mo.

Janus Capital Corp., which has had more than $2 billion of investor withdrawals from its retail funds this year, cut 546 jobs in its operations unit, its second round of staff reductions since February. Janus, last year's best-selling mutual fund firm, said it is closing its 3-year-old Austin, Texas, telephone-call center and reducing staff in Denver. The cuts amount to 25% of the Denver-based firm's work force and follow the elimination of 468 positions in February.

Other earnings, excluding one-time gains or charges unless noted, include: * Avis Group Holdings Inc., which is being acquired by Cendant Corp., said fourth-quarter earnings rose 42% to $15.3 million, or 32 cents a share, a penny better than expectations, as sales edged down less than 1% to $1 billion. * Cardinal Health Inc., the second-biggest U.S. drug wholesaler, said fiscal second-quarter profit rose 21% to $214.6 million, or 75 cents a share, from $176.

Stilwell Financial Inc. said Friday it will buy 600,000 shares of Janus Capital Corp. from Thomas H. Bailey, founder of the mutual fund giant. The deal, for undisclosed terms, will raise Stilwell's stake in Denver-based Janus to 88.7% and cut Bailey's stake approximately in half. Bailey, who founded Janus in 1969, called the transaction part of a "long-term financial plan." Stilwell Chief Executive Landon H.

The parent of the Janus mutual fund group thinks it has found a very attractive stock: Its own. Stilwell Financial (ticker symbol: SV) said Tuesday it will buy back as much as $1 billion of its common stock on the open market over the next two years. At the current price, the company could repurchase as much as 9% of its 223 million shares of common stock outstanding, Kansas City, Mo.-based Stilwell said.

Kansas City Southern Industries Inc. (ticker symbol: KSU) again delayed the long-awaited spinoff of its financial services businesses Monday because of regulators' questions related to its Janus Capital Corp. unit that could scuttle the transaction, analysts said. The Securities and Exchange Commission may require KSU to recast Janus as an equity investment rather than a consolidated subsidiary, the company said. That may trigger the Internal Revenue Service to reexamine whether K.C.

The parent of the Janus mutual fund group thinks it has found a very attractive stock: Its own. Stilwell Financial (ticker symbol: SV) said Tuesday it will buy back as much as $1 billion of its common stock on the open market over the next two years. At the current price, the company could repurchase as much as 9% of its 223 million shares of common stock outstanding, Kansas City, Mo.-based Stilwell said.

Kansas City Southern Industries Inc.'s stock fell 9% on Tuesday after a Wall Street analyst said Janus Capital Corp. wants to be independently spun off from the railroad company. Kansas City Southern is proposing to spin off its financial services businesses to create Stilwell Financial Inc. But Janus, which generated about 90% of Kansas City Southern's second-quarter earnings, doesn't want to be part of Stilwell, said Steven Eisman of CIBC World Markets.

Kansas City Southern Industries Inc. got the go-ahead Monday from the Internal Revenue Service to do a long-awaited spinoff of its financial services companies that could value the companies at $8 billion. Kansas City Southern plans to spin off all these companies, which include the top-performing Janus Funds group, into one entity, called Stilwell Financial Inc.