•Companies

Ahold credit rating raised: The credit rating of Royal Ahold NV, the Dutch owner of the U.S. Stop & Shop supermarket chain, was raised to investment grade yesterday for the first time since the company’s 2003 accounting scandal. Fitch, which cited the retailer’s sale of unprofitable divisions, lifted the rating by one notch to the lowest investment grade, “BBB-”, from “BB+,” according to an e- mailed statement after markets closed. Ahold, which also operates Albert Heijn grocery stores in the Netherlands, last year sold its U.S. Foodservice distribution unit, which was at the heart of the accounting fraud. The retailer also sold Tops supermarkets in the U.S. and outlets in Poland last year and this year disposed of its 73-percent stake in Dutch food retailer Schuitema NV. (Bloomberg News)

Former KBR officer pleads guilty: A former chief executive officer of construction firm KBR Inc. pleaded guilty yesterday to federal bribery and kickback charges in connection with the company’s natural-gas operations in Nigeria from 1995 to 2004. The Justice Department said Albert “Jack” Stanley entered a guilty plea in federal court in Houston to conspiring in a decade-long scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials in return for engineering and construction contracts. Under his plea agreement, Stanley, 65, faces a sentence of seven years and payment of $10.8 million in restitution. It is among the longest sentences to be meted out in cases involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. A number of U.S. companies have been charged with violating the law in recent years. (Associated Press)

•Markets

Dollar uneven: The dollar closed mixed against major currencies yesterday in New York, ending at 108.23 Japanese yen, down from Tuesday’s close of 108.67 yen. The euro closed at 3:30 p.m. at $1.4493, down from $1.4518.

Metals slip: Gold for current delivery closed at $802.70 a troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from Tuesday’s close of $805.00. Silver closed at $12.860 an ounce, down from $13.050.

Fuels mixed: October light, sweet crude oil fell 36 cents to $109.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. September heating oil rose 0.5 cent to $3.0788 a gallon. September gasoline rose 3.31 cents to $2.7668 a gallon. October natural gas rose 0.03 cent to $7.264 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Associated Press