$1.1 million goes to protect Bezos

Pacific Northwest

Amazon.com spent $1.1 million last year protecting Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, according to regulatory filings.

Since 2003, the online retailer has paid roughly $3.2 million on security for Bezos, including at business facilities and for business travel. The expense showed up for the first time on the company's annual proxy, which was filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Meanwhile, Bezos' pay remained the same for the eighth year: $81,840.

As the company's founder, Bezos owns 101.3 million shares, or 24.3 percent of the company, worth about $3.68 billion.

Southwest to take another 79 737s

Boeing and Southwest Airlines said Thursday that the airline converted options to order 79 new passenger planes in a deal valued at about $4.5 billion.

The order for next-generation 737-700s brings Southwest's current orders with Boeing to 140 undelivered 737s and its total past and future count for all 737-700s ordered from Boeing to 370.

The 79-airplane delivery is scheduled from 2007 through 2012. Southwest still has 116 options for delivery from 2008 to 2012, and purchase rights for 54 airplanes deliverable through the end of 2014.

Weyerhaeuser

Composite-panels unit draws buyers

Weyerhaeuser said Wednesday it's close to selling its composite-panels business, with six U.S. mills going to closely held Flakeboard and an Irish plant to Coillte, Ireland's forestry company.

The Federal Way-based company is "shooting for the end of fiscal second quarter" to close the deal, said spokesman Bruce Amundson. He wouldn't comment on a possible sale figure.

Weyerhaeuser also announced it is combining five operating units in its wood business into a single division, called iLevel, to serve homebuilders more efficiently.

Compiled from Seattle Times staff, The Associated Press, Bloomberg News and Reuters