dumbest moments in business

In June, Guidant recalls 50,000 heart defibrillators--about 38,600 of them already implanted in people's chests--that might, in rare cases, short-circuit when they're supposed to deliver vital electrical jolts. The recall comes after the devices were reported to have failed at least 45 times, including two instances in which the patients died. Guidant fixed the flaw in devices made after mid-2002 but neglected to inform doctors and continued to sell units produced before the fix. The recall advises patients that, should the device malfunction, it will emit a beeping noise, at which point they should contact their doctors or head to an emergency room.

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and another from the same list -

The pen is mightier than the sword.

Boeing CEO Harry Stonecipher, brought out of retirement to restore the company's image in the wake of ethical lapses by predecessor Phil Condit--including allegations of affairs with female employees--is forced to resign for having an affair with a female employee. Though the relationship was consensual, Boeing's board determined that Stonecipher had violated the company's code of conduct--a document that all 160,000 Boeing employees have been required to sign annually since it was put into place by Stonecipher in 2003.

QUOTE OF THE YEAR -

"Women should be all dressed in white, like all other domestic appliances."

-- Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone, on Danica Patrick's fourth-place finish at the Indy 500, the best showing ever by a woman in the race.