ALSO

Los Angeles-based sporting goods maker K2 Inc. said it has hired Salomon Smith Barney to help it sell its Simplex building products division. K2 warned that its third-quarter earnings for the period ended Sept. 30 will be below expectations and that Simplex will be counted as a discounted operation. The company also said its board authorized a buyback of up to 1.7 million shares of stock, about 10%. The repurchases will be made from time to time in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions. K2 shares fell 13 cents to close at $14.19 on the NYSE.