AT&T; to Delay Stock Swap

AT&T; Corp. said that, to reduce debt, it will sell as much as $3 billion of AT&T; Wireless stock instead of distributing it to shareholders. It also will delay by a month the swapping of parent company shares for some wireless stock. The No. 1 U.S. long-distance company said an “electronic file transfer error” caused information to be omitted from its March U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, leading to the delay. It is the latest in a string of missteps at AT&T;, which plans to split into three companies and create tracking shares for the consumer long-distance unit by next year. The company has reduced sales and profit forecasts four times since May. AT&T; shares closed off 72 cents at $21.76, and AT&T; Wireless fell $1.32 to close at $21.69, both on the New York Stock Exchange.