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Unitrin gains: Unitrin Inc., a Chicago-based insurance holding company, said it expects to record an after-tax accounting gain in the range of $600 million to $700 million from its investment in Western Atlas Inc. Baker Hughes Inc. plans to acquire Western Atlas through an exchange of stock. Unitrin owns about 12.7 million shares or 23 percent of Western Atlas common stock. With the merger, Unitrin’s holding will drop to betwen 10 and 11 percent of the new Baker Hughes, so it would have to change its method of accounting for the investment. Unitrin said this would result in its annual profits dropping by $5 million to $6 million.
