Halliburton pumped up about new Iraq contract awards in 2nd qtr

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http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2007-02-28T151104Z_01_N28449122_RTRIDST_0_HALLIBURTON-IRAQ.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna

NEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Halliburton Co. (HAL.N: Quote, Profile , Research), whose KBR unit is the largest private contractor in Iraq, said on Wednesday it expected the U.S. Department of Defense would announce awards for new Iraq contracts in the second quarter, later than the company expected.

The Houston company, which will complete its split off of the engineering and construction business KBR (KBR.N: Quote, Profile , Research) in the coming months, said last month it expected the Pentagon would announce the LogCAP IV contracts by the end of the first quarter.

KBR has so far booked more than $20 billion in revenues from its work in Iraq and has been the target of several investigations into the company's billing practices. It has also faced complaints from some U.S. lawmakers about the company's close ties to the Bush administration.

Vice President Dick Cheney formerly served as Halliburton's CEO before taking up his current office.

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1. Criminals!

Yeah, and there's no conflict of interest, Dick. Right.