By Alabama Public Radio
Birmingham, AL – A Birmingham-based company has delayed its annual report and meeting because of an expanding investigation into its payment and accounting practices. That caused Saks Incorporated's shares to drop ten percent Friday. The company also says some employees had been put on leave. Last month, the company announced it was investigating vendor payments known as markdown money. Those are funds that vendors pay department stores to compensate for merchandise that doesn't sell. That triggered an informal Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry which has now become a formal inquiry.