Microsoft apologizes for NYC decals
Microsoft Corp. apologized to New York City for blanketing public property with hundreds of butterfly decals used to promote the company's new MSN 8 Internet service.
( Associated Press, 10/26/2002 08:33 AM PDT)

Backlog at West Coast ports worries retailers, exporters
A maddening backlog of import containers at West Coast ports has many U.S. retailers upset that toys, shoes, televisions and other goods are not moving fast enough from ships to shelves.
( GARY GENTILE, AP Business Writer, 10/25/2002 03:12 PM PDT)

FERC explores former Enron executive's link to California wind power farms
Government investigators said Friday they want to find out whether a former Enron Corp. executive improperly hid the company's stake in three California wind power farms.
( JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer, 10/25/2002 02:43 PM PDT)

New York fines Microsoft for ads
Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates is boasting that the software giant will spend $300 million to promote the latest version of its Internet service.
( ULA ILNYTZKY, Associated Press Writer, 10/25/2002 02:24 PM PDT)

Verizon posts $4.4 billion in quarterly earnings
Phone giant Verizon Communications Inc. said Friday it earned $4.4 billion in the third quarter, largely from selling off assets and investments, and boasted that long-distance and wireless services were helping it overcome falling revenue from basic residential lines.
( BRIAN BERGSTEIN, AP Business Writer, 10/25/2002 01:51 PM PDT)

SEC approves board, Webster to chair
A deeply divided U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday voted to approve five members of a new national accounting oversight board to be headed by ex-FBI chief William Webster.
( Reuters, 10/25/2002 12:40 PM PDT)

Factory Orders Down by 5.9 Percent
The nation's hard-hit manufacturers suffered another drop in demand for their products while consumer confidence slid to the lowest level in nearly 10 years, raising new fears of a possible double-dip recession.
( MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer, 10/25/2002 12:34 PM PDT)

Halliburton says Judicial Watch suit has no merit, asks for dismissal
Vice President Dick Cheney and Halliburton Co. have asked a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit accusing them of defrauding investors by changing accounting methods at the oilfield-services company.
( 10/25/2002 09:49 AM PDT)

FERC probes Enron partnerships
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said Friday it was investigating whether former Enron Corp (ENRNQ.PK) executive Andrew Fastow improperly created special partnerships to hide the company's stake in three wind power farms.
( Reuters, 10/25/2002 08:48 AM PDT)

Lockheed Net Income Up 36 Percent
Lockheed Martin Corp. Friday said its net income soared 36 percent in the third quarter, as a spending spree by the U.S. military boosted sales in the defense contractor's aircraft division.
( 10/25/2002 08:21 AM PDT)

Princess accepts $5.4 billion Carnival bid
P&O; Princess Cruises PLC accepted a sweetened $5.4 billion takeover offer from Carnival Corp., signaling that months of jockeying by the world's top three cruise companies might be nearing an end.
( JANE WARDELL, Associated Press Writer, 10/25/2002 08:20 AM PDT)

Target Sees 2003 Store Growth of 8-10 Pct.
Target Corp. (TGT.N) plans to add 8 percent to 10 percent more shopping space in 2003, with capital spending expected to be $3.3 billion to $3.5 billion, a company spokeswoman said on Friday.
( BY EMILY KAISER, Reuters, 10/25/2002 08:04 AM PDT)

Consumer sentiment at nine-year low
Stagnant job growth and steep stock market losses pushed U.S. consumer sentiment to its lowest level in nine years in October, raising some concerns that the consumer-driven recovery could soon be at risk.
( Reuters, 10/25/2002 07:49 AM PDT)

Jury deliberates for second day in lead paint case
The answer will come down to a simple "yes" or "no," but jurors in the state's landmark lawsuit against the lead paint industry are giving serious thought as to whether the paint creates a public health threat in Rhode Island.
( RICHARD LEWIS, Associated Press Writer, 10/25/2002 07:46 AM PDT)

Buffett to Leave Gillette Board
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett plans to leave The Gillette Co.'s board of directors, citing the increasing demands on his time as his investment company, Berkshire Hathaway, acquires new companies.
( 10/25/2002 07:20 AM PDT)

State fines Qwest $20 million for "slamming"
California regulators have fined phone giant Qwest Communications International Inc. and a subsidiary $20.3 million for switching the long-distance service of thousands of Californians without permission.
( KAREN GAUDETTE, Associated Press Writer, 10/25/2002 01:26 AM PDT)

Analyst probers meet, little progress
Bank lawyers and market regulators talked for three hours on Thursday to try to settle investigations of analyst wrongdoing, but the power players dropped in only briefly, a sign that a deal was still distant.
( BY KEVIN DRAWBAUGH, Reuters, 10/24/2002 04:01 PM PDT)

JDS Uniphase plans to cut more jobs
Network equipment maker JDS Uniphase Corp. said Thursday it plans to cut more jobs and further consolidate operations as fiscal first-quarter sales plunged more than 40 percent.
( MATTHEW FORDAHL, AP Technology Writer, 10/24/2002 03:51 PM PDT)

Kodak cutting up to 1,700 jobs
Photography icon Eastman Kodak Co. is cutting between 1,300 and 1,700 jobs, or up to 2.3 percent of its global payroll, as it struggles to rebound from a two-year slump in film sales it blamed largely on a downturn in the U.S. economy.
( BEN DOBBIN, AP Business Writer, 10/24/2002 03:43 PM PDT)

Tyco reports Q4 loss of $1.75 billion
Tyco International Ltd. lost $1.75 billion in its fourth fiscal quarter due to one-time charges, and said Thursday it plans to restate its earnings for earlier in the year because of questions raised in an internal audit over it how it accounted for dealer fees involving its ADT home security systems business.
( HARRY R. WEBER, AP Business Writer, 10/24/2002 03:42 PM PDT)

Microsoft, Disney unveil service
In a splashy fete in Central Park on Thursday, Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates and Walt Disney Co. chairman Michael Eisner announced the release of an upgraded MSN Internet service stocked with Disney's content.
( JIM KRANE, AP Technology Writer, 10/24/2002 01:58 PM PDT)

Weekly jobless claims decline
Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, smoothing out an increase from the previous week and offering a snapshot of the uncertainty in the job market as the economy struggles toward recovery.
( LEIGH STROPE, AP Labor Writer, 10/24/2002 01:58 PM PDT)

Amazon reports loss on higher revenues
Internet retail giant Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN.O) Thursday reported a narrower net loss in the third quarter on sharply higher revenues, reflecting the success of a free-shipping incentive program and robust growth overseas.
( BY ANDREA ORR, Reuters, 10/24/2002 01:44 PM PDT)

SEC accounting board vote seen Friday
The chairmanship of a new U.S. board to police scandal-tarred corporate accountants, after a bitter political brawl, was expected to go on Friday to a 78-year-old former chief of both the FBI and the CIA.
( BY KEVIN DRAWBAUGH, Reuters, 10/24/2002 01:15 PM PDT)

Jury Rules Against Union Carbide
A West Virginia jury on Thursday found Dow Chemical Co.'s (DOW.N) Union Carbide unit exposed workers to asbestos poisoning over a 35-year period, opening the door to millions of dollars in potential damages.
( BY JULIE TERRY AND DAVID SINKMAN, Reuters, 10/24/2002 12:59 PM PDT)

West Coast port employers, union in talks
One day after West Coast port employers charged longshoremen with staging illegal slowdowns, both sides sat down with a federal mediator on Thursday to restart contract talks covering union workers on the docks that handle more than half of U.S. trade.
( BY MICHAEL KAHN, Reuters, 10/24/2002 12:58 PM PDT)

Former trader pleads guilty to fraud
A former currency trader accused of hiding $691 million in losses at Allfirst bank pleaded guilty Thursday in one of the largest bank fraud cases in U.S. history.
( BRIAN WITTE, Associated Press Writer, 10/24/2002 12:57 PM PDT)

United, Unions Work on Cutting Costs
After shoring up its appeal for federal aid, United Airlines renewed efforts Thursday to secure the key element of its emergency financial overhaul: $5.8 billion in targeted labor concessions.
( DAVE CARPENTER, AP Business Writer, 10/24/2002 09:34 AM PDT)

Mortgage rates rise sharply
Mortgage rates around the country rose sharply this week, with rates on 30-year mortgages climbing to their highest level since early August.
( 10/24/2002 08:56 AM PDT)

Duke Energy will cut 1,900 jobs
As it announced a 71% drop in profits, Duke Energy said it will cut more than 1,500 staff jobs and more than 400 contract jobs this year and next, as part of a move to cut costs.
( Reuters, 10/24/2002 08:29 AM PDT)

Bristol-Myers profit falls; will restate
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY.N) on Thursday posted a sharp drop in earnings and said it will restate its results for several quarters after its wholesalers built up excess supplies of its drugs.
( Reuters, 10/24/2002 08:12 AM PDT)

New drugs spur forest labs profits
Forest Laboratories Inc. and its shareholders have been seeing a lot of green lately.
( The Associated Press, 10/24/2002 05:42 AM PDT)

Viacom Flips to Profit on Stronger Ads
Entertainment titan Viacom Inc. (VIAb.N) (VIA.N) said on Thursday it swung to a third-quarter profit on increased advertising at its CBS television network and stations, which suffered last year from the Sept. 11 attacks.
( Reuters, 10/24/2002 05:04 AM PDT)

Nestle core sales growth slows
Top executives at Nestle scrambled to soothe investors on Thursday after the world's biggest food group said weak Latin American markets slowed core nine-month sales growth, hurting its shares.
( BY JON COX AND TREVOR DATSON, Reuters, 10/24/2002 05:03 AM PDT)

Grand jurors eye Lay
A federal grand jury in Houston has heard from several witnesses regarding former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay's personal finances this week, his attorneys said.
( 10/24/2002 03:28 AM PDT)