Business Digest

LEVI STRAUSS TO RESTRUCTURE: Levi Strauss & Co. will fire 3,300 people and close six U.S. plants as the jeansmaker shifts production to lower-wage countries such as Mexico. "It's a painful but necessary business decision done for competitive reasons," chief financial officer Bill Chiasson said. Levi's sales have dropped every year from a record $7.14-billion in 1996. Last year, they were $4.26-billion. Levi has shut 23 U.S. plants since 1997.

ONLINE BROKERAGE MERGER: Ameritrade Holding Corp. has agreed to buy Datek Online Holdings Corp. for $1.3-billion in stock. Acquiring Datek gives Ameritrade almost 1-million new customer accounts, vaulting the company over Charles Schwab Corp. and ETrade Group Inc. in rankings of online brokers who handle the most stock trades daily. Datek is the latest brokerage to be sold after a more than 50 percent drop in online trading by individual investors in the past two years. In January, Datek, which caters to active individual investors, agreed to pay a $6.3-million fine and cooperate with federal regulators to settle charges that its day-trading unit committed securities fraud between 1993 and 1998. Ameritrade's shares rose 12 cents to $6.42.

AUTOMAKER CONSIDERS TAKEOVER: DaimlerChrysler AG said it might exercise an option to take control of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. as early as next year if the Japanese carmaker returns to profit and reduces debt. The German automaker bought 34 percent of the Japanese company in 2000 as well as the right for a takeover in three years. DaimlerChrysler has increased its stake to 37 percent since then. Mitsubishi Motors sales in Japan have fallen every month since July 2000 compared with year-earlier levels after the company admitted covering up customer complaints for two decades. The automaker was forced to recall and repair 2-million vehicles.

SYPRIS WINS CONTRACT: Sypris Electronics of Tampa has been selected by BAE Systems Integrated Defense Solutions Inc. of Austin, Texas, to make electronic circuit card assemblies for handheld chemical agent detectors. The company expects to produce about 1.3-million Joint Chemical Agent Detector assemblies and related products, valued at approximately $75-million over the three-year term of the contract. The equipment is used to detect chemical warfare agents or toxic industrial compounds.

TREASURY AUCTION: Interest rates on short-term Treasury securities fell in Monday's auction. The Treasury Department sold $10-billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.71 percent, down from 1.79 percent last week. An additional $10-billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 1.975 percent, down from 2.11 percent. The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors: 1.74 percent for three-month bills and 2.022 percent for a six-month bill. In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year constant maturity Treasury bills fell to 2.64 percent last week from 2.7 percent the previous week.

U.S. INVENTORIES KEEP FALLING: Inventories at U.S. wholesalers fell in February for a ninth straight month, reflecting fewer stockpiles of imported autos, electrical equipment and food. The 0.7 percent decrease in inventories to $285.1-billion was more than expected and followed a revised 0.5 percent decline in January, the Commerce Department reported. The level of inventories in February was the lowest since $284.3-billion in December of 1999, Commerce officials said.

IBM TO MISS FORECASTS: IBM Corp. jolted Wall Street, warning investors that its first quarter earnings would come in well below analysts' expectations. IBM shares dropped $9.84, or 10.1 percent, to $87.41 a share. IBM said it expects to earn 66 to 70 cents per share for the quarter, which ended March 31, compared with the 85 cents per share expected by analysts.

MORE DEFENDANTS IN ENRON CASE: Nine investment banks and two law firms have been added as defendants in a securities fraud lawsuit tied to Enron Corp. The complaint, filed on behalf of large investors, said the banks and law firms raked in massive fees while financing and approving sham deals that hid debt and inflated profits. A second suit, on behalf of employees and retirees, also named several banks and a law firm as defendants. Both suits name Merrill Lynch & Co.; J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.; Credit Suisse First Boston; and Citigroup Inc. The investor suit also names Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC); Bank of America Corp.; Barclays Bank PLC; Deutsche Bank AG; and Lehman Brothers Holding Inc.

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