PRODUCTIVITY GAIN BEST SINCE '83: Americans' productivity for all of last year posted the best gain since 1983 despite a sharp slowdown in the final quarter of 2000, the Labor Department said. Worker productivity -- the amount of goods and services produced for each hour worked -- rose at an annual rate of 2.4 percent in the last three months of 2000. For all of 2000, productivity surged 4.3 percent. Last year's surge in productivity capped a five-year stretch in which productivity growth averaged a strong 2.8 percent, double the lackluster average growth rate of 1.4 percent in the two decades since 1973.

LEINER TO CLOSE LARGO FACILITY: Leiner Health Products will close its operations in Largo at the end of March, eliminating 175 jobs. Employees have been offered jobs at other Leiner facilities or severance packages and help finding other jobs, plant manager Jeff Green said. The work done here will be moved to Leiner facilities in the Carolinas. The company, based in Carson City, Calif., told employees of the move months ago, Green said. Leiner makes vitamins and nutritional supplements.

CHRYSLER LOSSES CURB PARENT'S EARNINGS: DaimlerChrysler Group's earnings rose 37 percent last year due to one-time gains on asset sales, but its operating profit without the unusual items sank 49 percent because of second-half losses at its Chrysler division. Its net income rose to 7.9-billion euros ($7.4-billion) for 2000. It earned 5.75-billion euros a year ago. DaimlerChrysler plans to report detailed financial results for the fourth quarter and all of 2000 at the end of the month but unexpectedly released some of its full-year numbers after a board meeting. It failed to break out the Chrysler division's results. But its operating profit tumbled to 5.2-billion euros ($4.9-billion) after adjustment for one-time effects from 10.3-billion euros a year earlier.

FLIGHT DELAYS SET RECORD IN 2000: The Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed the suspicions of millions of travelers stranded at U.S. airports last year: Flight delays climbed to a record 450,289 in 2000. That's 20 percent higher than 1999 and 47 percent higher than 1998. The previous record was 392,800 delays in 1990. Stormy weather caused the bulk of the delays, with too-heavy volume another big culprit. The FAA figures don't include delays caused by problems at an airline, such as mechanical glitches or labor strife. Both United and Delta last year blamed thousands of flight delays and cancellations on crew shortages when their pilots refused to sign up for overtime during contract negotiations.

AT&T EXPECTS JOB CUTS: AT&T Corp. plans some job cuts in its restructuring and will avoid the kind of sweeping dismissals planned by rivals, chief executive C. Michael Armstrong said. "Being cost competitive is an unending job and we still have a lot to do, but, no, we are not on the brink of announcing some big layoff," Armstrong told the Bloomberg Forum. "In some places, we will have downsizing. The total employment is not going down dramatically."

BUGLE BOY NAME ACQUIRED: Perry Ellis International Inc. said it will acquire Bugle Boy Industries Inc.'s name and wholesale clothing operations to add to its line of sportswear. Terms of the cash transaction were not disclosed. Perry Ellis said the purchase of Bugle Boy, under Chapter 11 protection, is subject to U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval. Shares in the Miami-based Perry Ellis fell 6 cents to $7.25; they've fallen 34 percent in the past year.

BARNES & NOBLE.COM PLANS CUTS: Barnes & Noble.com Inc. fired 350 people, or 16 percent of the No. 2 Internet bookstore's work force, and said its fourth-quarter loss more than tripled because marketing and acquisition costs rose. The company also will close a processing center in New Jersey and the Fatbrain.com Inc. book fulfillment operation in Kentucky and will trim its distribution network. The fourth-quarter loss of $138.1-million, or 91 cents a share, compares with a loss of $38.4-million, or 27 cents, a year earlier.

AMAZON TO ACCEPT REVIEW PAYMENTS: Amazon.com plans to accept payments from publishers in exchange for a better chance of getting their books recommended in electronic mailings sent to customers of the online retailer. Previously, Amazon's book editors were solely responsible for choosing e-mail recommendations. In the new system, company officials said, books nominated by publishers would be reviewed by the editors, who would make the final decisions. The editors will continue to recommend some books without charging a fee. The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon would charge up to $10,000 for the chance to be included in the mailings, which target customers who already have ordered or expressed interest in a similar type of book.

NEWS CORP., HUGHES TALKS CONTINUE: News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch declined to comment on talks to merge its satellite broadcasting holdings with those of DirecTV, a unit of General Motors Corp.'s Hughes Electronics Corp. Murdoch, speaking on a conference call to Wall Street analysts, would only say "those talks are progressing, and I can't say more than that." Separately, News Corp. reported a net loss of $23-million in the latest quarter due to a large writedown from investments. Without one-time items, earnings rose on a turnaround in box office results.

TREASURY AUCTION: The U.S. Treasury sold $11-billion of 10-year notes at a yield of 5.067 percent. The yield is down from 5.865 percent at the last auction Nov. 8. Tenders totaled $23.06-billion.

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