DOW DROPS ON INVESTOR SHIFT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 107.91 to 10,795.41, as investors lessened their reliance on safer blue chips in favor of high-tech issues. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 63.68 to 2,491.40. Analysts said investors were still unsettled by congressional testimony Tuesday from Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, who indicated interest rate cuts will be less aggressive than the market wanted.

INVENTORIES POST SMALL GAIN: Inventories of unsold goods on shelves and backlots rose by a tiny 0.1 percent in December and matched the increase in sales, the Commerce Department reported, suggesting that companies are working off excess supplies. The small advance pushed total inventories to a seasonally adjusted $1.22-trillion and sales rose to $896.8-billion. The rise in inventories was the smallest since January 1999.

BOFA ACCUSED OF CIRCULATING REPORTS: Bank of America Corp. is accused in a lawsuit of illegally obtaining and circulating thousands of consumer credit reports. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, was filed on behalf of more than two dozen named plaintiffs but says that the bank circulated thousands of reports. It seeks $81-million in damages. Plaintiffs' attorney Rodney R. Sweetland III said as many as 5,000 reports were sold by bank officials to individuals operating in a "black market" for consumer credit information. Shirley Norton, a spokeswoman for the Charlotte, N.C., bank -- the largest operating in Florida -- dismissed the lawsuit as "nothing more than an attempt to get money from us."

'KOURNIKOVA' AUTHOR ARRESTED: Dutch police arrested the hacker known as "OnTheFly" a 20-year-old man who claims he wrote a computer virus named for Anna Kournikova that backed up e-mail systems worldwide. Authorities charged and sent the man home with his parents, saying the offense didn't warrant holding him. A prosecutor will decide later whether to seek a jail sentence or a fine, police said. The suspect, whose name was withheld under Dutch privacy regulations, was accused of damaging private property and computer programs and could be imprisoned for up to four years. A letter posted on the Internet by the suspect, identifying himself as OnTheFly, admitted spreading the virus as a warning to Internet users to tighten security.

BAE FACILITY SOLD: BAE Systems' flight simulation and training facility in Tampa, formerly known as Reflectone Inc., has been sold for $80-million cash to a Canadian company. CAE, a Toronto company, is also in the flight simulation business, selling to both civil and military accounts. BAE's Tampa plant had $80-million in sales of flight simulators and training last year, primarily to the U.S. military. In addition to the 500 employees at the facility on Tampa West Boulevard, the company has about 300 employees at military sites around the country. A spokesman for the plant said the acquisition should have no significant impact on the local work force. BAE Systems, a British aerospace company, acquired Reflectone in May 1997.

BANKERS, IMSG CUT STAFF: Publicly traded Insurance Management Solutions Group of St. Petersburg and its privately held parent company, Bankers Insurance Group, dismissed a combined 75 workers this week. Financially troubled IMSG late Wednesday disclosed that it cut 53 jobs, or 10 percent of its work force, in a move that will save about $1.7-million in annual payroll. Separately, Bankers confirmed it has fired 22 people, or about 6 percent of its work force, eliminating redundant positions across the board. IMSG, which provides outsourcing for insurance companies, went public in early 1999. It has struggled to carve a niche and expand its client list beyond its base with Bankers Insurance, a major provider of flood insurance.

MICROSOFT NAMES PRESIDENT: Microsoft Corp. named Richard Belluzzo, for 18 months a group vice president overseeing the development of the .NET platform and the MSN network of Web sites, to be president and chief operating officer. Belluzzo, 47, built his career at the Hewlett-Packard Co., making him the first outsider to attain a top strategic role at Microsoft. Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer, who previously held the title of president, said Belluzzo will take over the day-to-day business aspects of the company, allowing Ballmer to focus on larger issues, As chief operating officer, Belluzzo succeeds Bob Herbold, 58, who decided to retire. Microsoft also said it had received a request for information from the Justice Department regarding its $135-million investment in the Corel Corp., a rival softwaremaker. Corel develops packages for Microsoft's signature Windows operating system and has agreed to support the .NET initiative. It also designs software for Linux, a rival operating system available free on the Internet.

AUTONATION ACQUIRES, CLOSES STORES: AutoNation Inc., the Fort Lauderdale-based auto dealership group, said it has acquired Nissan of Brandon from Patricia McKinney, widow of the dealership's founder. It is the chain's 16th dealership in the Tampa Bay area. AutoNation also said it will close and put up for sale the last of its ill-fated AutoNation USA megastores in the market. The 20-acre site, showroom and service center by Interstate 75 near Mango employed 59 people. The company, which gave up the used car megastore idea in 1999, hopes to transfer the workers to other operations in the area.

KRISPY KREME STOCK SPLIT: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc., which last month filed to sell 2.3-million shares, said it will split its stock 2-for-1. The company said shareholders as of March 5 will receive one additional share for each share held, payable March 19. Krispy Kreme shares were unchanged at $67.69.

DUELING AUTO SUITS: DaimlerChrysler AG filed a lawsuit claiming that General Motors Corp.'s Hummer H2 violates Jeep's grille trademark. The lawsuit seeks to bar GM from using the design of vertical bars and slots, to force a recall of any H2s distributed, and for unspecified damages. GM, which filed its own lawsuit to protect the Hummer grille design, plans to start selling the smaller H2 sport-utility model next year.

TAX GURU FACES JUSTICE CHARGE: The author of a tax advice book that tells people they can't get in trouble for not filing a return is now in trouble with the Justice Department. The government filed a civil lawsuit against Joseph N. Sweet and his company, EDM Enterprises of Bradenton. The lawsuit contends that Sweet is running a tax scheme and has convinced followers to invest more than $6.5-million in trusts purchased by him or the company. Sweet did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment.

JUDGE BLOCKS JOB ACTION BY DELTA PILOTS: Delta Air Lines pilots were enjoined from coordinating efforts against overtime flying as a way of pressuring the carrier in contract negotiations. U.S. District Judge Willis Hunt Jr., also gave pilot union leaders until Feb. 26 to explain how they are notifying pilots about the injunction prohibiting the "no-overtime" campaign. Hunt also barred pilots from harassing colleagues who accept overtime. Delta, the nation's third-largest carrier, has been forced to cancel thousands of flights since December when some of its 9,800 pilots stopped requesting overtime.

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