CARNIVAL TO CUT COMMISSION: Carnival Corp. said it is cutting in half the commission it pays to travel agents for booking air travel to some of its cruises. The company's Carnival, Holland America and Windstar cruise lines are cutting the airplane-ticket commissions to 5 percent from 10 percent of a ticket's cost. The 10 percent to 20 percent commission paid to travel agents for booking the cruises wasn't reduced. In recent weeks, many of the major airlines have said they would reduce the maximum commission paid to agents.

BIG THREE REPORT SALES DROP: Chrysler, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. all saw declines in August total vehicle sales compared with a year ago. A 20 percent plunge in passenger car sales for GM dragged down total vehicle sales in August by 7.7 percent compared with the year-ago period. Chrysler, a division of DaimlerChrysler AG, reported a 24 percent drop in sales, while sales of cars and trucks produced by Ford dropped 8.4 percent.

TREASURY AUCTION: Interest rates on short-term Treasury securities rose in Tuesday's auction. The Treasury Department sold $14-billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 3.360 percent, up from 3.350 percent last week. An additional $13-billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 3.310 percent, up from 3.290 percent. The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors: 3.434 percent for three-month bills and 3.412 percent for a six-month bill. In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday that the average yield for one-year constant maturity Treasury bills edged down to 3.44 percent last week from 3.45 percent the previous week.

NEW WACHOVIA DEBUTS: The combined Wachovia Corp. and First Union Corp. inched up 1 percent in its first day of trading under its new Wachovia name. The bank, using the ticker symbol WB, closed at $34.92 a share, up 50 cents. After a bitter proxy battle over Wachovia between First Union and Atlanta's SunTrust Banks, the new company is eager to move forward in its $14.2-billion merger. It revealed an 18-member board of directors that includes former White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles, GlaxoSmithKline PLC chief executive Robert Ingram and a Florida representative: Jacksonville businessman Radford Lovett. The bank will take up to three years to change all its First Union signs and close superfluous branches.

PROGRESS TELECOM TARGETS NEW YORK: Progress Telecom of St. Petersburg, the telecommunications arm of Raleigh, N.C.-based Progress Energy, will reach businesses in New York City in the latest expansion of its broadband network. The company said its latest expansion leg will extend from Washington, D.C., to New York City. The fiber-optic cable network extends south to Miami. Since 1999, Progress' network has grown 350 percent, from 1,100 route miles to 5,000 route miles.

ENCORE BANK ENTERS FLORIDA: Encore Bank, a Houston bank that targets customers at or near retirement age, has entered the Florida market by opening a branch in Sun City Center. Rhonda Carroll, a senior vice president with Encore, said the bank is scouting sites in Fort Myers, Belleair and Naples and hopes to have three more branches open by early next year. Encore, formerly known as Guardian Savings, has $1.3-billion in assets and $1-billion in deposits. Among its retirement-focused products is a new interest-bearing checking account for those 50 and older.

NEW CEO FOR FOOD TECHNOLOGY SERVICE: Food Technology Service Inc., a Polk County company that uses radiation technology to kill bacteria in beef and other food products, has a new president and chief executive: Richard Hunter, a former deputy state health officer at the Florida Department of Health. He replaces Pete Ellis, who is retiring.

AHOLD ACQUISITIONS: Food distributor Royal Ahold NV said it plans to acquire Alliant Foodservice Inc. and Bruno's Supermarkets Inc. The Dutch company, whose holdings include Parkway Food Service of Clearwater, will pay $2.2-billion for Alliant, including $750-million in assumed debt. It also will pay $500-million for Bruno's. Ahold has been expanding its ability to supply food to restaurants and hotels, a business that's growing faster than supermarkets. Buying Alliant will make Ahold more competitive with Sysco Corp., the biggest North American food-service company.

ENERGY DEALS: Devon Energy Corp. is paying $3.4-billion for Anderson Exploration Ltd. of Canada, creating the largest independent producer of oil and natural gas in North America. The deal gives Devon a long-term position in the plentiful gas fields of Canada, from where a growing portion of the United States' supply comes. The deal comes a day after offshore drilling company Santa Fe International Corp. said it would buy rival Global Marine Inc. for about $2.8-billion in stock. The Santa Fe-Global Marine acquisition would create one of the world's largest offshore drilling contractors.

BAUSCH & LOMB CEO QUITS: Bausch & Lomb Inc. chief executive William Carpenter, 48, has resigned. Bausch & Lomb has lowered its earnings forecasts four times since August 2000, when it fired president Carl Sassano to allow Carpenter to be closer to day-to-day operations. Bausch & Lomb said it has begun a search for a new CEO from outside the company. Board chairman William Waltrip will serve as interim CEO. Shares of Bausch & Lomb rose $2.06 to $38.43.

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