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BUSINESS The Arizona Republic WFI MARCI 1 15, 2000 D3 BUSINESS BROWSER World largest dealer-' Technology better mm NISSAN (FQ.EGTT Fully Insured Fixed Rates Short Term 12 Mo. No Surrender Fees No Stock Market Risk IRA Funds Accepted Monthly Income Available BBB Family Owned Operated Phoenix Since 1969 iruuui TO THE GENERAL PUSLIC Xerox Corp. announcedTuesday that it has formed an alliance with Japan's Sharp Corp. to make and sell inkjet printers that it says are 50 percent faster than products from competitors such as Hewlett-Packard Co. Xerox, Sharp and Fuji Xerox, the company's venture with Fuji Photo Film will invest $2 billion in the alliance over five years for research, manufacturing and marketing.

The printers have separate ink cartridges for each color and use proprietary software to print SO percent faster in normal mode, Xerox said. Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday that it will take a 20 percent stake in snfrwarp mannfartiirpr Real- Changing the way businesses use the Internet ifflTit'i mm a HE Find out why We are the World's Fastest Growing Internet Franchise. 111 mtt tMylMrwII -v IM Ife, Internet Master Franchise Opportunity now being awarded in Arizona. Minimum Investment $57,000.

Visit us www.indexonlv.com or call Director of License Sales 1 .888.314.1 1 1 2 local 1 09. Bus'nessWire Names Corp. for an undisclosed Technicians from Xerox and amount and wiU push for new Sharp display an intelligent standards to simplify Web naviga-ink-tank system designed for ink- tion San CarloS) jet printers. RealNames runs a service that al lows sites to substitute short keywords for complicated Internet addresses, or URLs. Softwaremaker Oracle Corp.

and Cable Wireless HKT, Hong Kong's biggest telephone company, said Tuesday that they will join forces for an e-commerce venture in China. They will build a Web site to help companies in a variety of industries to purchase supplies over the Internet. Earnings mm mmw McCormick Co. the world's largest spicemaker, said fiscal first-quarter profit rose 34 percent, beating analysts' estimates, on lower costs and increased spice sales. Net income in the quarter ended Feb.

29 rose to $24.4 million, or 35 cents a share, from $18.2 million, or 25 cents, a year earlier. International The European Commission on Tuesday rejected Volvo's planned $6.9 billion merger with rival Swedish truck and bus manufacturer Scania as anti-competitive. The commission, which is the executive arm of the 15-member European Union, said the merger "would have caused serious competition concerns by creating dominant positions" in several sectors, including the heavy-truck and bus markets in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Ireland. Japan Airlines Co. said it will cut 4,200 jobs, or nearly 12 percent of its ground workforce, over the next three years, stepping up a restructuring plan designed to boost profitability.

The cuts, which will opcur through March 2003, are in addition to a plan announced last year to reduce the carrier's 36,000 ground staff by about 3,600, or 10 percent, through March 2002. Marketplace Consolidated Stores owner of KB Toys, said it's exploring options, including selling businesses, after a 57 percent drop in its share price in the past year. Consolidated hired the investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston to help it consider alternatives, including a change in capital structure, a business sale or combination, or a stock buyback. Corp. shareholders, looking to tap investor appetite for cellular stocks, approved a proposal to create shares to track the perform ance of the company wireless operations.

The sale is expected to raise as much as $10 billion, making it the largest U.S. initial public offering. If 4 4 Ouyt SPSS 2 rasa mat PATUti. ''St Homestore.com the biggest online lister of homes for sale, said it's working with the National Association of Realtors to develop a way for consumers to buy homes over the Internet. Home buyers should be able to bid for houses online, get loans, do title searches, ar range home inspections and track information through personal accounts, Homestore.com said.

MergersAcquisitions Aluminum manufacturer Alcoa Inc. is acquiring Cordant Technologies a major supplier of aluminum airplane parts and solid-fuel rockets, for $2.3 billion in cash. Cordant employs about 17,000 people worldwide in three business groups totaling about $2.5 billion in sales. The best known is Thiokol Propulsion, maker of solid rocket propulsion systems since the beginning of manned spaceflight. BP Amoco Pic said Tuesday that it has agreed to buy Burmah Cas-trol Pic for $5.4 billion in cash and debt to gain the world's bestselling brand of motor oil, Castrol.

BP Amoco plans to shed 1,700 jobs and save $260 million a year by 2003 as it merges Britain's Burmah with its own lubricants unit. Canada's Nortel Networks struck again Tuesday in the industry race to bulk up on optical network technology, agreeing to acquire a company called Xros for stock valued at $3.25 billion. Xros, a small "Silicon Valley" company, has developed a "switching" technology that directs Internet traffic at network intersections by using tiny mirrors to guide light beams of data from one network to another. An investment group led by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. completed the $9 billion purchase of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.

and took the utility owner private. The buyers paid $2.05 billion in cash, or $35 a share, and assumed $7 billion in debt. MidAmerican's shares won't trade after Tuesday, though the Des Moines, Iowa-based company will have publicly traded bonds. Starwood Hotels Resorts Worldwide the world's largest hotel owner, said a $200 million cash offer it received for the Desert Inn casino in Las Vegas is too low and won't be considered. Closely held Boccardi Capital Systems offered to buy a 200-acre site from Star- a wood that includes the Desert Inn the change is virtually impossible Bui imagine if there was this place where you could request bids and compare providers anonymously.

Where you could get unbiased information about rates, plans and services from all the top carriers. And then choose the best option. All online. All free. That would clear things up considerably.

Retail sales up Here is a look at total retail sales. $265.7 1 Seasonally adjusted $265 billion 260 255 250 hotel, casino and golf course. By the numbers Americans, unfazed by rising interest rates and higher gasoline prices, snapped up cars, clothing and groceries in February and caused retail sales to jump by 1.1 percent, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Retail sales rose to a seasonally adjusted $265.7 billion last month, the Commerce Department said. The 1.1 percent jump in sales marked the biggest gain since December and was slightly stronger than 'many analysts were predicting.

Sales of new cars and trucks rose a solid 1.4 percent in February. The auto industry reported a record 17 million cars and light trucks sold in 1999 and is projecting robust sales for this year. 40 335 229.4 229.4 1 ii I 230 220 S0NDJ FMAMJ JAS0ND '98 '99'00 "Source: Department of Commerce Associated Press The last word simpleity. com The new way to choose telecommunications ii It isn't rocket science. Karen Grabow yice president of human resources at Target, on training seminars encouraging "managers to keep employees content by giving them the chance to speak up and be listened to in workplace discussions.

(Jompiled from Republic news sources, including the Associated Press, Bloomberg lews, Dow Jones Newy.New York Times and kJnight Ridder Newspapers. ww.scmplexity.com6458 1-00-331-4636. ext. 6458.