IN BRIEF

Nevada continues to add to Four Diamond winners

Nevada continued to add high-end restaurants to its list of AAA Four Diamond winners, despite a slumping economy that's taken a toll on the state's luxury market.

AAA placed two new Las Vegas eateries on its statewide list. The inclusion of Wolfgang Puck's Cut, inside the Palazzo; and Daniel Boulud Brasserie, inside Wynn Las Vegas; brought to 31 the number of Nevada restaurants with Four Diamonds. Only five states have more Four Diamond restaurants than Nevada.

All 17 hotel winners in Nevada are repeat members of the list.

The Mirage, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in November, won Four Diamonds for the 20th time, giving the property the city's longest Four Diamond streak.

Four properties now claim 10 years on the list: Aureole, a restaurant inside Mandalay Bay, and the Eiffel Tower Restaurant at Paris Las Vegas have won Four Diamonds for a decade running, as have Mandalay Bay and Paris themselves.

The Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino earned its 15th Four Diamond honor.

Four Diamond-rated properties make up just 3.5 percent of the 58,000 lodgings and eateries the organization inspects nationwide.

WASHINGTON

Economic recovery spreads, but more can't find jobs

The economic recovery is spreading to more parts of the country even as a growing number of people can't find full-time jobs.

The duality of the recovery is underscored in a Federal Reserve survey released Wednesday.

The economy is growing, and the recovery is extending its reach geographically. Yet 27 million people are either unemployed, forced into part-time jobs or so discouraged that they've stopped looking for work, the report said.

The Fed said that while the economy is still sluggish, conditions have improved modestly. But it also said the job market in most of the Fed's 12 regions remained "soft" as the new year began.

HARRISBURG, Pa.

AP source: Hershey works on solo bid for Cadbury PLC

The Hershey Co. is assembling a bid to acquire British candy maker Cadbury PLC without the help of Italian candy maker Ferrero International, a person familiar with Hershey's plans told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the company that bid first, American food giant Kraft, continued to defend its offer and issued an earnings forecast that may have been intended to show off its strength.

Hershey has been working on two parallel bids for Cadbury -- one with Ferrero and one on its own. But Ferrero reportedly has withdrawn.

WASHINGTON

SEC selects six new enforcement unit heads

The Securities and Exchange Commission named six people on Wednesday to lead new investigative units and unveiled a new policy for rewarding prompt cooperation by those with knowledge of misconduct as the agency reorganizes its enforcement efforts.

The SEC was scorched by its failure to detect the stunning, long-running fraud by money manager Bernard Madoff despite numerous red flags and credible warnings.

The new units and their leaders are asset management, headed by Bruce Karpati and Robert Kaplan; market abuse, led by Daniel Hawke; structured and new products, Kenneth Lench; foreign corrupt practices, Cheryl Scarboro; and municipal securities and public pensions, Elaine Greenberg.

SHANGHAI

China moves to rein in lending, cool down torrid economy

China's bank lending spurred a recovery but also pumped up markets as speculators scooped up stocks and property and even dabbled in garlic, dried chilli peppers and luxury Pu'er tea.

Now, China is reining in its spendthrift banks, shifting toward an exit strategy that aims to avoid a bust.

After a brief slowdown a year ago, China's economy has bounced back rapidly, with growth forecast at 8.3 percent for this year.