IN BRIEF
MINNEAPOLIS
Traffic in high-end airline seats falls
More evidence emerged Tuesday that a bad economy pushes passengers to the back of the plane, as a trade group reported that traffic in the high-end airline seats fell 22 percent in April.
Revenue from those passengers fell even faster, down an estimated 44 percent from April 2008, the International Air Transport Association reported.
The number of travelers on coach tickets rose 0.3 percent in April, which IATA said was an improvement over a 6.9 percent decline for the first quarter.
Air travel has become much cheaper in recent months, with economy fares down 15 percent and premium fares down more than 20 percent, IATA said. That's because airlines are discounting tickets to try to keep them from going unsold.
NEW YORK
Best Buy net income drops, beats forecasts
Best Buy Co. Inc. reported Tuesday that its first-quarter profit fell 15 percent -- even as Circuit City, a key competitor, closed the last of its stores -- because recession-weary shoppers were still limiting big-ticket purchases.
The earnings beat Wall Street expectations, and the nation's largest consumer electronics seller maintained its annual profit outlook.
The company earned $153 million, or 36 cents per share, in the quarter that ended May 30. That compares with profit of $179 million, or 43 cents per share, a year earlier when federal stimulus checks briefly spurred consumer spending.
LOS ANGELES
MySpace has less space for jobs
MySpace said Tuesday it is cutting nearly 30 percent of its work force in a bid to become more efficient, bringing its staffing level more in line with its more popular rival, Facebook.
The move, the latest cost-cutting effort at the site, comes less than two months after the unit of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. hired former Facebook executive Owen Van Natta, 39, as its new chief executive.
It also comes a day after data from tracking firm comScore show Facebook has caught up with MySpace in monthly U.S. visitors for the first time.
WASHINGTON
Administration kills auto-supplier aid help
The Obama administration has turned down a request by auto suppliers for up to $10 billion in additional federal aid to help the parts companies deal with the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler.
The Treasury Department said in a statement Tuesday that an existing $5 billion support program for auto parts suppliers was playing an important role in stabilizing the nation's auto supply base.
Suppliers have lobbied for $8 billion to $10 billion in loan guarantees to help them raise money to buy raw materials and pay employees as Chrysler and GM resume production.
LONDON
British Airways' plan: working for free
British Airways on Tuesday urged its staff to work for nothing in an effort to save the company money.
British Airways PLC is struggling to come up with ways to save cash after reporting its biggest full-year loss since the former national airline was privatized in 1987.
BA chief Willie Walsh has said he would not draw a salary for the month of July, and urged other employees to work for blocks of time without being paid.
"I am looking for every single part of the company to take part in some way in this cash-effective way of helping the company's survival plan. It really counts," Walsh said in a company publication.
The UNITE union, which represents thousands of BA ground and cabin crew, gave the proposal a chilly reception. The union said that while Walsh might be able to afford working a month for free, its members could not.
NEW YORK
Greenberg: Bonus not just for employees
Former American International Group Inc. CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg said a retirement bonus fund that AIG is trying to reclaim in federal court was not intended solely for AIG employees.
The insurance giant has accused Greenberg, through a company called Starr International that he controls, of plundering an AIG retirement program composed of $4.3 billion in stock in 2005. The questions being raised at the civil trial in federal court in Manhattan boil down to who controlled the fund, and what its purpose was.
AIG called Greenberg to the witness stand early Tuesday afternoon. When AIG's lawyer Theodore Wells asked about the intended purpose of the fund, Greenberg responded: "It was not just for AIG employees."
The fund had many other purposes, Greenberg said. One was to allow Starr to control AIG, Greenberg said.
NEW YORK
Long-term Treasurys retreat on action
Long-term Treasury yields retreated Tuesday as the Federal Reserve bought up $6.45 billion in government bonds and a sell-off in stocks extended into a second day.
The Fed has been buying large amounts of Treasurys and other kinds of government debt this year in an effort to keep borrowing rates low, but some of its recent purchases seemed to have little effect on the market. Analysts said the purchases had more impact on Tuesday since there were no new issues of U.S. debt this week.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note -- which is closely tied to rates for home mortgages and other kinds of loans -- fell to 3.67 percent from 3.71 percent late Monday as its price rose 0.50 points to 95.65.
The yield on the 30-year bond fell to 4.50 percent from 4.55 percent late Monday as its price rose 1.46 points to 96.43 points.
