IN BRIEF

RENO

Bowling tourney to bring revenue to Reno

The world's largest women's bowling tournament begins a 100-day run in Reno on Saturday, an event Nevada tourism officials say will pump an estimated $40 million into the local economy over the next 12 weeks.

It marks the sixth time the National Bowling Stadium in Reno will host the Women's Championship run by the United States Bowling Congress.

Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority President Ellen Oppenheim says as many as 60,000 bowlers, family and friends are expected to visit before the tourney ends July 5.

The purse for the Women's Championship is expected to exceed $2 million.

Las Vegas Perspective coming on Wednesday

The 29th annual Las Vegas Perspective economic forum is scheduled for Wednesday at Renaissance Las Vegas, 3400 Paradise Road.

The event, cosponsored by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, gives in-depth information on Southern Nevada's demographics, communities, business and industry, real estate, retail and tourism.

Dick Kovacevich, chairman of Wells Fargo & Co., is the featured speaker.

Tickets are $75 in advance, $85 at the door and can be ordered at www.lvperspective.com.

Harrah's Entertainment extends debt deadline

Privately held casino operator Harrah's Entertainment Inc. says it has extended the deadline and eliminated a cap on its latest offer designed to lower its debt and give the company more time to pay back lenders.

The Las Vegas-based company said Thursday that it has tendered about $5.4 billion in old bonds with the offer so far, about 63 percent of its eligible debt.

The swap includes giving bondholders new notes due in 2018 with higher interest rates that are worth less than the original notes.

The company says it is no longer limiting the amount of new notes it will exchange for its debt, which was previously capped at $2.8 billion.

The new deadline for the offering is April 8. Harrah's says it had $23 billion in long-term debt at the end of 2008.

CHICAGO

Gadget-hungry buyers boost Best Buy profits

Consumers snapped up surprising numbers of flat-screen televisions, laptops, digital cameras and cell phones during the fourth quarter, helping Best Buy Co. Inc. boost sales by 10 percent, the company reported Thursday.

Best Buy's profit fell 23 percent to $570 million, or $1.35 per share, as restructuring charges dragged down results. That compares with $737 million, or $1.71 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding those one-time charges that amounted to 26 cents per share, Best Buy earned $682 million, or $1.61 per share.

Revenue rose 9.7 percent to $14.72 billion from $13.42 billion.

DETROIT

About 7,500 workers will take GM buyout

About 7,500 General Motors Corp. workers -- roughly 12 percent of the automaker's U.S. hourly work force -- have signed up to take buyout and early retirement incentives to leave the company, GM said Thursday.

Also, Chrysler LLC said Thursday it would extend its deadline to entice blue-collar workers to leave. The old deadline was today.

GM offered $20,000 cash and a $25,000 voucher to buy a car to all of its 62,400 hourly U.S. employees in an effort to further trim its blue-collar work force to match reduced sales.

Intel to offer stock to potential acquisitions

Intel Corp., the world's largest computer-chip maker, announced plans to offer as much as $1 billion in new stock to fund potential acquisitions.

The company may offer shares "from time to time in connection with future acquisitions of other businesses, assets or securities," Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel said in a regulatory filing.

"We don't have anything specific in mind," spokesman Tom Beermann said in a telephone interview.

Intel hasn't made a large purchases under Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini, who took the top job in 2005. The company typically handles acquisitions and investments through Intel Capital, buying makers of technology that will help fuel sales of its microprocessors.

WASHINGTON

IRS presses for data on advisers, bankers

The IRS is ratcheting up the pressure on Americans who kept secret Swiss bank accounts, giving them six months to come clean and cough up any evidence against their advisers or bankers.

Tax lawyers told The Associated Press on Thursday that demands for information and evidence have increased sharply since the government sued UBS AG to try to get the names of tens of thousands of U.S. citizens who may have dodged taxes through Swiss accounts.

Putting the squeeze on rich Americans who hid their wealth, IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman on Thursday also laid out a six-month window for those with secret offshore accounts to come clean under specific terms and penalties.

SAN FRANCISCO

Google planning to lay off 200 workers

Google Inc. is jettisoning nearly 200 workers in its largest round of layoffs yet, demonstrating that even highly profitable companies are feeling the recession's pinch.

The job cuts announced Thursday affected less than 1 percent of the 20,200 workers employed by the Internet's search leader.

The latest layoffs are concentrated in the division that sells Google's advertising.

NEW YORK

Treasury prices increase after notes auction

Treasurys advanced Thursday after a strong auction of $24 billion in seven-year notes.

The 10-year Treasury note rose 0.47 points to 100.03. Its yield fell to 2.73 percent late Thursday from 2.77 percent late Wednesday. Prices move opposite to yields.

The 30-year bond rose 1.41 to 97.09, and its yield fell to 3.65 percent from 3.71 percent.