IN BRIEF

ATLANTIC CITY

Penn National working to land former airport

A Pennsylvania casino and racetrack operator is jockeying for inside position in the race to buy Bader Field, the 150-acre former airport property in Atlantic City, and build as many as four new casinos there.

Penn National Gaming has offered $800 million for the land, and $100 million to cash-starved Atlantic City to use as quick property tax relief in return for being able to avoid a lengthy bidding process for the land.

Under the proposal, which was first reported by The Press of Atlantic City, Penn would place $50 million in an escrow account within 10 days of closing the deal, to be used by the city for tax relief. Another $50 million would be paid within two years.

Penn would subdivide the land and get exclusive development rights to one of the parcels to build its own casino. As many as three other casinos could be built on parcels Penn would sell to other developers.

LOS ANGELES

Yahoo said to be in talks to offer music

Yahoo is in early discussions with major record labels over offering unprotected MP3s either for sale or for free as part of an ad-supported service, two record company executives familiar with the talks said Wednesday.

The talks, held as recently as last month, were preliminary because Yahoo is still working out the details, said the executives, who requested anonymity because of the discussions were confidential.

Yahoo hopes to launch the service this year, they said.

Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group Corp., and EMI Group PLC have in recent months begun licensing their music for sale as MP3 files online through retailers like Amazon.com.

Representatives for the labels declined to comment.

CHICAGO

Motorola chief warns of slow unit recovery

Motorola new CEO Greg Brown spooked investors Wednesday with a gloomy assessment of the cell phone maker's inability to turn around its ailing handset division, saying a recovery will take longer than expected.

Shares fell more than 23 percent to a 41/2-year low on the company's outlook for worse-than-anticipated first-quarter results and Brown's acknowledgment that Motorola is short on promising new products. The shares recovered somewhat to close at $10.01, down $2.31 or 18.75 percent.

Also Wednesday, Motorola reported results from the fourth quarter that were about as weak as analysts had feared. Net profit fell 84 percent and mobile phone sales down 38 percent.

Motorola earned $100 million, or 4 cents per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 30, down from a year-earlier profit of $623 million, or 25 cents per share.

Sales fell 18.2 percent to $9.65 billion from $11.79 billion.

RENO

Safari Club convention opens again in Reno

For the sixth year in a row, the Safari Club International opened its national convention in Reno on Wednesday, an event tourism officials estimate will directly generate $16 million for the local economy.

About 23,000 attendees and exhibitors are expected at the convention running through Saturday, up from 21,200 in 2007, the Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority said.

The hunters, outfitters and retailers are manning 400,000 square feet of exhibits at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. It's the 17th time overall the group has held it's convention in Reno and is contracted to continue doing so through 2010.

KANSAS CITY, Mo.

Wal-Mart will focus on more civic issues

Wal-Mart Stores, which launched a broad environmental push in late 2005, wants to expand that focus to other issues, including energy prices, international trade and U.S. health care costs.

Chief Executive Lee Scott outlined plans in a speech Wednesday to push for more energy-saving products for Wal-Mart shoppers, work with other retailers on social and environmental standards for the foreign companies they buy from, and trim prescription and health records costs at home.

The world's largest retailer may even someday install windmills or solar panels at its stores that would allow shoppers to charge electric vehicles, and it is talking with carmakers about a possible role in the hybrid and electric car market, although Scott said those ideas were still "out there."

SEATTLE

In home city, Starbucks offers $1 cups of coffee

Faced with growing competition from cheaper rivals, Starbucks Corp. is testing offering small cups of drip coffee for $1 with free refills in its hometown.

That's about 50 cents less than the Seattle-based coffee retailer normally charges for an 8-ounce cup of joe, though prices vary from store to store.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Starbucks' new program Wednesday.

The company said in a statement e-mailed by Starbucks spokeswoman Bridget Baker that the test "is not indicative of any new business strategy."

NEW YORK

Treasury prices retreat as stocks head back up

Treasurys gave back much of a vigorous rally in late trading Wednesday when a sagging stock market suddenly regained strength and stopped the flow of money into bonds.

The benchmark 10-year note gave back all its gains to close down 0.09 points at 106.78 with a yield of 3.43 percent, down from 3.49 percent late Tuesday.