IN BRIEF

Airports group names local official as leader

The appointment of a top Southern Nevada aviation official to lead a group that represents North American airports could give McCarran International Airport a more prominent position on the nation's aviation radar.

The Airports Council International recently appointed Randall Walker, Clark County director of aviation, as chairman of its board of directors.

The 54-year-old Walker will be the public face of the council that represents the interests of American and Canadian airports that host more than 95 percent of passenger and cargo traffic in North America.

The position is unpaid but will allow Walker to highlight issues facing McCarran airport in Las Vegas among people with influence over legislation and other decisions that affect aviation.

Walker's one-year term as chairman will start Jan. 1.

HARTFORD, Conn.

General Electric will close lighting plants

General Electric Co. said Thursday it will close a number of lighting plants in Brazil and the U.S. as part of a plan to restructure its consumer and industrial division, potentially cutting more than 1,400 jobs in the process.

GE Consumer & Industrial, based in Louisville, Ky., said it will close all of its lighting operations in Rio de Janeiro, which will affect about 900 jobs.

The company also plans to close some lighting factories in the United States, which will affect about 425 jobs. "A portion" of the U.S. jobs will be transferred to other GE lighting facilities, the company added.

Another 80 jobs will be affected by a transfer of some operations from plants in Mexico and the United States to other locations.

BETHESDA, Md.

Marriott International reports lower profits

Hotel operator Marriott International said Thursday that its third-quarter profit fell about 7 percent as the lodging industry continued to slow from its once-robust pace.

Bethesda-based Marriott said third-quarter net income slipped to $131 million, or 33 cents per share, down from net income of $141 million, or 33 cents, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 12.6 percent to $3.04 billion from $2.70 billion.

REDMOND, Wash.

'Halo 3' generates $300 million in sales

Gamers around the globe dropped nearly $300 million on "Halo 3" in the week since the first-person shooter for Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 console debuted, the company said Thursday.

Microsoft also said that in the week after the Sept. 25 launch, Xbox 360 console sales "nearly tripled" from the weekly average reported before the game hit store shelves, according to initial reports from retailers worldwide.

More than 2.7 million people have logged on to Microsoft's online service, Xbox Live, to collectively play 40 million hours of "Halo 3" with other gamers, Microsoft said.

Goods sellers involved in diaper dust-up

Procter & Gamble Co., the largest U.S. consumer-products company, sued rival Kimberly-Clark Corp. for running ads that claim P&G's Pampers and Luvs diapers fit better on bricks than babies.

Kimberly-Clark is falsely claiming Pampers and other brands are rectangular shaped while its Natural Fit Huggies diapers are the only brand with an hourglass shape, P&G said in a complaint filed Oct. 2 in federal court in Green Bay, Wis.

NEW YORK

Factory-orders drop sends Treasurys down

Treasury prices advanced Thursday, bolstered by a bond-friendly drop in factory orders.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 0.25 points to 101.75 with a yield of 4.53 percent, down from 4.54 percent at Wednesday's close. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.