Aug. 30 -- Weevil Foundation extends assessment due date because of drought (J.T. Smith): The Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation has extended the 1998 due date for assessments in the Rolling Plains Central and Southern Rolling Plains weevil eradication zones to Sept. 30.

Aug. 30 -- Lorber Industries puts a positive spin on cotton yarn at Snyder: SNYDER -- Arnold Lorber isn't interested in what people say won't work.

Aug. 30 -- Big Country Business Notes: News from around the Big Country

Aug. 30 -- Companies bet timing is right for books of the future: NEW YORK (AP) -- Straight from the pages of science fiction, electronic books will land in the public's eye this fall with promises of searchable text and the ability to hold the equivalent of 10, if not 100s of volumes, in a portable device weighing only a few pounds.

Aug. 30 -- Government lawyers frustrated with Gates' answers: WASHINGTON -- Government lawyers on Friday spent a second day questioning Microsoft chairman Bill Gates in preparation for a trial next month of their antitrust suit against the software giant.

Aug. 30 -- Russia's asian flu, Eastern Shelf's sniffles: Russia came down with the Asian flu this week, letting loose its grip on the ruble and, as happened with other Asian currencies, seeing it devalued.

Aug. 29 -- Businesses move out of Innovation Center (Doug Williamson): They aren't wearing caps and gowns, but there are two new graduates at the Abilene Business Innovation Center.

Aug. 29 -- Chancellor merges with Capstar to create nation's largest radio network: DALLAS -- A merger of two Texas-based broadcast companies, announced Thursday, will create the nation's largest radio-station group.

Aug. 29 -- U.S. Wheat Associates urges avoidance of unilateral trade sanctions (J.T. Smith): When the United States slaps unilateral economic sanctions on some foreign country, it is the American farmer who pays.

Aug. 29 -- Personal income up 0.5 percent in July, but Americans spending less: WASHINGTON -- Americans held onto more of their rising incomes in July, leaving analysts wondering if a spending spree that has buoyed the United States in the midst of floundering foreign economies is coming to an end.

Aug. 29 -- Nervous passengers, airports prepare for Northwest strike: With hundreds of weekend flights already canceled and airports ready with pillows and blankets for stranded travelers, Northwest Airlines and its pilots Friday held talks aimed at averting a strike at midnight.

Aug. 29 -- Union charges U S West of illegally recruiting workers: DENVER -- Union claims that U S West Inc. is recruiting illegal "strikebreakers" from Canada highlighted the 12th day of a walkout that shows little sign of ending anytime soon.

Aug. 28 -- Home sales in Abilene are flying high (Doug Williamson): July's report from the Abilene Board of Realtors shows a whopping good year. So far, 26 percent more homes have been sold through the Multiple Listing Service, and the total dollar volume is up 21 percent from last year.

Aug. 28 -- RR Ranch slates Drought Dispersal sale for Sept. 14 at West (J.T. Smith): The drought of 1998 has been horrible - but with it has come the opportunity for some to buy outstanding females that wouldn't be sold, otherwise.

Aug. 28 -- Credit unions have best rates; Banks more convenience, services: NEW YORK (AP) - Credit unions scored a major victory with a new law that effectively reverses a Supreme Court ruling limiting membership in the financial cooperatives.

Aug. 28 -- Homeowners should beware of risky 125 percent home-equity loans: Japan and Russia may be teetering, the Dow may be overly stratospheric, the President may be grouchy from sleeping on the fold-away ... but as you compile your litany of things to worry about, don't forget the 125 percent home-equity loans.

Aug. 27 -- Seniors get discount, but what about Gen X? Ruth Vinson took a bus trip to Canada, and she stopped at a fast food restaurant along the way for a snack.

Aug. 27 -- Knox Double Diamond Ranch Field Day is Sept. 2 at Hawley (J.T. Smith): The Knox Double Diamond Ranch Field Day is 10 a.m. Wednesday at the ranch at Hawley.

Aug. 27 -- Area Business Notes: News from around the Big Country

Aug. 27 -- Small businesses create worse, lower-paying jobs, study says: Even though small businesses have been described as the "engine of economic growth" in the United States, smaller may not necessarily be more beautiful.

Aug. 26 -- Computer 'stuff' seems to multiply (Brian Bethel): One thing those who are into computers quickly realize: You can accumulate a whole lot of stuff rather quickly. And it has the unfortunate habit of sticking around, even long after you've stopped using it.

Aug. 26 -- Cactus plant can be true friend on the range (J.T. Smith): South Texas finally has been getting some rain. But the 1998 drought already has taken a toll. And who knows what is in store for ranchers next year?

Aug. 26 -- Surfing the Web (Doug Williamson): From tropical weather to Usamah Bin Mohammad Bin Laden, we look around the World Wide Web for intersting sites.

Aug. 26 -- Banks may see troubled times: AUSTIN (AP) - Texas banks, with three years of record profits under their belts, might see some tighter times ahead.

Aug. 26 -- Russia announces debt structuring, mulls coalition with Communists: MOSCOW - The Russian government battled Tuesday to pull the country out of economic and political crisis, putting off its debt repayments and signaling that some hard-line opponents may be given top posts.

Aug. 25 -- Pennsylvania trucking company and hay farmer helping Texans (J.T. Smith): They figured it was just the neighborly thing to do. Texas Ag Commissioner Rick Perry reports that Hardinger Transfer is the latest trucking company to donate its services to bring hay from out of state to help keep Texas livestock alive after the effects of this summer's horrible drought.

Aug. 25 -- Workforce to increase at local companies (Doug Williamson): Abilene's employment picture may be getting a little brighter.

Aug. 25 -- Competitors make top tickets nonrefundable as Northwest strike looms: MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The major airlines are gearing up for a possible strike at Northwest Airlines by making their normally flexible, first-class and business-class tickets nonrefundable on some routes.

Aug. 25 -- In setback to Pepsi, Wendy's wants Coke for the next generation: COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Wendy's will make Coca-Cola its exclusive soda for the next decade, snapping a lid on Pepsi's inroads at the hamburger chain's restaurants.

Aug. 25 -- With 34,000 workers on the picket lines, U S West talks continue: DENVER (AP) - Thousands of U S West workers began their second week on the picket lines in 13 states as negotiators went back to the bargaining table Monday in efforts to end the strike.

Aug. 23 -- ATM fees necessary for convenience: Getting cash from all but three of Abilene's 44 automatic teller machines costs about a buck if you don't have an account with the ATM owner.

Aug. 23 -- Bombings prompt businesses to shore up security overseas: LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Pinkerton Global Intelligence Services was swamped Friday with calls from U.S. corporations looking for ways to protect their overseas employees and property from possible retaliation by terrorists targeted in U.S. missile strikes.

Aug. 23 -- For whom the Dell tolls: Texas computer whiz outsmarts IBM, Compaq: NEW YORK -- Michael S. Dell doesn't smile much. Just leans into a hotel-lobby couch and coolly explains how his computer company beat the daylights out of bigger rivals Compaq and IBM.

Aug. 23 -- Xerox develops tool kit to teach diversity: STAMFORD, Conn. -- Julie Baskin Brooks is manager of diversity at a company known for being a leader on minority hiring.

Aug. 23 -- Lynda Fogerson named Outstanding County Extension Agent in Home Economics (J.T. Smith): The Taylor County Extension Agent for family and consumer sciences has been honored for her work.

Aug. 23 -- Denver testing satellite-assisted cellular phones: DENVER -- When Karen Nelson's pickup truck slipped into a ditch during a South Dakota snowstorm last year and she called for help on her cellular phone, it took 40 hours to pinpoint her location.

Aug. 23 -- Big Country Business Notes: News from around the Big Country

Aug. 22 -- Growers to receive rebate from boll weevil program (J.T. Smith): The board of the directors of the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation has approved a stalk destruction rebate for the Rolling Plains Central (RPC) zone.

Aug. 22 -- New businesses to move into downtown building: A gaping hole has appeared between the downtown store fronts flanking 226 Pine Street.

Aug. 22 -- Personal computer prices break below $400 mark: NEW YORK -- Personal computers, which tumbled below the $1,000-price barrier just 18 months ago, now are breaking through the $400-price mark -- putting them within reach of the average U.S. family.

Aug. 22 -- Uncle Sam to accept credit cards for tax bills: WASHINGTON -- Beginning next year, the federal government will accept credit cards for Americans' income tax bills.

Aug. 22 -- Manufacturing, construction executives differ on three-month outlook: NEW YORK (AP) -- Manufacturing executives predict a modest slowdown in orders and hiring over the next three months in part due to the ongoing economic troubles in Asia, according to a Dun & Bradstreet Corp. survey released Thursday.

Aug. 21 -- Ranchers will be years recovering from drought (J.T. Smith): Because of the cyclic nature of the cattle business - and the fact a cow is pregnant nine months - ranchers are not going to just bounce right back from the 1998 drought.

Aug. 21 -- Abilene's unemployment rate keeps shrinking: The July ranks of Abilene's unemployed shrank to 3.9 percent from June's 4.3 percent, the Texas Workforce Commission reported Thursday.

Aug. 21 -- Uncle Sam to accept credit cards for tax bills: WASHINGTON - For the first time, many Americans will be able next year to use credit cards to pay their tax bills to Uncle Sam.

Aug. 21 -- Royalty payments in product instead of cash "not feasible": WASHINGTON - Industry-backed legislation to require the federal government to accept oil and gas royalty payments in product instead of cash "would not be feasible," a federal study has concluded.

Aug. 20 -- Non-insured assistance disaster program deadline nearing (J.T. Smith): Farmers and ranchers in Taylor County are reminded of the Sept. 15 certification deadline on native pastures.

Aug. 20 -- Retailers say Apple's iMac selling briskly: NEW YORK - Several major retailers on Wednesday reported brisk sales of Apple's new iMac computer, with some stores sold out just days after the product's launch Saturday.

Aug. 20 -- Computer users use e-mail to reach out and touch someone: NEW YORK (AP) - About half of all computer users are more likely to send an e-mail to someone who lives out of town than they are to make an old-fashioned phone call, a survey found.

Aug. 20 -- Stocks? No thank you, says nation's top economist: WASHINGTON - So where does Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who knows more about the economy than almost anybody, put his own money? No irrational exuberance for him. He shuns the stock market for the safest investment of all - short-term Treasury bills.

Aug. 20 -- Communication skills are especially important in the business world: Great leaders are great because they can communicate. The same is true for businesses. Employees and bosses who can get their ideas across are much more successful than the mediocre.

Aug. 20 -- Big Country Business Digest: News from the area

Aug. 20 -- USDA compromises for 400 boll count effective immediately: The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reached a compromise on the modified boll count deviation for cotton devastated by the 1998 drought.

Aug. 20 -- July housing starts best in more than a decade: WASHINGTON (AP) - Builders started new homes in July at the fastest pace in more than a decade, but analysts still predicted the nation's booming housing market would slow soon.

Aug. 19 -- Clinton okays giving farmers AMTA payments in October (J.T. Smith): President Clinton has signed legislation that authorizes U.S. Department of Agriculture to make fiscal year 1999 Agriculture Marketing Transition Act (AMTA) payments available to eligible farm operators and owners beginning Oct. 1.

Aug. 19 -- iMac makes its entry into the market (Brian Bethel): Saturday, Apple released the iMac, its newest Macintosh computer and its first real entry into what I would consider the low-cost consumer market.

Aug. 19 -- A weekly look at web sites (Doug Williamson): This week's journey through the wonderful world of the World Wide Web takes us from a local personal webpage to roller coasters.

Aug. 19 -- Fed holds short-term interest rates unchanged: WASHINGTON (AP) - With economic crises still roiling Asia, and now Russia, Federal Reserve policy-makers today opted to hold short-term interest rates unchanged.

Aug. 19 -- J.C. Penney reports earnings drop in second quarter: PLANO, Texas (AP) - J.C. Penney Co., Inc. blamed weaker-than-expected catalog and department store sales and a charge relating to its Eckerd acquisition for a sharp drop in second-quarter earnings.

Aug. 19 -- 500 days to fix millennium computer glitch: Disaster or inconvenience? WASHINGTON (AP) - Inside a suburban home darkened by a power outage from a summer thunderstorm, the top bureaucrat hired by President Clinton to make sure the nation's computers survive past 2000 was just trying to survive the evening's muggy weather.

Aug. 18 -- Move over guys, women growing force in hardware industry: CHICAGO -- The word "handyman" may no longer be politically correct -- or correct at all -- as women become a more potent force in buying tools and hardware for both inside and outside the home.

Aug. 18 -- Farmers Union hails summit's endorsement of proposal to lift loan caps (J.T. Smith): Progress is being made toward lifting caps on the USDA Commodity Credit Corporation's government loan rates.

Aug. 18 -- More economic trouble ahead for Russia: Russia effectively devalued the ruble Monday -- a move expected to cause hardship for Russian consumers.

Aug. 18 -- Russian devaluation shows solutions for global economy running out: WASHINGTON -- Russia's ruble devaluation, just a month after promises of an additional $22.6 billion from the International Monetary Fund, dramatically underscores the fact the United States and its rich allies are rapidly running out of solutions to halt a deepening global economic crisis.

Aug. 18 -- Communications workers strike over overtime, performance pay: DENVER -- Angry over proposals calling for forced overtime and salary changes to reward performance, 34,000 union workers in all but one of the 14 states in U S West's coverage area went on strike Sunday against the regional telephone company.

Aug. 18 -- Big Country Business Notes: News from around the Big Country

Aug. 16 -- Dan Glickman is at home in Washington or on the country roads (J.T. Smith): On another hot, dusty morning in West Texas a tan van -- escorted by law officials with their blinking lights -- pulls into a ditch.

Aug. 16 -- Midwest and Stamford Electric merge as Big Country Electric: ROBY -- The long-anticipated merger of Midwest Electric Cooperative, based here, and Stamford Electric Cooperative is a done deal.

Aug. 16 -- Chips are down for computer component manufacturers: The computer industry's growth has slowed and prices have fallen faster than usual. This has made life hard for computer manufacturers, but it's been even harder for many of the companies that supply them with parts such as processors and disk drives.

Aug. 16 -- Using Diana's image to sell anything -- even margarine: LONDON (AP) -- One might as well be blunt about it: Princess Diana's death created a rare commercial opportunity that businessmen weren't going to miss.

Aug. 16 -- Showmaster Showdown resumes today with steers and goats at Expo Center: If Tasa Watts' steer isn't the coolest steer around, it's certainly the cleanest.

Aug. 15 -- A&T announces $3 minimum monthly fee, draws criticism: New AT&T Corp. customers will be billed at least $3 a month even if they make no long-distance calls, the company said Friday, drawing immediate criticism from consumer advocates.

Aug. 15 -- Bonds surge and long-term yields fall to record low: NEW YORK (AP) -- Bond prices surged Friday and long-term yields fell to a record low as the dollar gained strength and concerns mounted about financial turmoil in Russia and Japan.

Aug. 15 -- Justice Department clears nation's largest bank merger: WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department approved on Friday the $57.3 billion merger of NationsBank with BankAmerica into the nation's first coast-to-coast bank after the companies agreed to sell off 17 New Mexico branch offices.

Aug. 15 -- Comanche County pecan Field Day is Wednesday (J.T. Smith): The Comanche County Extension Commercial Horticulture Committee has planned a Pecan Field Day for Wednesday.

Aug. 14 -- Walgreen opening new stores here: Walgreen Co. will open two drugstores in Abilene next year. The 97-year-old drugstore chain returns to Abilene after a several-decade hiatus.

Aug. 14 -- Strike-related auto slump produces worst retail sales drop in 15 months: WASHINGTON - A slump in auto sales reflecting the General Motors strike in July produced the worst decline in retail sales in 15 months. Outside of autos, sales were about average.

Aug. 14 -- Government accuses Internet company of violating customer privacy: WASHINGTON - Federal regulators accused GeoCities on Thursday of lying to its Internet customers and revealing to advertisers details that it collected about people online, such as their income and marital status.

Aug. 14 -- NASD considering limiting data on brokers' background: WASHINGTON - Treading a delicate line between the need to protect investors and respect for brokers' privacy, the National Association of Securities Dealers is considering limiting information it will provide on the Internet about brokers' backgrounds.

Aug. 14 -- State regulators warn of lengthy alarm service contracts: AUSTIN - Retired Air Force Col. Bill Norwood says he's never had a credit problem. He says he always figured that people who complain about businesses and collection agencies harassing them for payments probably owed the money.

Aug. 14 -- Farmers Union launches marketing flexibility campaign (J.T. Smith): The Farmers Union has announced the launch of a marketing flexibility campaign aimed at removing the caps placed on loan rates under the existing 1996 farm act that governs the nation's farm policy through 2002.

Aug. 13 -- Taylor County Farm Bureau Convention is Saturday night in Abilene (J.T. Smith): The Taylor County Farm Bureau will have its annual meeting at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Wylie High School cafeteria at 4502 Antilley Road. U.S. Rep. Charles Stenholm of Ericksdahl is keynote speaker.

Aug. 13 -- Employers use arbitration to settle workplace disputes: The settling of workplace disputes is moving from the courtroom to closed-door arbitration.

Aug. 13 -- Area Business Notes: News from around the Big Country

Aug. 13 -- Computer users use e-mail to reach out and touch someone: NEW YORK (AP) - About half of all computer users are more likely to send an e-mail to someone who lives out of town than they are to make an old-fashioned phone call, a survey found.

Aug. 13 -- Getting that loan: Six questions you'll be asked: And you thought you had all the answers! First, your own banker put that idea to rest. Now you've been to three banks and all three rejected your request for a loan. You just know your business will be a success, but you need a few bucks to get started and now it looks as if you won't get even that much.

Aug. 13 -- Clinton signs bill freeing $5.5 billion to farmers amid new evidence of downturn: to thousands of farmers amid new forecasts that drought is ravaging U.S. cotton while large harvests of other major crops will further drag down prices.

Aug. 13 -- Weather problems slash U.S. cotton crop by 24 percent: WASHINGTON - The prolonged Southern drought and other weather problems will cut the U.S. cotton crop by 24 percent this year compared with 1997, the Agriculture Department projected today.

Aug. 12 -- Big Country Wheat Conference is Aug. 20 in Abilene (J.T. Smith): The 1998 Big Country Wheat Conference is coming to the Abilene Civic Center.

Aug. 12 -- Internet can make TV, other entertainment more interactive (Brian Bethel): The other day, I was watching a rerun of a television show. Nothing unusual in that. The thing is, I was watching it on the Internet.

Aug. 12 -- Of Spam and postage stamps (Doug Williamson): This week's trek through the wonders of the World Wide Web take us from Spam to voting for your favorite postage stamps and from good places to live to a primer on physics.

Aug. 12 -- Aspen Mountain Air files Chapter 11: Aspen Mountain Air, which flew into Abilene for six months last year, filed for bankruptcy protection last Friday.

Aug. 12 -- Wall Street finds glitches in its year 2000 preparedness: NEW YORK - A test simulating trading on Wall Street around the start of the millennium showed that some firms with the best resources to overcome year 2000 computer problems couldn't handle the transactions smoothly.

Aug. 12 -- Bell Atlantic strike ends: WASHINGTON (AP) - Striking Bell Atlantic Corp. employees began returning to work Tuesday after the company and its biggest union reached agreement on a two-year contract that would increase job security and limit forced overtime.

Aug. 12 -- British Petroleum buying Amoco for $48 billion in stock: CHICAGO - British Petroleum PLC is buying Amoco Corp., the fifth-largest U.S. oil company, for $48 billion in stock in what would be the largest industrial merger in history. About 6,000 jobs would be shed.

Aug. 11 -- Local lender organizes hay exchange program (J.T. Smith): One of the tougher things during the ongoing drought is locating feed for hungry livestock.

Aug. 11 -- Local woman appointed chair of workforce council (Doug Williamson): Claire A. Johnson of Abilene has been appointed by Gov. George W. Bush as chair of the Texas Council on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness.

Aug. 11 -- Assistance now available to first-time home buyers: Big Country residents now have access to $5 million in below-market mortgage rates, and down payment and closing costs assistance.

Aug. 11 -- Bell Atlantic workers strike; minor phone disruption: NEW YORK (AP) -- Bell Atlantic customers were told to use phone books and credit cards instead of calling directory assistance or making collect calls Monday, the first business day of a strike.

Aug. 11 -- Microsoft asks judge to throw out federal lawsuits: WASHINGTON (AP) -- Saying there is no need for a trial, Microsoft asked a judge Monday to throw out the antitrust lawsuits filed by the Justice Department and 20 states.

Aug. 9 -- Business Notebook: News and notes of interest to the local business community

Aug. 9 -- Steel manufacturer finds business worldwide: American manufacturing is experiencing a rebirth.

Aug. 9 -- Tales of the Tape: Oil investors' hopes turn to 1999: NEW YORK (Dow Jones News) -- It's almost as if the Brooklyn Dodgers had moved to Houston.

Aug. 9 -- Company offers online chance to gripe about service: TACOMA, Wash. -- Chances are you've missed a connecting flight because of a late plane, argued about a bill from a hotel, or gotten poor car repairs.

Aug. 9 -- From a suburban kitchen, a mail-order empire is born: NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (AP) -- After 47 years of hard work, Lillian Vernon, queen of the mail-order catalog, relishes the good life. A country home, a city apartment, the occasional pair of designer shoes -- all make life a little sweeter for the founder and CEO of the Lillian Vernon Corp.

Aug. 8 -- Financial experts say everyone should invest: Ask a finance expert why someone who's not invested in the stock market should care about last week's rollercoaster-like stock market performance and you will get an earful about how not being invested is a bad idea.

Aug. 8 -- U.S. envoy: U.S. businessmen disconnected from Asian crisis: SINGAPORE (AP) -- The average American businessman is vaguely aware of the Asian crisis and sees little connection to U.S. economic conditions, U.S. Ambassador Steven Green said in an article in a Singapore newspaper Friday.

Aug. 8 -- Qualcomm offers fix for security flaw in popular e-mail software: SAN DIEGO -- A repaired version of the popular e-mail program Eudora was made available on the Internet today, fixing a security flaw that could enable a hacker to ruin data or plant a virus on computers that run the software.

Aug. 8 -- Chicago Board of Trade squares off with New York rival: CHICAGO -- Fighting back against possible competition from a New York exchange in the lucrative business of trading in U.S. Treasury bonds, the giant Chicago Board of Trade is setting its sights on New York's contracts for trading cotton, orange juice, coffee, sugar and cocoa.

Aug. 8 -- Strikes hangover: GM to keep making '98s longer than planned: TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) -- Due to the production shutdown caused by recent strikes, General Motors Corp. will be forced to continue building 1998 model-year cars and trucks into September -- far later than usual.

Aug. 8 -- Outside manufacturing, U.S. job market remains vibrant: WASHINGTON -- The unemployment rate held at 4.5 percent in July, near a 28-year low, as the robust American job market thrived despite a huge temporary drop in factory jobs reflecting the General Motors strikes.

Aug. 8 -- Microsoft will ask judge to throw out most of antitrust case: WASHINGTON -- Emboldened by a recent appeals court ruling in its favor, Microsoft next week will ask a federal judge to throw out the most important parts of the government's broad antitrust case.

Aug. 7 -- Cotton futures soar on crop estimates: Cotton futures prices Thursday rose sharply a second day on the New York Cotton Exchange as investors bet the government would lower its production estimates after drought wiped out parts of the crop in Texas and the South.

Aug. 7 -- Airlines beginning use of voice-activated reservations: FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- It'll almost be like talking to a real person.

Aug. 7 -- Rubin: check the new $20 bill carefully: WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Treasury Department is gearing up a broad-based public education campaign aimed at persuading Americans to double-check their $20 bills after the new design is released next month.

Aug. 7 -- Growth in mortgages to minorities slowed last year, data show: WASHINGTON (AP) -- Despite government programs aimed at helping minorities become homeowners, growth in mortgage loans to those groups slowed markedly last year, according to government data released Thursday.

Aug. 7 -- Administration opens part of Alaska's North Slope to drilling: WASHINGTON (AP) -- Seeking a balance between oil development and the environment, the Clinton administration announced today it will open nearly 4 million acres of a federal reserve on Alaska's North Slope to oil development.

Aug. 7 -- Retailers report better-than-expected results for July: NEW YORK (AP) -- Americans' buying binge extended into July, the seventh consecutive month of strong sales gains for the nation's retailers, experiencing one of their best years in recent history.

Aug. 7 -- Merger boom getting a friendlier face with more 'mergers of equals': NEW YORK (AP) -- The merger boom is becoming a love fest.

Aug. 6 -- Number of personal bankruptcies at a low point: Personal bankruptcies may begin to wane, thanks to low interest rates.

Aug. 6 -- Bomer limits limits on Y2K liability insurance: AUSTIN (AP) -- As government and private business officials brace for the anticipated Year 2000 computer problem, insurance companies are readying themselves for an expected onslaught of related liability lawsuits.

Aug. 6 -- State takes control of eight nursing homes: DALLAS (AP) -- The Texas Department of Human Services has taken over eight nursing homes following a similar crackdown in two other states against facilities owned by Chartwell Healthcare Inc.

Aug. 6 -- Texas appeals court reverses $1.55 million verdict in breast implant case: TEXARKANA, Texas (AP) -- A Texas appeals court has reversed a $1.55 million breast implant award against Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, also known as 3M.

Aug. 5 -- Tales from the chips: Computers aren't so scary anymore (Brian Bethel): Every week, I get a call or two from people who are taking their first, tentative steps out into the Internet's great sea of information.

Aug. 5 -- House passes and sends Clinton credit union bill: WASHINGTON -- The House today passed and sent to President Clinton a bill that would let credit unions expand their memberships to more than one occupational group, helping them compete against banks for consumers.

Aug. 5 -- Leading indicators slip for second month; Wall Street takes a hit: NEW YORK (AP) -- A key gauge of future economic activity slipped in June for the second straight month in another sign the economy is no longer sizzling hot. Investors, already nervous about a cooling of corporate profits, at one point drove the Dow industrials down almost 225 points.

Aug. 5 -- House rushes $5.5 billion farm aid package to president: WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress has sent President Clinton legislation allowing farmers to get $5.5 billion in payments sooner than already scheduled -- and more is coming as lawmakers rush to address an election-year farm downturn.

Aug. 5 -- Congressional Republicans mull strategy on skilled immigrant visas: WASHINGTON -- Dealing with fallout from the White House's threat to veto legislation that would allow 190,000 more high-skilled foreigners into the United States, congressional Republicans and high-tech industry officials are scrambling to salvage the measure.

Aug. 5 -- Health warning issued after second child dies: FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- A second meningitis death in Texas is blamed on an amoeba-related illness picked up while swimming.

Aug. 4 -- Albertson's merges with American Stores to become No. 1 grocery chain: SALT LAKE CITY -- Albertson's Inc. on Monday knocked Kroger from the top shelf of U.S. supermarkets by announcing its $8.3 billion purchase of American Stores Co., owner of Acme, Jewel and Lucky stores.

Aug. 4 -- Amarillo expects 1,200 new jobs as city lands Bell tilt-rotor plant: AMARILLO -- Bypassing high-tech production capitals like Fort Worth and Houston, Bell Helicopter Textron announced Monday it will return to West Texas to produce the V-22 Osprey in Amarillo.

Aug. 4 -- Americans not saving for that rainy day: WASHINGTON -- Talk about a morality tale turned upside down: Free-spending Americans are the economic envy of the world, while the Japanese, those industrious savers, are swamped by economic troubles.

Aug. 4 -- Dow sinks 96 points after another late selloff: NEW YORK -- Stocks slid into the close again Monday after several halfhearted attempts to halt a steep downturn now entering a third week.

Aug. 2 -- AMA to pay $10 million to settle Sunbeam suit: The American Medical Association said Friday it will pay Sunbeam Corp. nearly $10 million to settle a legal dispute over an ill-fated consumer product endorsement deal, thus ending one of the most embarrassing chapters in the Chicago-based group's history.

Aug. 2 -- Speculation craze has died, but big bird stories abound: LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- Think of the squawking, ostrich-like, black-and-white striped emu as the new era of Texas agriculture.

Aug. 2 -- Judge rejects Exxon's request for a new trial in spill trial: ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Exxon Corp.'s request for a new trial in the Exxon Valdez oil spill case has been rejected again by a federal judge, who dismissed claims that a guard interfered with the jury.

Aug. 2 -- Disasters show holes in 'Freedom to Farm' law: WASHINGTON (AP) -- When drought or harsh winter weather struck in the past, a federal program stood ready to help cattle producers buy feed and keep their herds together.

Aug. 2 -- Literacy programs helping local workers: Jimmy Pittman wants to be the big boss at the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Abilene.

Aug. 2 -- Oil crisis forecast for early 21st century: LONDON -- The world faces a devastating oil crisis in the early years of the new millennium, according to a new assessment of conventional oil reserves.

Aug. 2 -- Talk of recessions and bears could compound troubles for economy and market: NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street has been entertaining some not-so-entertaining thoughts of late.

Aug. 2 -- Unions attack Wal-Mart's "Buy American" program: CHICAGO (AP) -- A major union says Wal-Mart is misleading customers with its "Bring it home to the U.S.A." advertising campaign.

Aug. 1 -- Asian slump, GM strikes help slow U.S. economic growth: WASHINGTON (AP) -- Asia's troubles and the General Motors strikes reduced U.S. economic growth during a lackluster April-June quarter. But American consumers still have money to spend, and analysts predicted the economy will bounce back.

Aug. 1 -- Merger boom getting a friendlier face with more 'mergers of equals': NEW YORK (AP) -- The merger boom is becoming a love fest.

Aug. 1 -- Union Pacific: WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sidestepping complaints that the nation's largest railroad has yet to restore normal service in Texas and the Gulf Coast, federal regulators refused Friday to impose new short-term remedies against Union Pacific Railroad.

Aug. 1 -- House approves job-training bill: WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House on Friday passed a job-training bill that consolidates dozens of programs and gives states and local governments more flexibility in designing them.

Aug. 1 -- Forget the beach, travelers opt for the mall on vacations: More and more, the tourists posing for pictures aren't standing in front of the arch in St. Louis or San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. Instead, they're savoring a Kodak moment in front of a Ralph Lauren store.

Aug. 1 -- UPS strike -- one year later frustrations rise for union employees: SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- When thousands of United Parcel Service strikers snapped shut their picket line lawn chairs last Aug. 18, one of the most sensational walkouts in recent U.S. history came to a dramatic close.

Aug. 1 -- Lawmakers predict success on farm tax relief: WASHINGTON (AP) -- Farmers would have new tools to endure brutal years like this one under a tax relief package introduced by Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and several Republican farm-state lawmakers.

Aug. 1 -- Farmers could get 1999 government checks early under Senate-passed bill: WASHINGTON (AP) -- Farmers suffering from worsening natural disasters and low commodities prices could get their 1999 government payments early under legislation the Senate passed Thursday.