Confidence hits 4-year low

        Worries about jobs and the business climate dragged consumer confidence in February.

        The Conference Board said Tuesday its Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 106.8, down from 115.7 in January. It was the fifth consecutive drop in the monthly index, which fell to its lowest since June 1996.
       

Nike lowers outlook

        Shares of Nike Inc. fell 19 percent after the world's biggest athletic-shoe maker said fiscal third-quarter profit will be less than forecast because flawed software caused the company to miss deliveries to customers, and U.S. sales fell.

        Nike fell $9.57 to $39.60. The stock had gained 85 percent in the past year, compared with a 4.9 percent decline in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
       

GE deal investigated

        The European Commission has decided to launch an in-depth probe of General Electric's proposed $40.5 billion buyout of Honeywell International Inc., pushing back a decision on whether to clear the deal by up to four months.

        Overlap in some areas had been expected to raise antitrust concerns among U.S. and European regulators, who could require the combined company to divest some of its businesses as a condition of approval.
       

JDS Uniphase cuts jobs

        Fiber-optics maker JDS Uniphase Corp. will cut more than 3,000 jobs, or more than 10 percent of its work force, in an attempt to streamline operations.

        The company, a leading maker of optical network components, said the cuts are aimed to improve efficiency and meet market demand. Most of the jobs cut will be made in manufacturing.

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