Federated closing 3 Lazarus stores

        Cincinnati's Federated Department Stores, the parent of Bloomingdale's, Macy's and other chains, will close three unprofitable Lazarus stores in Indiana and Ohio, affecting 190 jobs.

        Employees at Washington Square Mall in Indianapolis; Tippecanoe Mall in Lafayette, Ind.; and Colony Square Mall in Zanesville, Ohio, were informed Friday morning, the company said.

        Some of the employees might be placed elsewhere within the company, while the rest would receive severance packages and outplacement services, a spokeswoman said.
       

Funeral company reorganizes

        The Loewen Group Inc., the Canadian-based funeral services company that has administrative offices in downtown Cincinnati, was reborn this week as the Alderwoods Group Inc.

        Alderwoods emerged this week as a new publicly traded company following a two-year bankruptcy reorganization by Loewen. Alderwoods, the nation's second-largest funeral services provider behind Service Corp. International, operates 920 funeral homes and 275 cemeteries in North America and Great Britain.

        The company, which has executive offices in Toronto, has split administrative functions between offices at 311 Elm St. in Cincinnati and Vancouver, British Columbia. The Cincinnati office, which recently expanded, employs about 60.

        Loewen, which once maintained its U.S. headquarters in Covington, closed that office in a 1997 consolidation.
       

GE selects V.P. of marketing

        Roger Seager, general manager of GE Aircraft Engines' CF6 program since 1995, has been promoted to vice president of marketing and sales, reporting to Dave Calhoun, GEAE president.

        He succeeds Herb Depp, who recently was named to the new GE post of vice president of aviation operations. He reports to Dennis Dammerman, GE vice chairman.

        Succeeding Mr. Seager as head of the CF6 program is Rick Stanley, who joined GEAE in 1980.

Unemployment rate hits 5.8%
Smaller companies find ways to gain in recession
Businesses shop for electricity
Radio exec Wood defends sale
Airline travel down since 2000
Loan strings dismay airlines
Service Merchandise retail chain to end operations
Business Digest
Rate report
Tristate Summary
What's the Buzz?
HIGGINS: Personal Finance
Savvy strategies