Airline will ask for loan

        US Airways warned Friday that it might file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection if it could not obtain federally backed loans that will likely require concessions from employees and the airline's suppliers and vendors.

        Shares of US Air plunged more than 27 percent on the news.

        The airline lost $2 billion last year. The federally guaranteed loans are unattractive to many airlines because of the conditions placed on them. The airline might have to give the government the option to purchase a large share of the company, possibly at a bargain price.
       

Job cuts predicted

        International Business Machines Corp. plans to eliminate up to 9,600 jobs, a 3 percent reduction, as sales slump, a source said. The reductions will be made by the end of June, the person said, without indicating where they will occur.

        IBM's sales have missed forecasts by $1 billion in each of the past two quarters.
       

Card maker improves

        The stock of American Greetings Corp. jumped Friday after the company said the effects of its recent restructuring would push fiscal first-quarter earnings above Wall Street estimates.

        The Cleveland-based greeting-card company cut 15 percent of its work force and eliminated a third of its product offerings over the last year in an effort to jump-start growth amid competition from Internet and low-cost card purveyors.

        American Greetings said that the restructuring, combined with stronger sales of greeting cards, will result in earnings of 40 to 45 cents a share, excluding items, for the quarter ending May 31.
       

Power prices decline

        Power prices in the Midwest fell for a second day as a cool weather forecast is expected to keep demand low for electricity. Temperatures in the north-central U.S. will average 5.4 degrees below normal the next seven days, according to forecasts.

        Wholesale power for next-day delivery on the electric grid operated by Cincinnati-based Cinergy Corp. fell $3.42, or 15 percent, to $18.81 a megawatt-hour, the lowest price since April 1.
       

Pitt rejects criticism

        Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt rejected a request by watchdog group Common Cause that he resign on the grounds that he is plagued with industry conflicts of interest. “Absolutely not,” he said on CNBC. “I will serve as long as the president has confidence in me.”

        Earlier, at an SEC investor summit, Mr. Pitt told reporters: “There's no basis for that request” that he resign.

        Common Cause said Mr. Pitt showed “poor judgment and disdain for the public trust” when he agreed to meet with Eugene O'Kelly, the new chairman of KPMG LLP while the SEC staff is investigating whether the accounting firm approved accounting irregularities at Xerox.
       

Albertson's plan

        Albertson's Inc., the second-largest U.S. grocer, will boost spending 30 percent this year on expansion and store remodels in Dallas and Fort Worth after exiting Houston and San Antonio to focus on areas where it dominates. The company said it will spend $90 million this year and $94 million next year to add 13 supermarkets, 16 fuel centers and to remodel stores in the two Texas cities.
       

Smurfit mulls takeover bid

        Jefferson Smurfit Group Plc, the world's biggest containerboard maker, said it received a takeover approach for “part or all of the company” from Chicago- based buyout firm Madison Dearborn Partners Inc.

        Smurfit said it is considering the approach.

        Shares in Smurfit closed up 2 cents, or 0.6 percent, to 3.22 euros in Dublin, Ireland.

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