BellSouth cuts jobs

        Regional phone company BellSouth Corp. said in Atlanta on Friday that it will cut up to 5,000 jobs — 5.5 percent of its work force — as it struggles with a weak economy, competition and regulatory pressures. The cuts are in both management and non-management jobs.

        BellSouth serves nine Southeastern states.
       

Ruling favors Cooper

        A federal judge in Little Rock, Ark., ruled on Friday that potentially damaging testimony against Cooper Tire and Rubber Co. from a former employee won't be allowed as evidence. At a pretrial hearing, U.S. District Judge George Howard struck the testimony of Cathy Jean Barnett after meeting privately with lawyers. The judge said the order also applied to any affidavits given by Ms. Barnett.

        Relatives of four people killed after a 1998 tire blowout accident sued Findlay, Ohio-based Cooper Tire, claiming that tread separation caused the crash. The trial is scheduled for May 28 in Helena.

        The plaintiffs wanted to use Ms. Barnett's testimony to prove misconduct by Cooper's lawyers and secure sanctions against them.
       

Firm's troubles mount

        Adelphia Communications Corp. said Friday it is under investigation by two federal grand juries and missed $44.7 million in bond interest payments, increasing the likelihood of a bankruptcy filing.

        Founder John Rigas resigned this week as chairman and chief executive officer, and his son, Timothy, resigned as chief financial officer. Adelphia is the nation's sixth largest cable television company.

        Adelphia's stock has been in a dive since spring after the company revealed it had failed to disclose $2.3 billion in borrowing by the Rigas family and partnerships for which the company might bear liability.
       

Kmart closings near

        Kmart Corp.'s plan to close 283 of its stores will be completed by the end of next month, the bankrupt retailer said Friday. Kmart announced in March that it would close the unprofitable stores as part of its restructuring under Chapter 11. The company will still operate more than 1,800 stores nationwide.

        About 22,000 employees will lose their jobs in the store closings, and no severance was offered for hourly employees.

        Kmart reported a loss of $2.42 billion for the 2001 fiscal year in a filing Wednesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
       

Napster finds buyer

        In an abrupt shift that keeps Napster Inc. alive, German media giant Bertelsmann AG said Friday it would buy the troubled song-swapping service's assets in an $8 million deal that keeps co-founder Shawn Fanning aboard.

        The announcement came three days after Mr. Fanning and Napster's chief executive announced they were quitting the company that helped spark the digital music revolution — with Napster saying it could be forced to file for bankruptcy protection.

        Bertelsmann said Friday that it would use the $8 million — slightly more than half what it had previously offered to buy the company — to pay Napster's creditors as part of a financial reorganization.

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