Hershey labor talks resume

        Hershey Foods Corp., the biggest U.S. chocolate candy maker, resumed negotiations with striking workers at two plants after a second set of talks broke down Tuesday over splitting health-care costs.

        The meeting Thursday with representatives of the Chocolate Workers Local 464 of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers union and a federal mediator began at 10:30 a.m., Hershey spokesman John Long said. He didn't have more information.
       

GE board critiqued

        General Electric Co. won a reputation under former Chief Executive Jack Welch as one of the best-managed companies. Many investor advocates say it wasn't among the best governed.

        GE's board had the lowest proportion of independent directors among the 20 largest U.S. companies by revenue in 2001, according to a survey by the Investor Responsibility Research Center, which advises U.S. fund managers on governance issues.

        “The biggest and one of the most widely held companies is missing a key watchdog, an independent board,” said Patrick McGurn, vice president of Institutional Shareholder Services.
       

El Nino may behave

        An El Nino weather pattern developing in the Pacific Ocean strengthened last month and is expected to be less severe than one five years ago that caused $96 billion in crop and property losses, a U.S. weather agency said.

        Ocean temperatures along the equator were 1 degree Celsius above average in May, fueled by a wind-circulation phenomenon called Madden-Julian Oscillation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. The water temperature in April was 0.5 degree above normal, a sign of a developing El Nino.
       

Jobless claims drop

        The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment insurance plunged last week to the lowest level in a year, an encouraging sign amid a sluggish labor market.

        The Labor Department reported Thursday that new claims dropped by a seasonally adjusted 32,000 to 383,000 for the week ending June 1.

        But the bigger-than-expected drop might have been exaggerated by seasonal adjustment factors related to the Memorial Day holiday, analysts cautioned.
       

Interest rates hold steady

        The European Central Bank resisted pressure to boost a key interest rate Thursday, with President Wim Duisenberg saying the bank would wait to size up Europe's still-uncertain recovery and an inflation outlook that has darkened despite a rally by the euro.

        The bank's governing council left its key minimum refinancing rate unchanged at 3.25 percent, where it has been since Nov. 8.

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