From wire reports

HealthSouth cuts more jobs, reduces air fleet

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - HealthSouth Corp. said Thursday that it was cutting 80 more office jobs and paring its aircraft fleet to save money because of an accounting scandal that has put the medical giant in danger of bankruptcy.

The government, meanwhile, considered a second attempt to freeze the assets of the company's embattled founder, ousted chief executive Richard Scrushy.

HealthSouth, which previously slashed 250 positions, said it would eliminate about 80 non-clinical corporate jobs. The move will leave the company with about 49,000 employees.

The government has accused HealthSouth and Scrushy of overstating earnings by some $2.5 billion since 1997 to meet Wall Street expectations.

Rates on 30-year mortgages at lowest

WASHINGTON - Rates on 30-year mortgages dropped to a record low this week, the sixth time that has happened this year.

The average interest rate on a fixed-rate 30-year mortgage fell to 5.45 percent, down from 5.62 percent the week before, Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday in its weekly nationwide survey.

Xerox on right track, CEO says at meeting

BOSTON - At an annual meeting, Xerox chairman and chief executive officer Anne Mulcahy told shareholders Thursday that new products and investments in areas like small-scale publishing have returned the company to the right track.

Xerox has been cutting costs through thousands of layoffs and other measures in recent years and introduced 17 new products last year as part of a turnaround program.

Mulcahy was able to brag about returning Xerox to profitability in 2002.

The company reported a net 2002 profit of $91 million, or 2 cents per share.

Bush wants longer Internet tax ban

McLEAN, Va. - The Bush administration wants Congress to extend a moratorium on Internet taxation that is set to expire in November, Treasury Secretary John Snow said Thursday.

Snow, speaking at a gathering of technology company executives, said he and Commerce Secretary Don Evans submitted a letter to Congress Thursday urging the moratorium remain in effect.

Dell posts higher first-quarter profit

ROUND ROCK, Texas - Dell Computer Corp., a bellwether of the technology industry, said Thursday that first-quarter profits jumped 31 percent on strong sales.

The largest personal computer maker said it earned $598 million, or 23 cents per share, compared with $457 million, or 17 cents per share, a year earlier.

The results matched the expectation of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.

British advisory on euro comes next month

LONDON - Britain's treasury chief said Thursday that he will decide next month whether to recommend that Britons give up their beloved pounds and pence for the new European currency.

Public opposition to joining the euro is strong and many think Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has already concluded the time is not yet right to call a national referendum on the issue, probably the most important decision of his tenure.

Brown and Prime Minister Tony Blair's office set off a frantic guessing game when they said Thursday that Brown would announce June 9 whether the government is ready to seek a public referendum on adopting the currency.