From wire reports

Owens & Minor moving to Park West

HEBRON - Owens & Minor Inc., a distributor of medical and surgical supplies, will move this spring to a warehouse at the Park West International industrial center. Virginia-based Owens & Minor signed a lease with IDI for the 115,000-square-foot warehouse.

The firm is moving from a smaller warehouse at the Circle Port in Erlanger. The deal negotiated by IDI's vice president of leasing, Doug Armbruster, brings Park West up to 97.6 percent occupancy, the company said.

Ex-IRS commissioner joins AK Steel board

Shirley D. Peterson, former IRS commissioner and former president of Hood College in Maryland, has been named to the board of directors of AK Steel in Middletown.

Peterson served as the Justice Department's top tax attorney from 1989 to 1992 and headed the IRS from February 1992 to January 1993.

Great American unit to offer debentures

Great American Financial Resources Inc. said Thursday that its AAG Holding Co. Inc. subsidiary plans to offer $75 million of senior debentures. Proceeds from the note sale will be used to redeem another class of securities issued by a wholly owned subsidiary trust of the company.

Stewart jury selection closed to media

NEW YORK - The federal judge in the Martha Stewart case said Thursday that members of the media will not be allowed to watch the questioning of prospective jurors - a process usually held in open court.

U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum said she was concerned reporters might disclose the names of potential jurors and their answers to the questions they are asked.

The judge said she would release a transcript of the interviews the following day, with names withheld. The interviews are to begin Tuesday.

Closing the process to reporters and the public is a rare step that hampers the public's ability to monitor the judicial process, said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Microsoft agrees to change music software

WASHINGTON - Microsoft Corp. has agreed under pressure to change its Windows software to resolve complaints by the Justice Department that it unfairly influenced how customers buy their music online, the government said Thursday.

Microsoft will offer updated software for its Windows XP operating system in February or March to stop its disputed practice of compelling consumers who buy music on the Web to use only Microsoft's Internet browser. The company continues to maintain its design was legal.

Government antitrust lawyers concluded that the design violated the landmark antitrust settlement approved by a federal court in October 2002.

The latest dispute centers on a design feature in Windows called "Shop for Music Online," which lets consumers purchase compact discs from retailers over the Internet.

Airbus' jet sales passed Boeing in 2003

PARIS - European airplane manufacturer Airbus SA said Thursday it delivered 305 jets in 2003, beating its own forecast of 300 and making it the market leader over Boeing for the first time.

The total barely topped Airbus' 303 deliveries in 2002, and the company said it expects "close to 300" in 2004 in a market that's likely to remain "soft."

Boeing this month reported 281 aircraft deliveries in 2003 and is forecasting 275 to 290 this year.

30-year mortgage rate down to 5.66 percent

WASHINGTON - Mortgage rates around the country dropped this week to a six-month low.

The average rate on 30-year mortgages declined to 5.66 percent, down from 5.87 percent last week, Freddie Mac, the mortgage giant, said Thursday. This week's rate was the lowest since July 11, when the rate averaged 5.52 percent.

For 15-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, rates decreased to 4.97 percent this week - also the lowest since July 11 - and down from 5.17 percent last week.

CORRECTIONS

Profit incorrect

Comair's net profit in the third quarter of 2003 was $42.4 million. A story in Thursday's Business section contained incorrect information.

Location wrong

The new Embers restaurant and the new site for Gentry Men's Clothing will be located in Madeira. A item in Thursday's What's the Buzz column was incorrect.