From staff and wire reports

Givaudan eliminates 300 jobs worldwide

Givaudan SA, the world's biggest maker of fragrances and flavors - whose North American flavor business is based in Bond Hill - is cutting 300 jobs worldwide to improve profitability.

Givaudan will cut about 4.9 percent of its work force.

A spokesman for the company's Bond Hill flavor business said the cuts won't affect operations in Greater Cincinnati, where the company employs about 700. He said the Vernier, Switzerland-based company was moving ahead with an expansion that included acquiring the neighboring TechSolve manufacturing center for additional lab and office space.

Panel re-examines recession timeline

It turns out that President Bush may have inherited a recession after all.

The president often makes that claim when talking about the economy, prompting Democrats to charge he is fudging history because the recession began in March 2001, two months after he took office, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.

But bureau officials said Thursday they are debating whether they made a mistake and that the downturn actually began as early as November 2000, when Bill Clinton was still in the White House.

The seven-member cycle dating committee, composed of academic economists who specialize in studying business cycles, may well end up leaving the starting date of the recession alone, officials said.

Microsoft reports drop in quarterly earnings

Microsoft Corp. reported a drop in earnings Thursday for its fiscal second quarter, as the software giant took a huge charge for stock-based compensation for employees. But revenue increased 19 percent.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, Microsoft reported earnings of $1.55 billion, or 14 cents per share, down from earnings of $1.87 billion, or 17 cents per share, in the year-ago period. But earnings for the three-month period included an after-tax charge of $2.17 billion, or 20 cents per share, in expenses related to the stock-based compensation.

Little Tikes closing manufacturing plant

Toy company The Little Tikes Co. is closing a manufacturing facility in Sebring, Ohio, affecting 120 hourly and 12 salaried employees.

The company will shift production within two months to its facility in Hudson, about 20 miles southeast of Cleveland. Sebring is about 50 miles southeast of Cleveland.

Mortgage rates drop to lowest in six months

Mortgage rates around the country dropped for the second straight week, welcome news to people thinking about buying a home or refinancing the one they already own.

The average rate on 30-year mortgages fell to 5.64 percent - the lowest rate in six months, and down from 5.66 percent last week - Freddie Mac, the mortgage giant, said Thursday in its weekly nationwide survey of mortgage rates.

For 15-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, rates decreased to 4.95 percent this week, down from 4.97 percent last week. Rates for one-year adjustable mortgages dipped to 3.56 percent, compared with 3.62 percent last week.

AT&T Wireless puts itself on sales block

AT&T Wireless put itself up for sale Thursday, confirming it has received numerous merger offers which it plans to entertain.

The nation's third-largest cell-phone operator would not disclose the names of any bidders, which according to sources at both AT&T Wireless and its suitors include Cingular Wireless, NTT Docomo of Japan, Vodafone of Britain and Nextel Communications.

Holiday sales boost earnings for EBay

Strong holiday sales helped EBay Inc. surpass Wall Street's fourth-quarter earnings expectation.

For the three months ended Dec. 31, eBay earned $142.5 million, or 21 cents per share. That's a 64 percent jump from the $87 million, or 14 cents per share, it earned in the same period of 2002.

Excluding special items, eBay earned a record $157 million, or 24 cents per share, compared to $87.6 million, or 14 cents per share in the last quarter of 2002. Analysts were expecting eBay to earn 22 cents per share cents per share.