From wire/staff reports

SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp. will drop a much-touted new technology for organizing and storing data when it releases the next version of its Windows operating system as expected in 2006.

Tom Button, corporate vice president for Windows product management, said the new Windows version, code-named Longhorn, would improve the way people find things like e-mails, photos and documents. But in formally announcing the release date, the company said it would not be ready to include an even more advanced system for sorting, storing and finding data until an unspecified time later.

Personal bankruptcies beginning to decline

WASHINGTON - Personal bankruptcies appear to have broken the upward trend of recent years, slipping 0.8 percent in the 12 months ending June 30, figures released Friday show.

New personal bankruptcy filings declined to 1,599,986 from 1,613,097 in the 12 months ending June 30, 2003, according to the data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

"Consumer bankruptcy filings appear to have turned a corner," said Samuel Gerdano, executive director of the American Bankruptcy Institute, a group of bankruptcy judges, lawyers and other experts.

Ky. Supreme Court rejects damage award

FRANKFORT - Kentucky's highest court threw out a $20 million punitive damage award in a case involving a man killed after his employer's Ford Motor Co. pickup suddenly shifted into gear and crushed him.

The Supreme Court of Kentucky ordered a new trial to determine the correct amount of punitive damages, ruling 4-3 that the jury erroneously included Ford's nationwide rather than statewide conduct in calculating such damages.

Fifth Third CD rate honors 1,000th branch

To promote the opening of its 1,000th branch this month, Fifth Third Bank will offer customers a special rate on certificates of deposit that's among the highest nationally.

The Cincinnati-based banking giant will open the milestone branch in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak, Mich., Monday. The bank will offer a 1,000-day CD that pays 4 percent with a minimum deposit of $500, to all customers through Sept. 5.

Churchill Downs fires marketing executives

LOUISVILLE - A pair of longtime Churchill Downs marketing executives said they were fired as part of a change in strategy. Kevin Marie Nuss, Churchill's vice president of marketing, and Larry Sinclair, the track's director of promotions, said they were dismissed Monday.