US Airways Group Inc., operating under bankruptcy court protection, may agree with pilots as soon as today on $300 million in wage and benefit cuts, the head of the Air Line Pilots Association said. It would be the first concession agreement between the airline and a major work group.

The union, which rejected concessions six days before the seventh-biggest carrier filed in bankruptcy court, is near agreement to cut pay 17.5 percent, said pilots' Chairman Bill Pollock. The accord may prompt other unions to follow, he said.

The pilots' agreement, if adopted by other labor groups, may let US Airways withdraw a request to the court for temporary concessions of $38 million a month, including 23 percent pay cuts. Without cash in the slow winter travel months, US Airways said Sept. 24 it may be forced out of business by mid-February.

Toyota increases hybrid cars in U.S.

DETROIT - Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's top automaker, said Thursday it will double the allocation of Prius hybrid cars for the U.S. market in 2005, part of a companywide goal to sell 300,000 gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles worldwide by the end of next year.

Toyota said the announcement coincides with the sale of its 100,000th Prius in the United States, where they went on sale in the summer of 2000.

Globally, Toyota has sold more than a quarter-million hybrid vehicles since the introduction of the Prius - the world's first commercially mass-produced hybrid car - in December 1997.

Toyota said it will begin selling two more hybrid vehicles in the United States early next year: the Lexus RX 400h and Toyota Highlander sport-utility vehicles.

Besides the Prius, Toyota has built hybrid vans, box trucks, small buses and luxury sedans for sale in Japan.

Hybrids draw power from two energy sources, typically a gas or diesel engine combined with an electric motor.

Celebrity agent firm sold for $700 million

CLEVELAND - International Management Group, a sports and celebrity management and marketing firm that has represented Tiger Woods, Joe Montana and Derek Jeter, is being sold to a New York buyout specialist firm in a cash deal valued at more than $700 million.

Forstmann Little & Co. is acquiring the company from trusts established by IMG's founder, the late Mark McCormack, and from the family of Arthur J. Lafave Jr., IMG's vice chairman.

"Mark (McCormack) and I were good friends for many years," said Theodore Forstmann, senior partner at Forstmann Little, who said the deal will give IMG the money to grow and make acquisitions.

The companies did not disclose the sale price. In an interview, Forstmann also declined to provide specifics but confirmed the transaction was in the range of $700 million to $750 million.

Delphi to lay off 120 workers in Ohio

VANDALIA, Ohio - Delphi Corp. will lay off 120 workers at its Thermal and Interior plant starting Monday, the company said.

Delphi spokesman Lindsey Williams said Thursday that the layoffs are indefinite and stem from reduced demand for air bags and door panels produced at the plant.

The plant employs 416, down from 690 hourly workers and 72 salaried workers two years ago.

General Mills cereals switch to whole grain

MINNEAPOLIS - General Mills Inc. is converting all of its breakfast cereals to whole grain, making it the latest food company to undergo a nutritional makeover amid growing pressure from the government and consumer groups.

The move announced Thursday by the nation's second-largest cereal maker affects 29 cereals, including such popular brands as Trix, Golden Grahams, Lucky Charms and Rice Chex. The new recipes and packaging will be launched in October, he said.

General Mills operates a Chex plant in Sharonville.

Kentucky Lottery sales down from last year

Kentucky Lottery Corp. sales for the first two months of the 2005 fiscal year totaled $109.5 million, down about $19.4 million from the July and August sales last year, the lottery said Wednesday. The total still exceeded projections by about $2.9 million.

Wire/staff reports