BUSINESS BRIEFS
Apple chief going on medical leave
Advertiser news services
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SEATTLE — Apple Inc. co-founder and Chief Executive Steve Jobs said yesterday he is taking a medical leave of absence until the end of June — just a week after the cancer survivor tried to assure investors and employees his recent weight loss was simply caused by a treatable hormone deficiency.
Jobs, 53, said in a letter last week that he would remain at Apple's helm despite the hormone deficiency, and said he had already begun the "relatively simple and straightforward" treatment for the problem. But in an e-mail to employees yesterday, Jobs backtracked.
"During the past week, I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought," he wrote.
Apple's chief operating officer, Tim Cook, will take over Jobs' responsibilities while he is on leave.
RETAIL SALES DROP 2.7% IN DECEMBER
WASHINGTON — Retail sales plunged far more than expected in December, ending a dismal holiday season with a record sixth straight monthly decline, and there's no relief in sight as consumer demand remains weak.The Commerce Department reported yesterday that retail sales dropped 2.7 percent last month, more than double the 1.2 percent decline that Wall Street expected.
The December plunge in sales, which followed a November drop revised downward to 2.1 percent, confirmed private sector reports that retailers had suffered their worst holiday shopping season since at least 1969.
For the entire year, retail sales were down 0.1 percent, a sharp turnaround after a 4.1 percent gain in 2007.
It was the first time the annual retail sales figure has fallen on government records going back to 1992.
MOTOROLA TO CUT 4,000 MORE JOBS
NEW YORK — Mobile handset maker Motorola Inc. says it will cut 4,000 more jobs in 2009, in addition to 3,000 it announced in December.The company says the move will save about $700 million a year starting in 2009, totaling $1.5 billion in annual savings when combined with the previous cut.
Most of the new layoffs will hit the mobile devices business, while about 1,000 jobs are tied to corporate functions and other business units.
