[ TIME Inc.... ]

TIME inc.

289 jobs to be lost as magazines revamp

NEW YORK — Time Inc. is cutting nearly 300 jobs as it revamps its huge portfolio of magazines such as Time, People and Sports Illustrated to adapt as readers and advertisers move to the Internet.

The magazine publisher, part of the media conglomerate Time Warner Inc., told its staff Thursday that it was axing 289 jobs in departments across the company, which publishes about 150 magazines.

The expected cuts would bring Time Inc.’s payroll down to about 11,000, a spokeswoman said. By division, 172 jobs would be cut from the editorial side, and 117 cuts from the business side.

NORTHROP GRUMMAN

Bid on Air Force contract is unlikely

Northrop Grumman Corp. is not expected to bid on an estimated $100 billion contract for Air Force refueling planes, potentially paving the way for Boeing Co. to get the deal, a source familiar with the matter said.

Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Virginia-based Lexington Institute, said officials at Northrop signaled to him Thursday that the company does not intend to compete on the final request for proposals, which could come next week.

A Northrop spokesman said it has not yet decided whether to compete, although analysts speculate it won’t.

While Boeing’s chances of getting the contract improve if Northrop does not bid, a win is not guaranteed. People in Congress critical of the Air Force’s handling of the contract could try to delay the deal.

YAHOO!

Personal finance advice to be added

Internet powerhouse Yahoo! Inc. will begin dispensing advice about personal finances in its latest bid to bolster its own finances.

The new money management package, which was scheduled to debut last night, extends Yahoo!’s decade-old finance section — one of the Web’s top-ranked destinations for business and investment information.

Yahoo! widened its focus to include more money matters because many people are more interested in balancing their checkbooks than juggling their stock portfolios, said Scott Moore, who runs Sunnyvale-based Yahoo!’s news and information division. The personal finance section will include tips and tools for household budgeting, tax planning, careers, real estate and debt management. Most of the content will come from other sources, including The Wall Street Journal and Consumer Reports.

ECONOMY

Inflation pace fell to 3-year low in 2006

Inflation in 2006 eased to the slowest pace in three years as consumers finally got some relief on energy and medical bills. Inflation-adjusted wages rose at the fastest clip in nearly a decade.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that the Consumer Price Index climbed by 2.5 percent last year, the best showing since 2003 and nearly a full percentage point lower than the 3.4 percent jump in 2005.

The encouraging news stemmed from a sizable slowdown in energy costs in the second half of last year, after 2 1/2 years of new price highs for gasoline and other fuels. Also helping was a significant moderation in health-care costs, which rose by 3.6 percent, the smallest annual gain since 1998.

— From news services

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