MAINLAND

Jobless claims rise ahead of expectations

The nation's unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 5.6 percent in September, even as the economy lost jobs for the first time in five months, highlighting the difficulties some workers and businesses are confronting given the uneven economic recovery.

The latest snapshot of the country's employment situation, released by the Labor Department today, offered a mixed picture of the jobs market as well as the national economy.

September's 5.6 percent jobless rate -- down from 5.7 percent in August -- represented the lowest unemployment rate in seven months. But a big part of the hiring benefited teenagers. The jobless rates for adult men and women held steady.

Business and government, meanwhile, reported that they cut 43,000 jobs in September, with job losses in manufacturing, transportation and retail swamping job gains in health care, finance and real-estate.

U.S. antitrust chief to join ChevronTexaco

WASHINGTON >> Charles A. James, the Justice Department antitrust chief who drew praise and scorn for his handling of the Microsoft lawsuit, announced yesterday that he was resigning to join the ChevronTexaco Corp.

James' surprise announcement came after 15 months on the job, a short but tumultuous tenure dominated by his decision last year to settle a suit with Microsoft and abandon the tougher penalties sought by the Clinton administration.

PayPal approves merger with eBay

PALO ALTO, Calif. >> PayPal Inc. shareholders approved a $1.3 billion merger with eBay yesterday, brushing aside legal challenges to the deal with the online auction giant.

A majority of the company's 61.6 million outstanding shares were voted in favor, and no one at the sparsely attended meeting voiced the objections raised in lawsuits over the share price and patent infringement allegations.

The all-stock acquisition gives eBay control of the Internet's largest purveyor of online payment services between individuals and businesses. When the deal closes later this year, PayPal insiders will collectively reap, on paper, nearly $600 million.

Conseco chief resigns, will stay on board

INDIANAPOLIS >> Gary Wendt resigned yesterday as chief executive officer of Conseco Inc., but said he would stay on as chairman of the insurance and finance company's board as it continues restructuring talks that could lead to a bankruptcy filing.

The negotiations with creditors to restructure more than $6 billion in debt will continue under Bill Shea, Conseco's president and chief operating officer, the company said in a statement.

The talks, which began in August, are continuing "toward what Conseco hopes to be a consensual restructuring," the statement said.

Music industry wants ID of alleged pirater

WASHINGTON >> Music companies tried to persuade a judge today to let them obtain names of Internet file-swappers without going to court first, a move that could dictate how copyright holders deal with Internet piracy in the future.

Internet service provider Verizon is resisting the music industry's subpoena, saying it could turn Internet providers into a turnstile for piracy suits and put customers at risk.

U.S. District Judge John D. Bates, who heard the case, lamented ambiguities in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which was enacted to uphold copyright laws on the Internet. Bates said he would try to rule quickly, but lawyers for both sides had no guess of when a decision might arrive.