News In Brief

The battered single currency of the European Union slid to another record low of 82.9 cents against the US dollar in midday trading, and international economists speculated it could sink to below 80 cents. The latest hit was blamed on a large "sell" order by an unidentified Dutch bank after no signs emerged at a meeting in Montreal of finance ministers from the world's 20 wealthiest countries that their governments would intervene to rescue the euro - as the Group of Seven did last month.

Expo 2000, the world's fair that closes Tuesday in Hanover, Germany, appears on course to lose more than $1 billion, reports said. A late rush of visitors, according to organizers, will push paid admissions to between 17 million and 18 million. But that is far short of the 40 million forecast when the gates opened June 1. As much as two-thirds of the red ink is expected to be absorbed by the federal government in Berlin, with the rest made up by the already in-debt host state, Lower Saxony.

York International Corp., which makes compressors and refrigeration systems, announced a cost-cutting plan that includes closing or selling five facilities and eliminating about 6 percent of its workforce, or 1,500 jobs. The York, Pa.-based company said it expected $25 million to $30 million in savings next year as a result.

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