[ Breakfast Briefing Nation World ]

Unions vote to strike Guinness

DUBLIN-Ireland without Guinness? The dark stout that's the closestthing there is to a national drink in Ireland may run dry if laborunions have their way. Unions said their members voted to begin astrike next Thursday to protest the planned closure of a packagingplant in the border town of Dundalk. A strike would halt the brewer'sdaily production of 4 million pints of Guinness as well as productionof beers such as Budweiser, brewed under license from Anheuser-BuschCos. Inc., and Carlsberg, brewed by Guinness for Denmark's CarlsbergA/S, a Guinness spokesman said. About half of all Guinness brewed inIreland is exported, he said.

Mattel to close plant

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.-Mattel Inc. will close its last U.S.manufacturing plant and fire 980 workers to cut costs, as the biggesttoymaker tries to return to profit levels not seen since 1997. TheMurray, Ky., plant, which makes Fisher-Price toys, will be shut downover the next 18 to 24 months, spokeswoman Lisa Marie Bongiovannisaid. Production will be moved to Mexico. Mattel has about 30,000employees, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

AnnTaylor may broaden offerings

NEW YORK-AnnTaylor Stores Corp., a women's career-clothing chain,said it is looking into offering gym clothes, pajamas and largersizes to boost sales. The company may introduce clothing in sizes 16to 18 next year, Barry Erdos, who was promoted last month to chiefoperating officer, said at a conference sponsored by Banc of AmericaSecurities in New York. Exercise apparel, pajamas and so-calledloungewear may be available sometime in 2003, he said. AnnTaylor'scurrent offerings mainly are for work, dinner and other specialoccasions, Erdos said. "We are a lifestyle brand," he said. "We thinkwe have to have (the other offerings) as well."

AIG bids for American General

NEW YORK-Global insurance giant American International Group Inc.has offered $23 billion in stock for American General Corp.,attempting to outbid Prudential PLC for control of the Texas-basedinsurance company. However, Prudential said Wednesday in a statementto the London Stock Exchange that its plan to acquire AmericanGeneral "remains in full force and effect," raising the possibilityof a trans-Atlantic bidding war. The AIG offer values the companyat $46 a share, a premium of 25 percent from American General'sclosing stock price of $36.80 Tuesday. American General is based inHouston, while AIG is headquartered in New York.

Yahoo in joint venture

FRANKFURT, Germany-Yahoo Inc. and Germany's SAP AG Wednesday saidthey joined forces in a new joint-venture company that will helpcorporations set up Web sites for employees, customers or suppliers. The new subsidiary, to be called SAP Portals, will be based in PaloAlto, Calif., the companies said. Yahoo, the Web-portal company,will supply news, stock quotes, flight schedules and otherinformation for the unit. SAP Portals will mainly aim to helpcorporations set up employee Web sites on their intranets or internalnetworks.

Associated Press, Bloomberg News