Business & Finance

Analysts warned of further volatility on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrial average plunged more than 400 points during Monday's trading before staging a dramatic late rally to close 45 points down for the day at 8,639.19. Major European and Asian markets declined yesterday as a result, and the dollar sank to new lows against the euro, Europe's shared currency, and the Japanese yen. Many investors were looking for reassurance on the US economy in yesterday's semi-annual appearance by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan before the Senate Banking Committee.

The Teamsters union and United Parcel Service agreed on a new contract, after nine weeks of bargaining and 16 days before the current contract expires. The new six-year contract, valued at $9 billion, will give workers increases in wages and benefits and adds new union jobs. A two-week strike in 1997 cost UPS $750 million, and both sides said they wanted to avoid a repeat. With the Teamsters representing 230,000 workers at UPS, it is the largest private-sector labor contract being negotiated this year.

A unit of Hitachi Ltd. will hire 375 Arthur Andersen employees, including 23 of the troubled accounting firm's partners, officials said. Experio Solutions, the Dallas-based technology-consulting division of the Japanese electronics manufacturer, will take over much of Andersen's operations in Dallas, Denver, and the Pacific Northwest, and gain 50 to 60 Andersen clients. The deal would give Experio an annual revenue of $150 million, a 50 percent increase.

Britain's U.K. Coal company said it was closing the Selby mine complex in North Yorkshire – the nation's largest – at a cost of 2,100 jobs. In announcing its decision, the company cited dwindling coal reserves and heavy losses – $52 million in the past year alone. The shutdown leaves Britain with 11 operating coal mines and fewer than 10,000 mine workers, in an industry that employed more than 700,000 when it was nationalized in 1947.