IN BRIEF

DENVER

Smoking ban clearing air in Colorado casinos

The level of harmful air-pollution particles in Colorado casinos dropped 92 percent in the first month after a smoking ban took effect Jan. 1, state health officials say.

"It's what we've seen in other states -- pretty dramatic results once the smoke-free laws pass," said Jodi Kopke, a spokeswoman for the smoking-prevention program of the state Department of Public Health and Environment.

The study was based on air-quality measurements taken in December and January in the gambling rooms and nonsmoking restaurants of four casinos in Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek. The names of the casinos weren't released.

RENO

Slot giant will invest $1 billion in research

International Game Technology plans to invest more than $1 billion over the next five years on research and development in a move that will ensure its reign as a leader in the slot machine and casino systems industry, company executives told shareholders Wednesday.

"There is nobody that is even close to that level of spending," TJ Matthews, IGT chairman and chief executive, said of industry competitors.

The investment, he said, will ensure IGT is in "every market, potentially as the market leader."

BRUSSELS, Belgium

European Union fines Microsoft $1.3 billion

The European Union's longest-running fight with Microsoft Corp. neared an end Wednesday as regulators imposed a record $1.3 billion fine on the world's largest software company for failing to fully comply with a 2004 antitrust order.

Microsoft has not decided whether to appeal the penalty, which amounts to a fraction of the $14.07 billion it earned in fiscal 2007. In all, the company has been fined just under $2.4 billion by European antitrust regulators over the years.

Barring an appeal, the fine shuts the door on an investigation into Microsoft's behavior that was triggered by a 1998 complaint by Sun Microsystems. It alleged Microsoft was refusing to supply information that servers need to work with its market-dominating Windows operating system.

Dollar falls below $1.51 per euro for first time

The dollar fell below $1.51 per euro for the first time after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled he's ready to lower interest rates again to support the weakening U.S. economy.

An index that tracks the currency against six major counterparts dropped to the lowest since the gauge started in 1973, as European Central Bank policy maker Axel Weber said investors expecting rate cuts in the region are underestimating inflation. The U.S. currency fell to an all-time low against the Swiss franc and to 23-year lows versus the Australian and New Zealand dollars.

The currency touched $1.5144 per euro, the weakest since the common currency's debut in 1999, before trading at $1.5118 at 4:32 p.m. in New York, from $1.4974 Tuesday.

DETROIT

Chrysler loses big after Daimler sells stake

Chrysler LLC lost about $2.7 billion in the two months after Daimler AG sold controlling interest in the U.S. automaker to a New York private equity firm, Daimler said in its annual report Wednesday.

The figure, for the period from Aug. 4, 2007 to Sept. 30, was calculated under international financial reporting standards used in Europe and not under U.S. accounting standards, Daimler said.

The net loss also includes about $466 million in expenses incurred in the fourth quarter of last year, including Chrysler restructuring costs and costs related to a new four-year contract with the United Auto Workers, Daimler said in its report, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

MUNICH, Germany

BMW will cut another 5,600 jobs by year's end

Luxury automaker BMW AG said Wednesday it will cut another 5,600 jobs by the end of 2008, on top of 2,500 other positions that have already been eliminated, as it moves to pare expenses amid a wider cost-cutting program.

Speaking to reporters, BMW's head of personnel, Ernst Baumann, said that the jobs being cut include 2,500 full-time and 2,500 temporary workers in Germany, along with 600 other positions abroad, primarily international sales and distribution positions.

He said that another 2,500 positions -- all of them temporary -- had already been eliminated, bringing the total number of cuts and planned cuts to 8,100 positions, or 7.5 percent of the company's total work force of almost 108,000, including both permanent and temporary employees.

NEW YORK

Treasury prices mixed after Fed chief speaks

Treasury prices closed mixed Wednesday after a volatile session during which regulatory developments that should bolster the housing industry competed for attention with an economic warning from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 0.09 points to 97.13 with a yield of 3.85 percent, down from 3.86 percent late Tuesday, according to BGCantor Market Data.