IN BRIEF

Riviera Holdings evaluating buyout bid

Riviera Holdings Corp. announced Friday that it was evaluating the $34 per share offer made Wednesday by the investment group Riv Acquisition.

Riv Acquisition had set a Thursday 5 p.m. deadline for a response to the offer.

The investment group's spokesman declined to comment if the deadline had been met or on Friday's announcement.

Riviera Holdings, the parent company of the Riviera on the Strip, did not set a timetable for its evaluation of the offer. Jefferies & Co. is assisting the gaming company with reviewing offers for its possible sale.

ATLANTIC CITY

United Auto Workers objects to casino vote

The United Auto Workers union has filed an objection with federal labor officials over a vote in which dealers at an Atlantic City casino narrowly rejected a bid to unionize last week.

In a filing Thursday with the National Labor Relations Board, the union cited 15 issues that it believes unfairly affected the election process at the Trump Marina Hotel Casino.

The Trump Marina vote came amid a drive to unionize all 11 of the city's casinos. Workers at Bally's Atlantic City will conduct a similar vote June 2, and dealers at the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board seeking a similar vote.

So far, workers at five Atlantic City casinos have either voted to join the union or asked for an election to determine whether to do so.

NEW YORK

Northwest gets OK to shed bankruptcy

After 20 months of a wrenching reorganization, Northwest Airlines got approval on Friday to emerge from bankruptcy protection into an industry besieged by higher fuel costs and crowded with competitors.

Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest Airlines Corp. announced it would exit bankruptcy on May 31, after Judge Allan Gropper approved its reorganization plan Friday. Northwest, the nation's fifth-largest airline, also plans to announce any post-bankruptcy marketing plans when it emerges.

NEW YORK

Bond prices wilt amid technically driven sales

U.S. Treasury bonds prices got a walloping Friday, wilting in the face of technically driven selling in a climate where investors are sour on bonds.

At 5 p.m. EDT, the 10-year Treasury note was down $3.75 per $1,000 in face value, or 0.38 points, from its level at 5 p.m. Thursday. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, rose to 4.80 percent from 4.76 percent.