BRIEFCASE 3 EX-TYCO EXECS CHARGED IN THEFTS.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

NEW YORK - Three former Tyco International Ltd. executives were charged Thursday with looting the conglomerate of hundreds of millions of dollars in the latest move by prosecutors against alleged thievery in America's boardrooms.

Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said former Chief Executive Officer L. Dennis Kozlowski and former Chief Financial Officer Mark H. Swartz directly stole more than $170 million from the company and obtained $430 million through fraudulent securities sales.

Kozlowski, 55, and Swartz, 42, were charged with enterprise corruption and grand larceny. Former general counsel Mark Belnick, 55, was charged with falsifying business records to cover up $14 million in improper loans from Tyco.

Greenspan backs Bush tax-cut plan

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress on Thursday that ``depressing effects'' on the American economy still linger from the terror attacks and the stock market's steep plunge.

But Greenspan rejected Democrats' suggestions that President George W. Bush's future tax cuts be deferred because of the return to federal deficits.

Economic fallout from the terrorist attacks and the huge drop in stock prices is still being felt as the economy tries to make a full recovery from last year's recession, Greenspan told the House Budget Committee.

Microsoft flagship has security flaw

WASHINGTON - Microsoft's flagship word processor, MS Word, has a security flaw that could allow the theft of computer files by ``bugging'' a document with a hidden code, the company disclosed Thursday. It was exploring how to fix the problem and whether to extend the repair to an older version of the software still used by millions.

The attack begins when a bugged document goes out, usually with a request to be revised and returned to the sender - a common form of daily communication. When the document is changed and sent back, the targeted file accompanies it.

McDonald's stock at seven-year low

CHICAGO - McDonald's Corp.'s long-slumping stock tumbled to a seven-year low Thursday after analysts expressed doubt the burger chain is on track to revive sluggish U.S. sales.

Despite its long reign as the world's No. 1 restaurant company, McDonald's has seen its once-runaway growth stumble recently due to a weakened economy, ``mad cow'' disease scares overseas and a saturated U.S. fast-food market.

The latest bout of Wall Street pessimism sent its blue-chip stock below $20 a share for the first time since October 1995 - down nearly 60 percent since peaking at $49.56 on Nov. 12, 1999.

30-year mortgage rate inches ahead

WASHINGTON - Rates on 30-year mortgages nudged up this week but still hovered near the lowest level seen in 32 years of record keeping.

In a nationwide survey released Thursday, Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported that the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose this week to 6.18 percent. That was up from last week's 6.15 percent, the lowest rate since Freddie Mac began its survey in April 1971.

Last week's rate marked the third new low on 30-year mortgages this year. Mortgage rates have been falling amid growing signs of a sluggish economic recovery and a turbulent stock market that has sent investors to the bond market, helping to push long-term rates down.

Rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, a popular option or refinancing, also moved up to 5.59 percent this week. That compared with 5.56 percent last week, the lowest level since Freddie Mac began tracking these rates in August of 1991.

However, for one-year adjustable mortgages, rates dipped to 4.32 percent, from 4.35 percent last week.