BRIEFCASE BANK ACQUISITION DEAL COMPLETED.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

Los Angeles-based BancWest Corp., a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, said Friday that it has completed the $2.4 billion acquisition of United California Bank.

The move creates the state's fourth-largest bank, with $15 billion in deposits, and a staff of 8,000.

United California Bank will be merged into Bank of the West, a subsidiary of BancWest. Honolulu-based BancWest Corp. has more than 350 branches in California, and six other Western states, as well as Guam and Saipan.

Valley Community Clinic relocating

VAN NUYS - The Valley Community Clinic will relocate to Coldwater Canyon and Vanowen avenues, thanks to loans from the Valley Economic Development Center and The East Los Angeles Community Union. With a slew of loans and grants from the city, the clinic, a key provider of health care to uninsured and underinsured workers in the San Fernando Valley, purchased the 45,000-square-foot building for $5.6 million.

Hahn marks retail center's opening

Mayor James Hahn and other dignitaries were on hand for Friday's grand opening of The Grove, a 575,000-square-foot, open-air urban shopping and entertainment center adjacent to Farmers Market.

The Grove, anchored by a Nordstrom, also features a 14-screen Pacific Theatres cinema, Amadeus Spa and a selection of restaurants.

In tandem with The Grove's opening, Farmers Market at Third Street and Fairfax Avenue will extend its operating hours. Stores in the historic market will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.

The Grove, the only major shopping complex scheduled to open in the region this year, will mean another change for Farmers Market: For the first time in its 68-year history, parking there will no longer be free, although with validation, there will be no charge for the first two hours.

Comeback seen in production work

WASHINGTON - America's struggling manufacturers, which have seen hundreds of thousands of jobs evaporate during the recession, appear to be mounting a comeback.

Industrial production at the nation's factories, mines and utilities rose 0.4 percent in February, the strongest gain since the summer of 2000, right before the industrial slump began, the Federal Reserve said.

A second report Friday showed that the U.S. economy's fledgling recovery isn't triggering inflation. Wholesale prices rose a modest 0.2 percent in February, while the core rate of inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was flat, the Labor Department said.

The latest batch of economic news provided further evidence that the economy, jolted by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and a recession that began in March 2001, is on the mend.

GE may split off reinsurance unit

STAMFORD, Conn. - General Electric Co. is considering separating its property-and-casualty reinsurance business, which has suffered losses from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and other claims, a source close to the negotiations said Friday.

The potential split-off of GE's Employers Reinsurance Corp. could include an initial public offering of 20 percent of the unit later this year and a spinoff of the balance, according to the source, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The sale could generate billions of dollars.

The Wall Street Journal, citing sources it did not identify, reported the story in its Friday editions.

Eisner comments on Letterman offer

Making his first public statement about ABC's failed bid to lure David Letterman from CBS, the chairman of the Walt Disney Co., Michael D. Eisner, suggested that deputies had become overoptimistic about succeeding. Though he had his own doubts, he said, the confidence of Disney and ABC executives convinced him the network had a shot.