BRIEFCASE BOARD AT CATHAY OKS STOCK SPLIT.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

Los Angeles-based Cathay Bancorp Inc., the one-bank holding company for Cathay Bank, announced Friday that the company's Board of Directors approved a 2-for-1 split of the company's common stock.

The split, in the form of a 100 percent stock dividend, will be payable May 9 to stockholders of record April 19, the 40th anniversary of Cathay Bank.

Stockholders will receive one additional share for every one share of Cathay Bancorp common stock held on the record date.

The board also approved a first-quarter cash dividend of 28 cents per share on a pre-split basis payable April 16 to stockholders of record on April 1. The dividend represents a 12 percent increase from the 25 cents per share dividend paid on a pre-split basis in the previous quarter.

United recalling 1,300 employees

CHICAGO - In another sign of the airline industry's modest recovery, United Airlines said Friday that it is recalling 1,300 employees who were laid off last fall and hiring an additional 900 in key markets.

The ramp, customer and cabin service employees are being recalled at United's five hubs - Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver and Washington-Dulles - to help the carrier meet its expanded summer schedule.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, United slashed capacity by 23 percent and laid off 20,000 employees. The carrier already has recalled hundreds of those workers - customer-contact employees, ramp workers, mechanics and flight attendants.

The newly recalled employees will return to work by the end of May, with new hires being added during the first week of June.

Plan offered to aid Arthur Andersen 

NEW YORK - Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker offered a plan Friday for Arthur Andersen LLP's survival that includes replacing top management and installing an independent board that he would head.

He said the plan would succeed only if the federal indictment of the firm were dismissed and if a cap were placed on the firm's financial liability from the Enron Corp. scandal.

Meanwhile, Andersen's rapid decline picked up pace Friday. Occidental Petroleum Corp., Waste Management Inc., Apache Corp., ITT Industries Inc., ChoicePoint Inc. and a pair of hometown corporations - Northern Trust Corp. and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange - all joined the fast-growing list of big companies to fire Andersen as their auditor. The total now stands at more than 70 since the start of the year.

Abroad, the firm's New Zealand partners followed the lead of those in China, Hong Kong and Russia, jumping to another Big Five rival - in this case, Ernst & Young. Andersen partners in Britain, Canada, Malaysia and elsewhere also were reportedly in talks about their own possible flights from Andersen to a competitor.

McDonald's tells of earnings dip

CHICAGO - McDonald's Corp. warned Friday that profits are being hurt by weak currencies and that its first-quarter earnings will be slightly below Wall Street's expectations despite some encouraging signs from its European and U.S. restaurants.

The fast-food giant said that while European sales have rebounded strongly this year - rising 8 percent in constant currencies through February - the weakened euro has weighed on results.

Also, concerns about the safety of beef in Japan continue to affect sales in that country. Japanese consumers have been leery of beef since a September outbreak of mad cow disease, although McDonald's stressed that its restaurants in Japan use beef only from Australia and New Zealand.

Another continuing weak spot is Latin America, where sales were down 3 percent for January and February even excluding the considerable impact of currency changes.

The outlook was better for the company's U.S. business, where sales for the first two months of 2002 were 3 percent higher than the same period a year ago.