BRIEFCASE CAREGIVERS SIGN $973,000 LEASE.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

GRANADA HILLS - The ground floor of a White Oak Boulevard building has been leased for more than $973,000 over the course of seven years.

Peter and Loretta Huang will use the 9,000 square feet, located at 10600 White Oak Blvd., for a day health-care center for adults.

William Adelman of TOLD Partners Inc. represented the Huangs.

Youbet.com hires head of finance

WOODLAND HILLS - Online wagering company Youbet.com Inc. appointed Gary Sproule as chief financial officer Thursday.

Sproule most recently served as CFO at Disney Interactive, where he had worldwide finance responsibilities for strategic planning, controllership, operations, administration and information technology.

Port pact crucial, retail leader says

The president of the National Retail Federation is urging labor and management at West Coast ports to act quickly to craft a new contract and avoid a work stoppage when the current one expires.

NRF President Tracy Mullin said a halt in lucrative West Coast port traffic would be devastating to the country's economy.

``With the retail industry and consumer spending largely propping up a fragile economy, this is a potential scenario that our country can ill afford,'' Mullin said Thursday.

He sent letters to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the bargaining unit for dockworkers, and the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents terminal operators.

Ford luxury lines to get new boss

IRVINE - Dan Werbin was named on Thursday as executive director for Premier Automotive Group in North America, Ford's luxury car division, which consists of Aston-Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo.

Werbin will start his new job June 17. Victor H. Doolan will replace him as head of Volvo Car Corp.'s American sales company, Volvo Cars of North America.

Doolan has been leading the BMW car business in the United States.

Jury deliberates in Anderson trial

HOUSTON - A federal jury began deliberating on Thursday on the fate of Arthur Andersen LLP, the disintegrating accounting firm charged with obstruction of justice for shredding Enron Corp.-related material.

If convicted, Andersen would face fines and would be barred from auditing public companies, a major part of its business. More than 650 of its 2,300 clients already have fired the firm, most since the indictment was unsealed March 14.

U.S. to give Russia key trade status

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration announced on Thursday that it will grant Russia the status of a ``market economy,'' delivering a major economic prize that Russian President Vladimir Putin hopes will lead to full membership in the World Trade Organization.

The decision by the Commerce Department's Import Administration was a key goal Putin had hoped to win during the U.S. president's visit to Russia last month.

The designation means Russia will now receive the same treatment as other major U.S. trading partners in trade disputes.

New joblessness hits 12-month low

WASHINGTON - The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment insurance plunged last week to the lowest level in a year, an encouraging sign amid a sluggish labor market.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that new claims dropped by a seasonally adjusted 32,000 to 383,000 for the week ending June 1.

Ford Focus target of 2 more probes

WASHINGTON - Safety officials have opened two new investigations of the Ford Focus, this time amid complaints the engine can suddenly stall and the front suspension can collapse.

The government has begun six investigations of the popular subcompact this year. Tim Hurd, a spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said Thursday that he cannot recall the government ever having as many simultaneous investigations of one vehicle.