BRIEFCASE CHINA MAY GET UNIVERSAL PARK.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

UNIVERSAL CITY - Universal Studios officials have held talks with a potential Chinese partner about building a theme park in the world's most populous country.

An executive from the entertainment giant was in Shanghai during the weekend to meet with officials from the Jinjiang Group about setting up a joint venture, Jinjiang's enterprise planning manager, Chen Yongping, said Monday.

Terms were not disclosed.

90-day T bill rate lowest since '58

WASHINGTON - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday's auction to the lowest levels in 44 years.

The Treasury Department auctioned $17 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.410 percent. Another $17 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 1.395 percent.

The three-month rate was down from 1.550 percent last week and was the lowest since three-month bills averaged 1.164 percent on Aug. 4, 1958. The six-month rate was down from 1.515 percent last week and was the lowest since the government started selling these bills in 1958.

In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, the most popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, fell to 1.66 percent last week from 1.96 percent the previous week.

WorldCom fraud estimate grows

JACKSON, Miss. - WorldCom Inc. took ``extraordinary and illegal steps'' to paint a rosy picture of its deteriorating finances, and the extent of the fraud will likely surpass the $7.68 billion previously disclosed, a bankruptcy court-appointed monitor said Monday.

The report from special examiner Richard Thornburgh, a former U.S. attorney general, also criticized WorldCom's board for letting former chief executive Bernard Ebbers leverage his company stock for more than $1 billion in personal and business loans. That greatly exceeds the $400 million in personal loans Ebbers was already disclosed to have been granted.

Ford recalling 572,000 autos

DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. on Monday announced two voluntary safety recalls on the Ford Focus for 2000 and 2001 model years, covering more than 572,000 vehicles.

One recall involves a bolt in the front suspension assembly that may be loose and cause noise, vibration or, in a small number of cases, separation of the ball joint, the company said.

The other recall involves Focus vehicles with Zetec engines in which potential problems with battery cable routing could result in smoke, wire melting or a fire.

Ford said it will notify customers through the mail to bring their vehicles to dealers for free repairs.