BRIEFCASE GUILD EXECUTIVE SUCKE STEPS DOWN.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

Screen Actors Guild executive John H. Sucke, who came under fire during an election fiasco, has retired after a 28-year career with the guild's New York branch.

Sucke is SAG's New York executive director as well as deputy national executive director for organizing, education and branch management. He will remain with the guild until October, then transition to being a consultant to the guild's New York offices.

In a statement, Sucke said he took great pride in his nearly 30 years with SAG ``but this is a time for renewal of the union's structure.''

Following last fall's election of SAG's national officers, which had to be held twice due to errors in voting procedures, there had been pressure on Sucke by several SAG board members to resign.

99 Cents Only big in quarter sales

COMMERCE - 99 Cents Only Stores reported a second-quarter same-store sales rise of 2.1 percent and backed Wall Street estimates for its second-quarter earnings.

A Thomson Financial/First Call survey of 10 analysts produced a second-quarter estimate of 19 cents a share.

In the year-ago second quarter, the company earned $10.9 million, or 21 cents a share, on sales of $136.4 million.

In a press release Tuesday, the retailer said same-store sales in the second quarter were hurt by this year's shift in the Easter selling season from April 2001, in the second quarter, to March 2002, in the first quarter.

Total sales for the second quarter rose 23.1 percent to $167.9 million from $136.4 million a year ago.

Goldman Sachs' ratings compliant

NEW YORK - Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said Tuesday that it will introduce a three-tier stock rating system later this year to comply with new rules.

The ratings will be ``Outperform,'' ``In Line'' and ``Underperform.''

The New York Stock Exchange and National Association of Securities Dealers Inc. have approved rules that call for brokerages to lump their stock picks into three categories: buy, hold and sell, regardless of what they actually call them.

Goldman's previous system had five rankings: three positive, one neutral and one negative.

Within the past month, Merrill Lynch & Co., Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Morningstar have all announced that they are adopting three-tier systems.

As part of the new system, to be introduced in the fourth quarter, Goldman will establish a series of committees charged with approving initial ratings and monitoring their changes.

In addition, the New York investment bank will introduce a ``Current Investment List'' with 12-month price targets.

Staples inks deal to supply doctors

BOSTON - Staples Inc. plans to jump more aggressively into the potentially lucrative health care office supplies market with a $385 million all-cash purchase of Minneapolis-based Medical Arts Press, Staples said Tuesday.

The purchase signals a gamble by the Framingham, Mass.-based retailer and catalog company that, despite advances in technology, doctors and dentists offices will remain heavily dependent on paper and traditional office supplies for the near future.

Staples Chief Administrative Officer John Mahoney said health care accounts for $13 billion of the $254 billion office product market, with Minneapolis-based Medical Arts Press the leading niche player with $168 million in revenues in 2001.