BRIEFCASE MALL GIANT BUYS FASHION SQUARE.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

Westfield America Trust completed its acquisition of Fashion Square Sherman Oaks on Monday, taking control of the upscale mall late in the afternoon.

After nearly three months of legal finalization, the Century City-based affiliate of the Australian real estate investment trust paid $67 million to acquire a 50 percent interest in the mall, in partnership with British owner Prudential PLC.

It will assume managerial duties for the center, laying off the current management staff and rebranding it under its ``Westfield Shoppingtown'' banner.

The Olberz Family Trust granted an option to a newly formed limited liability company owned by Sport Chalet's executive management team to buy the remaining two-thirds of the firm upon the founder's death.

The purchase would amount to 4,351,972 shares, or 66 percent of the company's outstanding issues.

CEO Craig Levra said Sport Chalet founder Norbert Olberz ``built this company from the ground up, and he recognizes the need to establish a method for ensuring an orderly transition.

``The grant of this option now gives management the ability to create a plan for that transition.''

Uni music leads industry for 2002

Thanks to such acts as Eminem, Nelly, Jay-Z and Shania Twain, Universal Music Group led the industry this year with unprecedented market share and chart success, the company announced Monday.

UMG became the first music company to surpass 30 percent for year-to- date total current U.S. album market share, the company said. It also held the leading market share in total U.S. singles, with nearly 25 percent.

During 36 of the past 50 weeks, Universal albums held either the No. 1 or No. 2 spots on the SoundScan Top 200 album chart. These include the ``8 Mile'' soundtrack, as well as albums by Ashanti, Eminem, Jay-Z, Nelly and Shania Twain.

UMG also held the No. 1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart during 39 of the past 52 weeks.

November sales boost spending

WASHINGTON - Early bird holiday shopping helped to lift consumer spending in November by the largest amount in four months. That, plus solid income growth, underscored economists' belief that consumers will keep spending, supporting the economic recovery.

Consumer spending rose by 0.5 percent in November from the previous month, led by a burst of buying of big-ticket goods, such as cars and appliances, the Commerce Department reported Monday. The increase - the biggest since July - came after a 0.4 percent advance in October.

Americans' incomes, including wages, interest and government benefits, climbed 0.3 percent in November for the fourth month in a row.

Consumers, whose spending accounts for two-thirds of all economic activity in the United States, have been the main force carrying the economy all year.

Toy chain signs deal with creditor

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. - FAO Inc. managed to stave off bankruptcy on Monday, as the parent company of FAO Schwarz, The Right Start and Zany Brainy announced an agreement with creditor Wells Fargo Retail Finance LLC.

The bankers agreed not to take any action on the troubled retail chain until Jan. 10, 2003, buying FAO time to get its finances in order. The company announced it would close 70 of its 253 stores nationwide, mostly Zany Brainy stores opened in the last four years.

T-bill rates down; lowest since 1958

WASHINGTON - Interest rates on short-term Treasury securities fell in Monday's auction.

The Treasury Department sold $14 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.185 percent, down from 1.200 percent last week. An additional $16 billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 1.240 percent, down from 1.260 percent.

The three-month rate was the lowest since Aug. 4, 1958, when the bills sold for 1.164 percent. The six-month rate was the lowest since Nov. 12, when the rate was 1.225 percent.

In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year constant maturity Treasury bills, the most popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, fell to 1.43 percent last week from 1.47 percent the previous week.

Microsoft must put Java in system

BALTIMORE - Microsoft must include rival Sun Microsystems' Java programming language in its Windows operating system, a federal judge ruled Monday.

The injunction is in force while Sun pursues its antitrust case against Microsoft, one of four private lawsuits that followed a federal judge's ruling in the government's case against the software giant.

Sun had argued during a three-day hearing earlier this month that Microsoft has gained an unfair advantage by shipping Windows - used by more than 90 percent of the world's personal computers - with an outdated version of Java that's inconsistent for its users.

Java is designed to let programmers write software to run on all types of computers, whether they use Windows, Apple's Mac OS or some other operating system. Users may run into Java without knowing it when they visit Web sites that feature games or other applications.