BRIEFCASE TOSS POOH SUIT, DISNEY ASKS JUDGE.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

Attorneys for The Walt Disney Co. argued that a Los Angeles judge should dismiss a case involving licensing rights over Winnie the Pooh merchandise because confidential documents were allegedly stolen from the entertainment giant's offices and trash.

Disney attorney Daniel Petrocelli said Tuesday in arguments on a motion to throw out the case that Steven Slesinger Inc., which owns Winnie the Pooh merchandising rights, stole important memos and then altered some of them to make them appear like ordinary paperwork.

``You can't steal evidence, you can't alter evidence, and you can't cover up evidence,'' Petrocelli said.

Superior Court Judge Charles W. McCoy did not indicate when he might rule on Disney's request to throw out the lawsuit. If the judge rules that the case can proceed, a trial could begin in January 2005.

Indicators show economy is better

WASHINGTON - Factories hummed and consumers kept cash registers busy in the first two months of this year, fresh evidence the economic recovery is moving ahead, according to a Federal Reserve report Wednesday. A separate survey of chief executives of the nation's biggest companies suggested hiring could start to pick up. One-third of the executives said they expected to increase hiring in the next six months, while 22 expected to cut payrolls and 45 percent expected no change, according to a Business Roundtable survey.

The association said that is the first time since the fall of 2002 that a larger share of executives planned to add to payrolls rather than cut them.

In the Fed report, factory activity rose in 11 of the 12 regional Fed districts, good news for America's manufacturers, who were hardest hit by the 2001 recession and have struggled mightily to get back on firm footing. Even with the pickup in factory activity, manufacturers have lost 3 million jobs since July 2000.

Brewer 'alliance' would be biggest

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Belgium's Interbrew and Brazil's AmBev shook up the global beer industry Wednesday with a blockbuster $11.4 billion deal to form the largest international brewer by volume, surpassing U.S.-based Anheuser-Busch.

The companies insisted that their stock transaction is an ``alliance'' and not a merger because Interbrew and AmBev will operate independently in different hemispheres, maintain separate stock listings and name four directors each on a new InterbrewAmBev board.

But the deal's complexity confused investors, prompted harsh criticism by some beverage industry analysts and sent shares of each company on a tumultuous ride.

SCO Group sues over copyrights

SALT LAKE CITY - Taking a page from the music industry, SCO Group Inc. sued AutoZone Inc. and DaimlerChrysler Corp. on Wednesday to force them and other companies to respect the software copyrights that SCO claims ought to apply to the Linux and Unix operating systems.

The copyright infringement lawsuit against AutoZone alleges the auto- parts chain runs versions of the Linux computer operating system that SCO says contains its programming code.

The lawsuit, filed in Nevada, demands AutoZone immediately stop using or copying any part of SCO's copyrighted code. It also seeks unspecified damages.

AutoZone spokesman Ray Pohlman said the company hadn't seen the lawsuit and would not comment.