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Unemployment down in county

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Los Angeles County dropped to 4.7 percent in April, down slightly from a 4.8 percent rate in March, state officials reported Friday.

The April unemployment rate was lower than the 5.5 percent rate in the same month last year, according to the Employment Development Department.

The statewide unemployment rate was 4.9 percent in April, up slightly from 4.8 percent in March but below the 5.4 percent rate in April 2005. The comparable estimates for the nation were 4.7 percent in April, 4.7 percent in March and 5.1 percent a year ago.

Nonfarm employment in Los Angeles County dropped by 1,500 jobs between March and April, according to the state. Motion picture and sound recording reduced payrolls by 5,500 over the month, causing the information sector to post the largest month-to-month decline.

A total of 232,000 people were unemployed in April in Los Angeles County, which has a labor force of nearly 4.9 million. Statewide, about 870,000 people were out of work -- up from 848,000 in March.

Gasoline prices level off locally

Gasoline prices in the region leveled off this week after 10 consecutive weekly increases, thanks to rising supply and flat demand, the Automobile Club of Southern California said Friday.

The average price of a gallon of self-serve unleaded regular was $3.401 in the Los Angeles area this morning, three-tenths of a cent more than last week, 43 cents more than last month and 90 cents more than at this time last year, according to the Auto Club.

Dell says demand forced AMD move

DALLAS -- The world's largest PC maker says it was merely bowing to customer demand when it decided to start offering microprocessors from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. in some of its high-end servers.

But the announcement, disclosed as Dell reported an 18 percent drop in its first-quarter profit Thursday, represents a significant change from the company's long-standing use of chips only from Intel Corp., AMD's much larger rival.

After months of rumors and some analysts suggesting that the company's Intel-only policy was hurting business, Dell said it will use AMD's Opteron Dual-Core processors in Dell's multiprocessor servers by year's end for the first time.

Ford prepares for Delphi strike

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. has made preparations for a strike by auto supplier Delphi Corp., but Ford Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Ford said he's been encouraged by reports of progress in negotiations that could avoid a strike.

Ford also said he supports President George W. Bush's effort to let the administration -- not Congress -- set new fuel economy standards for cars, saying that would ensure that the rules are dictated by science instead of politics. But he said he was hurt earlier this year when Bush implied that the Big Three automakers aren't making relevant products.

The United Auto Workers and other Delphi unions have threatened to strike if the company throws out its labor contracts and imposes lower wages as part of its restructuring in bankruptcy court. Delphi wants to lower U.S. workers' wages but has been unable to reach a settlement with its unions and General Motors Corp., its former parent and largest customer. The company is now asking a bankruptcy judge for permission to void its contracts.

Pinnacle won't raise Aztar offer

LAS VEGAS -- Casino operator Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. said Friday that it won't increase its takeover offer for Aztar Corp., even though Aztar has declared a rival offer valued at about $1.94 billion to be the superior bid.

Aztar has been the target of a two-month bidding battle. It owns the aging Tropicana resort and its 34 acres is one of the last major development opportunities on the Las Vegas Strip. It also owns the Tropicana resort in Atlantic City, N.J., and riverboat casinos in Indiana and Missouri.

The casino arm of Columbia Sussex Corp. raised its offer for Aztar to $54 a share in cash earlier this week and the Phoenix-based target declared that bid was superior to the $51-a- share offer of cash and stock from Pinnacle.

The offer from Columbia, the business name for Fort Mitchell Ky.-based Wimar Tahoe Corp., is worth about $1.94 billion.

Columbia's offer was due to expire Friday.