BRIEFCASE.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Reports

It's coming soon - to your cell phone

Verizon Wireless and Twentieth Television announced a two-year agreement Monday that would bring two direct-to-mobile series to customers.

Twentieth Television will produce one-minute original so-called ``mobisodes'' of the serial dramas ``Love and Hate'' and ``The Sunset Hotel.'' They will be designed specifically for V CAST, the new 3G multimedia wireless service from Verizon, and Vodafone's 3G Live!.

``Love and Hate'' introduces a production approach that Twentieth Television calls ``manipulated reality'' in which cast members work without a script and involve everyday citizens into their improvised performances. ``The Sunset Hotel'' will be entirely scripted.

Occidental reports Q4 profits are up

Occidental Petroleum Corp.'s fourth-quarter profit improved 74 percent amid higher prices for crude oil, natural gas and chemicals.

The petroleum company said Monday its net income increased to $665 million, or $1.64 a share, from $382 million, or 97 cents a share, in the fourth quarter a year ago.

The Los Angeles-based company's profit before items totaled $1.85 a share, below Wall Street's earnings estimate of $1.92 a share, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson First Call.

Grocers and unions reach new contract

SAN JOSE - Three major grocers and the labor unions representing workers in hundreds of stores in the Bay Area have agreed to a new contract, ending months of discord and avoiding another costly supermarket strike in California.

The tentative truce, announced Monday, comes nearly 11 months after the same three grocers - Kroger, Albertsons and Safeway - settled a prolonged Southern California strike that left deep financial scars.

At a news conference Monday afternoon, union leaders involved in a 15-day bargaining session with the chains praised the agreement as ``the best grocery store contract in the nation.''

The contract, affecting about 30,000 workers, includes compromises by both sides, particularly with respect to health coverage.

Venture investment is on the rise again

SAN FRANCISCO - Venture capitalists accelerated their investment pace by 11 percent in 2004, marking the first year that the industry has poured more money into startups since the dot-com crash.

A total of 2,876 investment deals attracted $20.9 billion in venture capital last year, up from $18.9 billion in 2003, according to data released late Sunday by the National Venture Capital Association, Thomson Venture Economics and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

T-bill rates tumble in Monday auction

WASHINGTON - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday's auction with rates on three-month bills dropping to the lowest level in three weeks.

The Treasury Department auctioned $19 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 2.320 percent. Another $16 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 2.610 percent.

The three-month rate was down from 2.360 percent last week and was the lowest since three-month bills averaged 2.275 percent on Jan. 3. The six-month rate was down from 2.635 percent last week and was the lowest since 2.600 percent on Jan. 10.

In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, edged up to 2.87 percent last week from 2.85 percent the previous week.

Netflix reporting Q4 profits are up

SAN FRANCISCO - Netflix Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit more than doubled as the online DVD rental pioneer continued to broaden its audience despite stiffening competition from its much larger rivals.

The Los Gatos-based company said Monday that it earned $4.8 million, or 8 cents per share, during the final three months of last year. That compared with net income of $2.3 million, or 4 cents per share, during the same 2003 period.