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Byline: -- Staff and Wire Services

Unemployment rate falls to 4.6%

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Los Angeles County fell to 4.6 percent in June, down from 5.1 percent in May, state officials reported Friday.

The June unemployment rate was lower than the 5.3 percent rate in the same month last year, according to the Employment Development Department.

The statewide unemployment rate was 4.9 percent in June, down from 5 percent in May and down from 5.4 percent in June 2005.

The comparable estimates for the nation were 4.6 percent in June, 4.6 percent in May and 5 percent a year ago.

Between May and June, total nonfarm employment increased by 7,200 jobs to reach 4.07 million in Los Angeles County.

In-N-Out replaces doughnut store

CANOGA PARK -- The Krispy Kreme doughnut store on Topanga Canyon Boulevard closed its doors this week after 51/2 years of business.

The store's owner, Great Circle Family Foods of Los Angeles, said In-N- Out Burger made the company an offer it couldn't turn down.

``We hope that our Krispy Kreme fans will be willing to drive over to Van Nuys or Burbank,'' said CEO Richard Reinis, referring to other locations that sell the brand's signature warm doughnuts.

Great Circle has let go nearly a third of its Krispy Kreme outlets in Southern California from a peak of 31 stores, Reinis said.

Many of them, including the one at 6841 Topanga Canyon Blvd., were factory stores that supplied wholesale accounts.

Boeing to lay off 140 in September

LONG BEACH -- At least 140 employees at Boeing Co.'s C-17 plant are due to be laid off in late September, officials said.

Company officials began distributing letters Thursday alerting workers that they would likely lose their jobs with the C-17 program in 60 days.

``This is a continuation of ongoing efforts to reduce costs,'' Boeing spokesman Gary Lesser said.

An estimated 6,500 Boeing workers are linked to the C-17 program in Long Beach, making it the largest private employer in the city.

Boeing officials said earlier this month the company will begin shutting down the production program if it does not get a commitment on C-17 orders from the military and government by mid- to late August.

SEC to interview Mack about fund

NEW YORK -- John Mack, chief executive of Morgan Stanley, will be interviewed by the Securities and Exchange Commission in an investigation of a hedge fund he participated in prior to taking over the Wall Street firm, the company said Friday.

The SEC has been looking into whether Pequot Capital Management Inc. acted on insider information in 2001 when trading shares potentially involved in an upcoming merger. A former SEC staff attorney testified before Congress last month that Mack was believed to be the tipster, which Mack has denied.

Micro Devices shares nosedive 

SUNNYVALE -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. shares tumbled more than 15 percent to a new 52-week low Friday, a day after reporting its second-quarter profit missed Wall Street expectations as the chip maker struggled with aggressive price cuts by larger rival Intel Corp.

The company said in reporting its earnings after the market closed Thursday that it expects demand to be ``seasonally strong'' in the second half of the year, though profits could be eroded if average selling prices continue to fall.

Shares fell $3.39, or 15.7 percent, to close at $18.26 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange after briefly falling to a new 52-week low of $18.23 earlier in the session.

RadioShack has $3.2 mil Q2 loss

DALLAS -- RadioShack Corp. said Friday it lost $3.2 million in the second quarter as the electronics retailer posted restructuring and legal settlement costs.

RadioShack's shares fell 52 cents, or 3.3 percent, to close at $15.24 on the New York Stock Exchange. Since hitting a 52-week high of $27.24 last summer, the stock has steadily declined, hitting a year-low of $13.73 earlier this month.

Quarterly losses amounted to 2 cents per share for the three months ending June 30, compared with a profit of $52.3 million, or 33 cents per share, for the same period a year ago. Revenue edged up to $1.1 billion from $1.09 billion last year.