BRIEFCASE.

Byline: -- Staff and Wire Services

Levi's sales dip as profits go up

SAN FRANCISCO -- Levi Strauss & Co.'s annual sales dropped for the ninth time in the past decade despite a late-year upturn that helped the long-suffering jeans maker more than double its fourth-quarter profit.

The San Francisco-based company said Tuesday that it earned $95.7 million for the three months ended Nov. 28, up from net income of $43.6 million during the same time in 2005.

Levi's is privately held but still discloses its financial results because some of its debt is publicly traded.

Sales for the fourth quarter totaled $1.2 billion, a 4 percent improvement from $1.16 billion in the prior year.

For the full year, though, Levi's sales dipped by an additional 1 percent to $4.1 billion. Although it wasn't severe, the sales erosion revived a familiar theme for Levi's, which once generated annual revenue of more than $7 billion.

Belgian papers win Google suit

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Google Inc. lost a copyright lawsuit Tuesday to Belgian newspapers that had demanded it remove headlines and links to articles posted on its news site without their permission.

The ruling, if it stands on appeal, could set a precedent for how Web search engines link to copyrighted material in the tumultuous arena of online news, according to the Belgian copyright group that launched the case.

Google said it would appeal, claiming its Google News service was "entirely legal" and the Belgian ruling did not set any precedent.

The Brussels Court of First Instance ruled that Mountain View, Calif.- based Google could not rely on exemptions, such as claiming "fair use," because it says it reviews press articles when it displays headlines, a few lines of text, photos and links to the original page.

Coke bottler set to cut 3,500 jobs

ATLANTA -- Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., the biggest bottler of Coca-Cola beverages, said Tuesday it would cut about 3,500 jobs, or 4.7 percent of its work force, as it reported a whopping $1.7 billion loss in the fourth quarter.

The Atlanta-based company said it expects to report a corresponding charge of about $300 million, which will be booked in 2007 and 2008.

The move had been widely anticipated by analysts who said the company has struggled with higher costs for aluminum and other commodities and a shift in consumer tastes away from carbonated beverages to juices, teas and waters.

CCE currently has 74,000 employees, spokeswoman Laura Asman said.

The Mills favors Simon-Farallon

WASHINGTON -- Mall developer The Mills Corp. said Tuesday it now favors a $1.6 billion offer from Simon Property Group Inc. and hedge fund Farallon Capital Management LLC -- a deal that tops an earlier takeover agreement Mills made with Brookfield Asset Management Inc.

Chevy Chase, Md.-based Mills said its board of directors concluded that the Simon-Farallon deal, at $24 per share, is "superior" to Brookfield's proposed $21 per-share deal, valued at $1.35 billion. The board authorized Mills to end the Brookfield deal.

Mills said in a statement that it will give Toronto-based Brookfield three days to top its previous offer, however, before it breaks the original agreement, signed Jan. 17.

The company said it "is ready and willing to negotiate such an amendment" with Brookfield.