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Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

California adds 27,600 new jobs

California's economy added 27,600 payroll jobs in February, the state said Friday.

A survey of employers indicated that more than 14.7 million people held payroll jobs last month, according to preliminary figures released by the state's Employment Development Department.

Farm workers and the self-employed were not included in the survey.

Nationally, employers added 262,000 payroll jobs last month.

A separate survey of households suggested that 128,000 more people in California held jobs last month than in January, the EDD said.

The survey indicated that more than 16.7 million people held jobs in February, a gain of 372,000 over the same month a year ago.

A little more than 1 million Californians were unemployed and looking for work last month, an increase of 1,000 from January but a decline of 105,000 from February 2004, the EDD said.

The state's unemployment rate was 5.8 percent, unchanged from a revised 5.8 percent in January.

Broadcom Corp. acquires Zeevo

IRVINE - Broadcom Corp. announced on Friday the completion of its $32 million acquisition of Zeevo Inc., a Santa Clara-based provider of semiconductor solutions for Bluetooth wireless headset products.

Zeevo has introduced multiple generations of semiconductor and software solutions specifically optimized for the unique needs of stereo wireless headsets.

Broadcom is a supplier of semiconductor solutions for Bluetooth wireless applications and was first to market with a Bluetooth-qualified single-chip radio. Its Blutonium line includes devices for mobile phones, PCs and PDAs, as well as application-specific chips for cellular phones and wireless mouse and keyboard applications.

The addition of Zeevo's products will allow Broadcom to immediately offer solutions for the wireless headset segment of the Bluetooth market, a segment estimated to grow to nearly 90 million units per year by 2008, according to the company.

Firm adds parent of 'American Idol'

NEW YORK - Sports Entertainment Enterprises Inc., which owns most of the Elvis Presley estate, Friday said it has agreed to acquire 19 Entertainment Ltd., the British company behind ``American Idol,'' for about $156 million in cash and stock.

Sports Entertainment, which is based in Las Vegas and does business as CKX Inc., will pay an additional $36.9 million in either cash or stock when audited results for the year ending June 30 are delivered.

Sports Entertainment is controlled by billionaire Robert Sillerman. It licenses the songs of Presley and conducts tours of the Graceland mansion.

Boeing executive quits after affair

CHICAGO - The Boeing Co. executive whose affair with CEO Harry Stonecipher led to his ouster last week has voluntarily resigned, the company said Friday.

The woman's resignation was effective Thursday, spokesman John Dern said. He declined further comment, and the aircraft manufacturer continued its refusal to identify her, citing privacy concerns.

Stonecipher resigned at the request of Boeing's board of directors for what Chairman Lew Platt said was unprofessional conduct related to the affair. Company sources have said the ouster was necessary because of graphic e-mail exchanges between the CEO and the female executive at a time when Boeing's ethical conduct was under heavy scrutiny.

Microsoft facing new fines from EU

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Union threatened Microsoft Corp. on Friday with new fines if the software company doesn't make it easier and cheaper for competitors to see the blueprints of its server software.

After hearing from Microsoft's rivals, the EU's antitrust office determined that the system created by Microsoft for granting competitors access to Windows server source code was unsatisfactory.