AMR Corp. to transfer 233 pilot jobs to N.Y. from Hub

American Eagle Airlines said it will relocate 233 pilot jobs from Boston to New York as part of its cost-cutting efforts. The jobs will shift between Nov. 2 and Jan. 31 because Boston will no longer be a base for the regional affiliate of American Airlines Inc. Eagle pilots will still fly regional jets between Boston and New York, Raleigh, and Toronto, and American will still have 382 mainline pilots based in Boston to fly larger planes. It is not clear if any Boston-based Eagle pilots will lose their jobs. Corporate parent AMR Corp. is shrinking its 88,000-employee workforce 8 percent and cutting 11 percent of its mainline and regional flights nationwide this quarter, compared with the same quarter last year. (Nicole C. Wong)

A Long Island man has been indicted on charges he defrauded B-K Medical Systems, a Danish unit of Analogic Corp. of Peabody, for more than $1.1 million. Gregory Manuelian, 48, of Manhasset, N.Y., who ran a customs brokerage, began helping B-K import goods in 1980. But Manuelian allegedly kept billing B-K for customs charges, even after the United States phased out duties on B-K's medical equipment in 1999. The Justice Department says Manuelian submitted more than 300 fraudulent invoices. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. (Todd Wallack)

The US Mint exhausted some of its supply of bullion coins and said it is trying to meet demand for gold, silver, and platinum as investors worldwide seek alternative assets. "Due to the extreme fluctuating market conditions for 2008, as well as current market conditions, gold and silver demand is unprecedented and the demand for platinum is unusually high," according to an Oct. 6 memo to authorized coin dealers. One-ounce American eagle gold bullion coins "will remain on allocation each week" and "allocation amounts are based on available quality blanks each week," the Mint said. (Bloomberg)

Kraft Foods Inc. said it is cutting 400 jobs in North America to reduce costs. A Kraft spokeswoman said the layoffs will represent about 1 percent of the company's North American workforce, adding that the layoffs will take place across the board in all geographies but will mainly affect employees in Chicago; Madison, Wis.; Tarrytown, N.Y.; East Hanover, N.J.; and Toronto offices. The largest US food and beverage maker is in the middle of a three-year transformation to improve sales and profits by lowering costs, launching products, and boosting marketing. (AP)

The Internal Revenue Service has taken steps to help ease the credit crisis by allowing corporations to ramp up their use of tax-free loans from overseas subsidiaries. The program, disclosed by the IRS Friday, was devised at the behest of the Treasury Department, which oversees the agency. It is intended to help ease the credit crisis by luring back into the US economy a chunk of the estimated hundreds of billions of dollars kept overseas by American corporations through their subsidiaries in low-tax countries. That money could help combat a core problem of the credit crisis: banks' reluctance to give companies the short-term loans needed for daily business. In an unusually explicit step into the world of financial policy, the IRS made clear that the credit crisis was behind the action. (New York Times News Service)

Mars Inc. has closed a $23 billion deal to purchase chewing-gum giant Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., the companies said, making the combined business the world's largest candy maker. The deal brings together household names: Wrigley, a landmark in Chicago where the company began in 1891, and Mars, the maker of Snickers, Skittles, and M&Ms - the world's best-selling chocolate candy brand. Combined, they will bump Britain's Cadbury PLC from the top candy-making slot. (AP)

Coca-Cola Co. agreed to distribute Hansen Natural Corp.'s Monster, the largest selling energy drink in the United States, in Europe, Canada, and some US states. Coke will expand Monster internationally and boost sales beyond the more than a quarter of the US energy drink market Hansen already controls. The deal also widens Coca-Cola's lead over PepsiCo Inc. in energy drink sales. The agreement is for 20 years. Financial terms were not disclosed. (Bloomberg)