Chase cardholders won't pay Continental's bag fee

Continental Airlines Inc., the carrier that sold frequent-flier miles to Chase Bank USA this year, will waive fees to check a first bag for holders of its branded Chase credit and debit cards. Cardholders who check one piece of luggage would save $30 round trip, Houston-based Continental said. More than 1 million people carry a Continental credit or debit card from JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Chase Bank, the airline said. Continental began charging $15 a flight this month to check a bag. (Bloomberg)

Pills made by Bayer AG that combine aspirin with dietary supplements to fight osteoporosis and high cholesterol are being sold illegally and could harm consumers, US regulators said. The nonprescription products are Bayer Women's Low Dose Aspirin + Calcium and Bayer Aspirin with Heart Advantage, the Food and Drug Administration said. The agency has sent warning letters to the company. Dietary supplements generally don't need FDA approval. The agency is responsible, though, for approving new drugs and has in the past warned companies they need clearance to sell products that combine the two. (Bloomberg News)

Gannett Co., the newspaper publisher that reported a 32 percent drop in quarterly profit last week, plans to eliminate about 10 percent of jobs at its US newspapers as advertising sales continue to decline. The cuts should be completed by early December and don't apply to USA Today, spokeswoman Tara Connell said. She declined to give a total number and said firings would be "significantly less" than the 3,000 reported by a blogger. The reductions come on top of 1,000 positions, or about 3 percent of the community publishing workforce, eliminated in August. Gannett, which owns 85 daily newspapers, said last week it planned to cut more jobs and evaluate its dividend after third-quarter revenue fell 9 percent, led by an 18 percent drop in publishing ad sales. (Bloomberg)

Time Inc., the world's largest magazine company, is set to disclose a revamping that will result in job cuts of 6 percent - more than 600 positions - and a reorganization that could radically alter the culture at the venerable publishing house. A memorandum from Ann S. Moore, Time Inc.'s chairwoman and chief executive, said the layoffs will begin in about two weeks. No magazines are scheduled to close, but some are likely to be severely cut back. Time Inc.'s 24 magazines in the United States, including Fortune, Time, Real Simple, and People, and their websites will be organized into three divisions: news, lifestyle titles, and style and entertainment. (New York Times News Service)

Investor Kirk Kerkorian has sold more shares of Ford Motor Co., reducing his stake in the US automaker to less than 5 percent. The Las Vegas billionaire said in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that he sold 26.4 million shares between Oct. 21 and Oct. 27 at an average price of $2.01 each. That has reduced his stake to about 107 million shares, or 4.89 percent. His Tracinda Corp. said last week that it intended to invest in other industries, such as casinos, hotels, and oil and gas, where it sees more value. (Associated Press)

The Federal Reserve authorized a $15 billion swap line with New Zealand's central bank to provide US dollars in the country, the 10th such currency exchange program aimed at easing the worldwide credit freeze. The Fed authorized the swap facility with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand through April 30. The Fed authorized a $10 billion swap line last month with Australia's central bank, then tripled it. Earlier this month the bank removed limits on four of the swap lines, including one with the European Central Bank. (Bloomberg)

GMAC Financial Services said it will no longer make auto loans in seven European countries, citing troubles in the lending industry. The financing arm of Detroit-based General Motors Corp. said that, as of Nov. 1, it will no longer originate retail loans in the Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, or Spain. GMAC said it will assess the implications of the tough credit markets in those countries and in Hungary and Denmark. (Associated Press)