AIG $ale

AIG is in advanced talks to sell its US per sonal lines insurance business to Zurich Fin ancial Services for about $2 billion, The FT re ported. Selling the unit, which includes car, mo torcycle, and commercial vehicle insurance, would help AIG repay $100 bil lion in federal aid.

Prices fall

Consumer prices posted their first annual decline since 1955 and unused American manu facturing capacity reached a record. The Consumer Price Index fell 0.4 percent in March from a year before, and 0.1 percent from the pre vious month, the Labor Department said. Output at factories, mines and utilities dropped 1.5 per cent last month, when the share of industrial capac ity in use slid to 69.3 per cent, the Fed said.

H-P v Dell

Hewlett-Packard, al ready the biggest PC maker worldwide, took the top spot in the US market from Dell last quarter, according to IDC. Global PC shipments fell 7.1 percent in the period from a year earlier.

BofA cards

Bank of America is boosting fees on trans fers of card balances amid growing criticism of banking practices. The fees will rise to 4 percent of the sums transferred from 3 percent on June 1, according to a notice mailed to customers.

Yahoo! looking

Yahoo! is seeking buy ers for the HotJobs em ployment site, The FT re ported, adding that other acquisitions could follow. Yahoo! bought the site in 2001 for $436 million.