The Record, Bergen County, NJ

National Briefs

Ethanol demand may raise prices WASHINGTON Ethanol will devour 50 percent more corn this year, eating into the food industry's share of the crop, the Agriculture Department said Thursday.

Market Off the Mat ; Closes Slightly Lower After Early Plunge

NEW YORK A still skittish Wall Street closed modestly lower Thursday, having clawed its way back from an early-session plunge after upbeat manufacturing data allayed fears about a flagging U.S. economy. The Dow Jones industrials ended 34 points lower after tumbling 209 points in early trading and then briefly reaching positive territory in the afternoon.

Fragrance Secrets Stolen, Suit Says ; Ex-Worker Denies Breaking Contract

A Norwood fragrance maker has filed suit alleging that a former salesman took confidential company trade secrets and used them to solicit customers. Intarome Fragrance & Flavor Corp. alleges that after it fired Michael G. Zarkades, an executive vice president of sales, in May 2006, he offered to sell "duplicate" Intarome products to a company customer, and then shipped them.

Rat Scandal Shuts More Big Apple Restaurants Run by N.J. Firm ; 2 in Queens Found Infested with Mice

NEW YORK A New Jersey-based major owner of Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell franchises saw a majority of its New York City restaurants shut down Thursday as the fallout continued from a video showing rats overrunning one of its Manhattan eateries. The city's Health Department revealed that three more restaurants owned by the ADF Cos. of Fairfield were closed by inspectors this week because of unsanitary conditions. Two, both in Queens, were found to be infested with mice.

Briefly

Jobless claims spur stock slide NEW YORK The global sell-off in stocks resumed in the U.S. on Thursday after a rise in jobless claims and a lower forecast for semiconductor sales reinforced investors' concerns economic growth may be slowing. (Story, this page)

Verizon Boosts Stock Buyback Program

BASKING RIDGE Verizon Communications Inc., whose operational headquarters are in Basking Ridge, said it will buy back as much as $3.71 billion in stock, or 100 million shares, replacing a repurchase program scheduled to end next year. The board authorized the plan Thursday, Verizon said in a statement. The company still had approval to buy back 43 million of the 100 million shares it was authorized under its old program.

Movers

Robert Lichtenstein was appointed vice president general counsel of the education program Kumon North America, Teaneck. He had been a real estate director for the University of Nevada. *

Former State Farm Building for Rent

Health Shop Grew Organically ; 30 Years Ago, a-1 Nutrition Was a Pioneer

PASSAIC - When Jeanetta Brancaccio started A-1 Nutrition health- food store in 1977, her family questioned her sanity. Her father, who owned People's Market in Passaic during the Depression, was born on an island off the coast of Sicily a culture ignorant of pesticides and processed foods. Brancaccio's search for rarities such as wheat germ and short grain brown rice led her parents to wonder what all the fuss was about.

N.J. Briefs

Curtiss-Wright receives $11M Venezuelan order ROSELAND Curtiss-Wright Corp. said Thursday that it has received a more than $11 million order for six coke drum opening systems and additional equipment.

Tips for Taxpayers Who Don't Like to Rush

Procrastinators, rejoice: The IRS has pushed back the tax-filing deadline to April 17. The reason for the last-minute change announced in January: The traditional April 15 tax deadline falls on a Sunday, and several states celebrate holidays April 16. That gives you two extra days to delay this year. Unless you file for an extension, of course.

Coming Attractions ; Mall Turns to Movies to Draw Shoppers

To draw today's shoppers to your shopping mall, you've got to keep them entertained. So Westfield Garden State Plaza, on the eve of its 50th birthday, is preparing to transform itself from a shopping center into an entertainment center. The key component of that change will be a 16-screen AMC movie theater scheduled to open May 25. The theater will be the largest tenant of a 160,000-square-foot addition that will include Borders' newest prototype bookstore and a 14,000-square-foot restaurant....

Alleged Insider-Trading Ring Busted ; Power Brokers at Top Firms Charged

NEW YORK Prosecutors have broken up what they call one of the biggest Wall Street insider-trading rings since the 1980s a sweeping, $15 million scandal that involved lawyers and power brokers at some of the nation's top financial firms. In announcing the case Thursday, authorities described a criminal operation that was rife with corruption and reached high levels of Morgan Stanley and Co. and UBS Securities LLC.