Incentives anticipated from U.S. automakers

The nation’s two-largest automakers both said Wednesday that demand for new vehicles fell 5 percent last month from a year ago.

Analysts said that the results would virtually assure heftier consumer incentives to come, even as Japanese rivals Toyota, Honda and Nissan have ridden a slew of new products to double-digit gains.

Industrywide, U.S. sales were up 2 percent in October, according to Autodata Corp., an industry research group.

No. 1 General Motors Corp. said Wednesday that truck sales were off 4.6 percent and car sales down 5.5 percent in October. Sales of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brand trucks were up 3 percent at No. 2 Ford Motor Co., but that demand was not nearly enough to offset a 22 percent decline in car sales — an all-too familiar trend for Ford this year.

Media

Time Warner reports decline in earnings

Time Warner Inc., the world’s largest media company, reported an 8 percent decline in third-quarter earnings Wednesday as it set aside a $500 million reserve in anticipation of settling government investigations into its bookkeeping.

The company also said it would restate its earnings for 2000 and 2001 to correct its accounting for AOL Europe.

The moves put the company a step closer to resolving the investigations, which have caused anxiety among investors after dragging on for more than two years. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice continue to investigate accounting practices at America Online.

Aviation

American to cut jobs

American Airlines, struggling to compete with lower-overhead carriers, will cut more jobs to reduce costs, chief executive Gerard Arpey said Wednesday.

The company already had disclosed that it would lay off up to 650 mechanics and 450 pilots, as CEO Gerard Arpey reminded investors during a meeting in Fort Worth, Texas.

American and other carriers are losing money as they are squeezed by high fuel costs and tough competition that makes it hard to raise fares. American’s Fort Worth, Texas-based parent, AMR Corp., reported that it lost $214 million in the July-September quarter and expected an even bigger loss in the fourth quarter.

Alcohol

Constellation Brands to buy Robert Mondavi

The Robert Mondavi Corp. is being acquired by alcoholic beverage giant Constellation Brands Inc. in a $1.03 billion cash deal, the companies said Wednesday.

Under the terms of the agreement, Constellation will acquire all the outstanding shares of Mondavi for $56.50 per share for Class A common stock and $65.82 for Class B common stock. The transaction also involves the assumption of $325 million of Mondavi debt.