Executive Business Briefing

Here is a look at more of Thursday's top business stories:

Earnings slip 2 percent at Goldman Sachs

NEW YORK, June 20 (UPI) -- Investment banker Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said its second-quarter net income for the period ended May 31 slipped 2 percent to $563 million, or $1.06 a share, from $577 million, or $1.06 a share during the same period last year.

Analysts on Wall Street had expected the firm to post a net income of 98 cents a share, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.

Total net revenues fell 3 percent to $3.85 billion.

Net revenues in Investment Banking declined to $762 million from $893 million for the first quarter of 2002 and $792 million for the second quarter of 2001.

Net revenues in Financial Advisory rose 33 percent to $428 million from the second quarter of 2001, principally due to increased mergers and acquisitions in the financial institutions, real estate and consumer sectors.

Net revenues in the firm's Underwriting business declined to $334 million from $471 million for the same period last year, primarily reflecting lower equity issuance activity in the natural resources and communications, media and entertainment sectors and lower net revenues in debt underwriting. The firm's backlog declined slightly during the quarter.

Net revenues in trading and principal investments were $1.44 billion for the second quarter, 8 percent higher than the first quarter but 15 percent below the same period last year.

Net revenues in equities dropped to $418 million from $739 million a year ago, primarily due to lower net revenues in the firm's U.S. shares trading business, reflecting the continued weakness in the equity markets and the transfer of the Nasdaq fee-based business to commissions, as well as lower net revenues in equity arbitrage.

Henry M. Paulson Jr., chairman and chief executive officer, said, "Our business continues to be affected by weakness in investor and executive confidence which has led to difficult markets and lower levels of corporate activity.

"Despite these challenges, Goldman Sachs executed well across its core businesses. Looking ahead, we remain cautious about the near-term outlook," Paulson added.

Levi Strauss posts loss

SAN FRANCISCO, June 20 (UPI) -- Jeans maker Levi Strauss & Co., citing lower sales and a restructuring charge, said it posted a second quarter loss for the period ended May 26 of $80.9 million after restructuring charges and related expenses of $171 million.

The privately held company said excluding the charge, its second-quarter income fell to $15 million from $43 million during the same period last year.

Sales at Levi Strauss, which reports earnings because of its outstanding corporate debt, fell 12 percent to $924 million from $1.04 billion a year earlier.

Had currency rates remained constant at 2001 levels, net sales would have declined approximately 11 percent for the period.

Although sales were affected by difficult market conditions worldwide, the company turned in a good performance against several key financial measures and expects to meet its previously stated financial targets for the full year, including stabilizing sales.

Phil Marineau, chief executive officer, said, "We said the quarter would be tough and it was, but we are still on track to stabilize our sales by year-end.

"We were hit by stiff price competition in Europe, but our U.S. and Asia Pacific businesses met our expectations. Despite the difficult retail environment throughout most of our markets, we sustained solid profit margins, generated strong cash flow and brought down debt," Marineau said.

"This is the inflection point for our company turnaround," Marineau said.

"From now through the end of the year, we expect to see significant improvement in sales trends. We have excellent bookings with our retail customers, and are launching new products and marketing programs around the world to drive sales. This includes the introduction of lower-priced Levi's jeans and Dockers khakis in Europe and a revamped Levi's jeans line in the United States. When you look at our products, retail relationships and operations, we are more competitive today than we have been in years," he added.

The company said in April it would shut six of its remaining U.S. plants and slash staff by 22 percent as part of a restructuring intended to halt five years of sliding sales.

Liz Claiborne buys Mexx Canada

NEW YORK, June 20 (UPI) -- Clothing designer and retailer Liz Claiborne Inc. said it has reached an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the stock of Mexx Canada Inc., a privately held distributor of Liz Claiborne's Mexx brand in Canada.

Terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter, were not disclosed.

L iz Claiborne said it expects the deal to add 1 cent to 2 cents to earnings in 2002. Mexx Canada had sales of about $54 million) in 2001. Based in Montreal, Mexx Canada operates as a third-party distributor in Canada for Liz Claiborne's Mexx business.

Paul R. Charron, chairman and chief executive officer of Liz Claiborne, said, "The acquisition of Mexx Canada is consistent with our portfolio diversification strategy.

"Mexx Canada provides additional geographic and distribution diversification to our portfolio and allows us to further benefit from their relationship with the Mexx Group. Mexx Canada is well-positioned for expansion. and this transaction will provide us with greater insight into Mexx's growth opportunities in North America," Charron added.