Biz bits

Bass Pro Shops lays off design staff members

Bass Pro Shops laid off members of its new store design staff in its headquarters in Springfield, Mo., over the weekend, a spokesman for the company said Monday.

"With the economy right now, we just aren't building any new stores" in 2010, said Larry Whiteley, Bass Pro Shops' communications manager.

Mr. Whiteley said the proposed Augusta Bass Pro Shops store is still "being finalized" as to when it will open. Mr. Whiteley said the outdoor retail company hasn't called off the store, to his knowledge.

IBM executive placed on leave after charge

SAN FRANCISCO --- IBM Corp. put a top executive on leave Monday after he was charged in an insider trading scandal for allegedly leaking secrets about IBM's earnings and financial dealings with corporate partners.

The company said Robert Moffat, a senior vice president and cost-cutting maven who was considered a possible candidate to succeed CEO Sam Palmisano, no longer serves as an officer of the company.

Mr. Moffat, who has worked at IBM since 1978, was one of six executives and hedge fund managers arrested Friday in connection with a scam that authorities say generated more than $25 million in illegal profits.

Mr. Moffat, 53, is accused of supplying Danielle Chiesi, who worked for a hedge fund known as New Castle, details about IBM's earnings; the timing of a restructuring at IBM partner Advanced Micro Devices Inc.; and the financials of Sun Microsystems Inc., whose books IBM was poring over this year as part of an acquisition bid.

'New York Times' will trim newsroom staff

NEW YORK --- The New York Times said Monday it will cut 100 newsroom jobs and an unspecified number elsewhere amid industrywide declines in advertising revenue.

The Times will offer voluntary buyouts at first but will resort to layoffs if it cannot meet the targets. The Times , flagship of The New York Times Co., cut its newsroom work force by 100 positions last year mostly through buyouts.

Even with the latest cuts, amounting to 8 percent of the newsroom, The Times has the largest newsgathering staff of any U.S. newspaper. The cuts would leave about 1,150 reporters and editors.

In other news

APPLE INC. INCREASED its net income 47 percent in the most recent quarter. Apple said it earned $1.7 billion, $1.82 per share, in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 26. Revenue jumped 25 percent to $9.9 billion.