Also. . .

* Circuit City Group said fiscal second-quarter earnings rose 15% to $32.1 million, or 32 cents a diluted share, matching expectations. Sales rose 17% to $2.12 billion, and sales at stores open at least a year rose 6%. Strength at the company’s electronics stores offset widening losses at its Car Max and Digital Video Express businesses.

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* United Microelectronics Corp., Taiwan’s second-largest microchip maker, halted a massive $14.5-billion investment plan because of oversupply in the industry. The 10-year plan to build several 12-inch wafer fabrication plants would have been Taiwan’s single-biggest industrial project.

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* American Greetings Corp. reported a 17% increase in second-quarter earnings to $13.9 million, or 20 cents a diluted share, a penny higher than estimates, as sales slipped 1% to $479.7 million. The greeting card company also said it will cut about 2% of its 21,000-person work force worldwide as part of a cost-cutting move, which will result in a pretax charge of between $10 million to $20 million in the third quarter.