Also . . .

* Atlantic Richfield Corp.’s unit in Indonesia said it will slash its work force in half, to 900 workers, within six months because of low oil prices and sluggish economic growth. Arco Indonesia warned that though the current round of reductions would be voluntary, it might have to implement involuntary cuts. The unit of Los Angeles-based Arco is Indonesia’s largest natural gas producer for the domestic market.

* Royal Dutch/Shell Group said it’s in talks with Nigeria to invest $1.7 billion annually over five years to expand a natural gas project and develop new oil fields. Shell is slashing its investments by 27% this year because of low oil prices. Still, Nigeria’s vast reserves make it attractive to Shell despite years of local protests about its activities and sabotage of its oil pipelines.

* FDX Corp.’s Federal Express said it will raise its rates 2.8% on March 15 for all shipments within the U.S. FedEx also said it will increase rates on 10- and 25-kilogram boxes for shipments to Mexico and reduce rates for those boxes on shipments to several other countries. It also will drop a $1 residential delivery surcharge on its three-day continental U.S. service called FedEx Express Saver.