PREVIEW / Some of the Business and Economic Events Happening Today

Economic Pulse: The Federal Reserve releases its “beige book” regional economic survey, which summarizes data from its 12 U.S. districts. The Fed’s last beige book report sent an optimistic but cautious message, reporting that the economy grew solidly in December and early January even though a few sectors lost some steam. And it said growth in 1999 is not expected to match that of last year.

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America West Talks: America West Airlines flight attendants have warned they will strike some flights as early as this Saturday if they can’t reach agreement on a new labor contract with the ninth-largest U.S. airline. Further meetings between the sides will take place today through Friday in Washington at the National Mediation Board office, according to the Assn. of Flight Attendants. The union represents 2,300 members at the America West Holdings Corp. unit. The flight attendants union said the strike action known as “Chaos” will begin at 12:01 a.m. Saturday if an agreement isn’t reached before then. In Chaos, or Create Havoc Around Our System, workers disrupt operations by sporadically failing to show up for flights.

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AOL-Netscape Vote: Netscape Communications shareholders meet to vote on a $4.2-billion takeover bid by America Online that would create an unparalleled presence on the Internet. The Justice Department has already approved the deal, making the Netscape vote the last step before the deal can be consummated.