Also . . .

* General Motors Corp. said it’s in talks with an unspecified large telecommunications company about a partnership that will make the world’s biggest auto maker a major reseller of cellular services that extend beyond the confines of a car and into the home and workplace. The companies will begin tapping that customer base to sell traditional cellular services this year and more advanced services as they become available, said Mark Hogan, group vice president for e-GM, the car maker’s Internet business unit.

* AT&T; Corp. is cutting benefits for about 50,000 managers--a third of its work force--as Chief Executive C. Michael Armstrong works to cut $2 billion in costs. AT&T; will no longer provide eye care, free legal assistance or certain benefits for retired employees, according to an e-mail sent to managers Thursday. The changes, effective Feb. 1, are expected to save millions of dollars annually, AT&T; spokesman Burke Stinson said, without being more specific.

* On Friday, U.S. bond markets will close early in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day next Monday.