IN BRIEF

* Brown Shoe Co., owner of Famous Footwear stores and maker of Buster Brown shoes, said it is eliminating 650 jobs, or about 5% of its work force. The company said earnings in its fiscal third quarter fell 24% to $11.9 million, or 68 cents a share, as sales declined less than 1% to $462,000. Brown Shoe shares rose 18 cents to $13.53 on the NYSE.