Also:

* Amazon.com Inc. settled an intellectual property suit accusing rival Barnes & Noble.com of copying patented “one-click” technology used by the world’s largest Internet retailer. The suit had potential to make law on the viability of patents on basic Internet business methods. Terms weren’t disclosed.

* Applied Materials Inc. said the Justice Department has closed an investigation into the company’s licensing of technology without taking any action.

* AT&T; Corp. gave Chairman C. Michael Armstrong 1.4 million stock options as an incentive to raise the stock price of the No. 1 U.S. long-distance telephone company, which has fallen 61% over two years.

* Microsoft Corp. is recalling some 250,000 Xbox consoles in Japan because of a defect that makes scratches on the perimeter of a game disc.

* SBC Communications Inc., parent of SBC Pacific Bell, said customer service centers employing about 64,000 people will be reduced by 40% as part of a four-year plan to pare costs.