IN HIRING MODE

13,000 new U.S. workers will be hired by Halliburton this year, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday. The Houston- based oil services company said this week it would open a new headquarters in Dubai, and its chief executive, Dave Lesar, would run the company from there.

NEW SUGAR-FREE GUM

Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. said Wednesday it will launch a new line of sugar-free gum this summer, called 5. It will be the Chicago-based company's first new gum launch since it debuted its popular sugar-free Orbit in 2001.

• Of note: 5 is designed to give chewers a brief, but intense, oral sensation. Mint will cool or tingle; cinnamon will warm.

JOB GROWTH DECLINE

55% drop in monthly new job growth has occurred this year compared with last year, according to the Liscio Report cited in this week's Barron's. An average of 122,000 jobs were created in January and February - only 97,000 in February. Job growth in 2006 averaged 190,000 a month.

BULLETPROOF SEDANS

Chery Automobile Co., a leading Chinese automaker, said Wednesday it has teamed with a Uruguayan company to make bulletproof sedans, mainly for export. China's top lawmaker, Wu Bangguo, took a test drive in the venture's prototype model, dubbed the Son of the Orient, during a visit to Uruguay in September, Chery said in a statement on its Web site.