RETAILING

Nike Posts Lower Earnings, Announces Layoffs: Following a disappointing first-quarter earnings report, Chairman Philip Knight told shareholders that the company will cut costs by $50 million and lay off 3% to 4% of its 9,700 workers by the end of the fiscal year next May. The quarterly report showed U.S. sales of basketball shoes, a market dominated by Nike, dropped 16% from the same period a year ago. Nike said earnings in the quarter ended Aug. 31 dropped 7% to $114 million, or $1.49 a share. That compares to $122.6 million, or $1.60 a share, in the same period a year ago. Nike shares lost $1.75 to $46.25 on the NYSE.