Cooper Tire and Rubber Co. said Wednesday it will close its plant in Albany, Ga., cutting 1,300 jobs.

A growing number of companies are sending workers a grim holiday message: Head for the unemployment line.

Aetna Inc., Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. and Western Digital Corp. said Wednesday they would cut a combined 4,900 jobs. And Eastman Chemical Co. said it would cut an unspecified number as it tries to slash costs by $100 million in 2009.

The announcements came a day before the government is expected to report that jobless claims remain near their highest point in 26 years. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters project that 558,000 workers filed new claims last week.

The downturn has spread far beyond the housing and banking businesses where it began, battering workers in nearly every sector of the economy. Cooper Tire said Wednesday it would cut 1,400 jobs. Western Digital, which makes computer hard drives, said it plans to cut 2,500. Aetna, the third-largest U.S. health insurer, said it is cutting 1,000 jobs — 2.8 percent of its work force — to reduce costs and focus on growing areas.

The reports came one day after drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb said it will eliminate 800 jobs by the end of this year.

“Things are changing so rapidly, and deteriorating so rapidly, that firms don’t have a choice,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist of IHS Global Insight. “It looks like the economy is in somewhat of a free fall.”

Falling sales are squeezing companies’ cash just as tighter credit makes it harder for them to borrow to fund operations, Behravesh said. The combination means this time, some companies can’t afford to wait until after the holidays to cut jobs.

Elizabeth Teschler, 22, was told Monday that she and the other part-timer at the five-person executive search firm where she’d worked for four months would be laid off. It was the second job loss in a year for Teschler, who graduated from Emerson College last December and has moved in with her family near Los Angeles to save money.

Unsure of how she’ll pay the $600 in student loans, credit card and car insurance bills each month, Teschler said she’s thinking of going back to school.

“I don’t know how I would pay for that, but at least it would postpone my student loans and be a way to acquire affordable health insurance,” she said.

Many people with jobs are so fearful about their employment security that families are reducing spending, giving retailers one of the worst holiday shopping seasons in decades.

Electronics retailer Best Buy Co. said this week that it faced “the most challenging consumer environment in its history” and would offer buyouts to all 4,000 of its headquarters employee.

“We believe that the environment for consumer spending is likely to get worse before it gets better,” said Chief Executive Brad Anderson.

“We need to prepare our organization to operate in a wide range of potential macroeconomic scenarios in the coming year,” he said.

Its rival Circuit City Stores Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month. Retailer KB Toys filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday.

The recession that began last December could last though the third quarter of 2009, said Aaron Smith, a senior economist with Moody’s economy.com. Unemployment will likely continue to climb into early 2010, he said, even though the economy could start growing again in the fourth quarter next year.

“Businesses are hesitant to start hiring” after a deep downturn, Smith said. He estimated about 5 million jobs will be lost by the end of next year, with the unemployment rate reaching nearly 9 percent.

Last week, Bank of America Corp. said it expects to cut 30,000 to 35,000 jobs over the next three years as it faces a deteriorating economic environment and tries to absorb Merrill Lynch & Co.

Even companies that make escapist products that have weathered past recessions are feeling the pinch.

Midway Games Inc., maker of the popular “Mortal Kombat” video game series, said this week it will cut its head count by 180 people, or 25 percent of its work force, close a studio in Texas and halt development of “noncore” games.

Book publisher Macmillan said this week it’s eliminating 64 positions, nearly 4 percent of its work force. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has said it is cutting more than 200 workers from its Venetian and Palazzo casino hotels on the Las Vegas Strip as part of an effort to save $100 million annually. The cuts represent about 2 percent of its 10,000-person work force.

The unemployment rate rose to a 15-year high of 6.7 percent in November, and economists say it could exceed 8 percent before the downturn ends. About 10.3 million people are unemployed.

Every industry except education and health services shed jobs in November. More cuts are all but guaranteed, as companies that have made broad announcements about cutbacks release hard numbers.

Palm Inc. said in November it would cut $20 million in expenses by the fiscal fourth quarter, partly by reducing U.S. staff, though it has not said how many jobs will be lost. General Electric Co. has said it will significantly reduce its GE Capital business through job cuts, but has provided no more detail.

Delta Air Lines Inc. has said it will offer voluntary severance packages to the majority of the 75,000 employees of its combined operations with Northwest as it reduces its capacity by somewhere between 6 and 9 percent in 2009.

As sales and corporate tax revenue fall, even previously safe jobs in state and county government look shaky.

Faced with shortfalls, states around the country are wrestling with which cuts to make. Arizona and New Jersey are each facing budget shortfalls estimated at more than $1 billion for the fiscal year.

Kentucky has discussed closing some of its state parks if the economy gets worse. Vermont plans to close four highway rest stops, cutting the 10 “travel representatives” who staff the buildings from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., doing everything from cleaning toilets to giving directions.

By Christopher Leonard, Ellen Simon

Anheuser Busch Cos. said early Monday it had agreed to a sweetened $52 billion takeover bid from Inbev, heading off what had promised to be a long and acrimonious fight for the maker of Budweiser and Bud Light beers.

The deal would create the world’s largest brewer and the fourth-largest consumer product company under the name of Anheuser-Busch InBev.

The board of directors of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. on Sunday accepted a sweetened takeover offer from Belgian brewer InBev SA, according to a joint press release.

“This combination will create a stronger, more competitive global company with an unrivaled worldwide brand portfolio and distribution network, with great potential for growth all over the world,” Carlos Brito, CEO of InBev, said in the statement.

For InBev, the maker of Stella Artois and Beck’s, the deal gives an aggressive company an iconic beer brand — Budweiser — to sell into emerging markets where it has already established a firm footprint.

InBev is the world’s second-largest beer-maker behind SABMiller. Anheuser-Busch is by far the largest brewer in the U.S. with more than 48 percent of the market share.

Brito will be chief executive officer of the combined company. Shareholders will receive $70 a share, a $5 increase over the offer Anheuser-Busch rejected in June.

It wasn’t immediately clear how long approval might take. Several Missouri politicians have expressed concerns about the merger — especially how it would affect the approximate 6,000 people employed by Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis.

It also drew the attention of Mexico’s Grupo Modelo. Anheuser-Busch owns a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, which said in a statement Monday that its relationship with Anheuser-Busch gives it consent rights to the deal.

“Our agreement with Anheuser-Busch was carefully constructed to ensure we have a definitive say in who our partner is. We are confident that our agreement, which is governed by Mexican law, gives us the right to decide whether or not to consent to the potential acquisition of Anheuser-Busch by InBev,” Grupo Modelo said in a statement.

Grupo Modelo said it had been talking with InBev about how the two brewers could work together if InBev became a minority owner of Grupo Modelo by buying Anheuser-Busch.

InBev said it plans to use St. Louis as its North American headquarters, and that it will keep open all 12 of Anheuser-Busch’s North American breweries.

InBev announced its intent to try to purchase Anheuser-Busch on June 11. The Anheuser-Busch board initially voted against the merger, calling the initial $65 per share offer too low.

That prompted much squabbling between the companies over the past few weeks. InBev filed a motion seeking the removal of all 13 Anheuser-Busch board members; Anheuser-Busch filed suit calling the InBev effort an “illegal scheme” that threatened to defraud Anheuser-Busch shareholders. Among other things, the suit noted that InBev failed to disclose it operates a brewery in Cuba.

Few products are associated with America as much as Budweiser. Its Clydesdale horses are fixtures of Super Bowl ads, and even the label is red, white and blue, with an eagle swooping through the “A.”

“This agreement provides additional and certain value for Anheuser-Busch shareholders, while enhancing global market access for Budweiser, one of America’s true iconic brands,” August Busch IV, Anheuser-Busch president and CEO, said in the statement.

The deal, if completed, also will bring to an end a name synonymous with St. Louis. From college buildings to theme parks to offices to the stadium where the Cardinals play baseball, the Busch name is virtually everywhere in the Gateway City.

Eberhard Anheuser acquired the Bavarian brewery in 1860 and renamed it E. Anheuser & Co. His son-in-law, Adolphus Busch, joined the company in 1864 and it was eventually renamed Anheuser-Busch.

The company survived Prohibition by selling products ranging from ice cream to root beer.

In addition to opposition from politicians and civic leaders, at least two Web sites sprung up opposing the merger. SaveBudweiser.com claims to have more than 60,000 signatures from merger opponents. SaveAB.com hosted a recent anti-merger rally that drew hundreds to downtown St. Louis.

InBev has not said if layoffs will occur as a result of the merger. The company said it expects cost synergies of at least $1.5 billion a year by 2011 over three years. The deal won’t benefit earnings per share until 2010, it said.

Even without the combination, Anheuser-Busch said last month it planned to cut pension and health benefits for salaried employees as part of an effort to slash $1 billion in costs by the end of 2010. The plan called for offering early retirement to 1,300 salaried workers 55 and older.

The cost-cutting effort was part of a strategy to fend off the merger.

By Aoife White, Christopher Leonard

Travis Carroll steps around debris in his flooded home as he returns to salvage what he can as flood waters recede in Dutchtown, Mo., Friday, March 21, 2008. Flooding from rainstorms blamed for at least 16 deaths threatened to worsen Friday, with many Midwestern rivers over their banks for more than a day already and the water level climbing.

FENTON, Mo. — Flood-weary residents in Missouri, Arkansas and Ohio fought to save their homes Friday after heavy rainstorms pushed swollen rivers out of their banks, and a fresh snowstorm blew through parts of the Upper Midwest, canceling flights and some Good Friday services.

Along the Meramec River in eastern Missouri, residents of Valley Park hoped the town’s $49 million earthen levee, built in 2005 to withstand a 100-year flood, would pass its first big test. The surging Meramec was expected to crest at a record 40 feet on Saturday — 24 feet above flood stage.

The Army Corps of Engineers and Missouri Public Safety said the levee was in good shape, but some residents decided to leave for higher ground just in case.

“The biggest thing is not knowing what to expect,” said Donna Gerstein-Russell, who moved to the area in January.

Heavy snow fell or was expected from Minnesota to Ohio. Milwaukee got 14 inches Friday and 10 inches fell in Red Wing, Minn.

The timing of the storm was disappointing for dozens of Wisconsin church officials who decided to cancel Good Friday services.

“It was a hard decision but for the safety of everybody, especially of the elderly, we think it was prudent to make this decision,” said the Rev. Jonathan Jacobs of Ascension Lutheran Church in Milwaukee. “Most people are grateful — they say they would have been torn otherwise.”

Snow forced the cancellation of about 400 flights and delayed numerous others at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

Northern Ohio residents prepared for an expected 3 to 6 inches of snow, while flood victims in the southern parts of the state began the arduous task of cleaning up after some of the heaviest rain in years.

A blizzard warning remained in effect in northern Maine, where fierce winds scattered snow, uprooted trees and brought down power lines.

“Even though it was spring yesterday, we still have winter on our doorstep,” spokeswoman Ginny Joles of Maine Public Service Co., northern Maine’s major electric company, said Friday.

Parts of the Midwest got a foot of rain over a 36-hour period this week, causing widespread flash flooding. The worst flooding happened in smaller rivers across the nation’s midsection. Major channels such as the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio rivers saw only minor flooding.

In Arkansas, residents of the tiny prairie community of Georgetown along the White River were warned to leave the area Friday after forecasters said a backwater slough would cut off access by late evening and leave them stranded well into next week.

“Stock up or get out. You may be there a few days,” said Steve Bays, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service at North Little Rock.

Georgetown Fire Chief Eddie Stephenson said about half the town’s 126 residents were getting out, but he played down any danger.

“I’ve been here all my life. We’ve been through this for years and years and years. It don’t get us excited. We just take it as it goes,” said the 65-year-old Stephenson, who also is a city councilman.

Rivers receded Friday in Ohio, but several areas remained under flood warnings. About 60 state roads were closed or partly blocked by flooding; crews were trying to pump water off a major route into Columbus, according to the State Highway Patrol.

In Missouri, eyes were on the levee in Park Valley. With nearly one-third of the town’s 6,500 residents at risk if the levee breaks or is overtopped, authorities were taking no chances. They set up a staging area full of rescue trucks and a boat in a school parking lot near the town, said Chesterfield Fire Department Capt. Steve Smith.

“They were a little uneasy about the levee, if it was going to hang in there or not,” Smith said.

Army Corps of Engineers spokesman George Stringham said some water had seeped through the levee, but the leakage was not unusual and posed no danger to the levee’s structural integrity. He said the Corps expects the levee to hold throughout the weekend as flood waters are expected to crest at 40 feet, which is below the top of the levee.

“We’re 100 percent confident with how it’s working out out there,” Stringham said.

Maj. Byron Medloch of the Salvation Army said that 1,000 people displaced by the Meramec were housed in shelters. Another 1,000 had been in shelters near Poplar Bluff in far southeast Missouri, where the surging Black River breached several levees, though Medloch said many began returning home on Friday.

“People are tired,” Medloch said. “Tired of fighting and tired of waiting.”

Dutchtown residents picked through belongings and pumped water from flooded homes a day after the small town was evacuated and covered by 3 feet of water.

In Fenton, a St. Louis suburb, dozens of volunteers filled sandbags and piled them against downtown businesses near the fast-rising Meramec, which was expected to reach more than 20 feet above flood stage in some spots.

“The river is continuing to come up,” Mayor Dennis Hancock said. “It continues to come up rapidly.”

Government forecasters warned that some flooding could continue in the coming days because of record rainfall and melting snow pack across much of the Midwest and Northeast.

At least 16 deaths have been linked to the weather over the past few days, and at least two people whose vehicles were swept away by rushing water Tuesday were still missing in Arkansas.