OGDEN -- Teleperformance USA said it is buying the 400-employee AOL call center and hopes it can grow.

"Everything looks positive, and we believe we should be taking over on Dec. 16," Mark Pfeiffer, a senior vice president, said Thursday.

AOL, formerly known as America Online, disclosed the sale Wednesday but did not identify the buyer. Separately, AOL is laying off 1,300 people at call centers in Arizona and New Mexico.

"We intend to leverage the Ogden facility to not only serve AOL subscribing members, but other clients as well, so we anticipate growth," said Dominic Dato, Teleperformance USA's chief executive.

Caterpillar Inc. calls sales slowdown a 'pause'

PEORIA, Ill. -- Caterpillar Inc. called an anticipated sales slowdown in 2007 a pause, not the end of a sales surge that has doubled revenues since 2002. Wall Street wasn't so sure and sent the heavy equipment maker's shares tumbling Friday.

Some analysts said the 14 percent slide in stock price was a market overreaction to a gloomy forecast that overshadowed record third-quarter profits and revenue for the heavy equipment maker.

Caterpillar reported Friday that third-quarter profit rose 15 percent, but the results were below analysts' expectations. The company also sharply reduced its forecast for the full year and said it expects a slowdown in 2007.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D6.