ATLANTA-The metro area will add only about 28,000 jobs this year, less than half of last year's total, predicts Rajeev Dhawan, Georgia State University's chief economic advisor and director of the school's Economic Forecasting Center.

NEW YORK CITY-The Carlyle Group and JP Morgan Partners have signed a lease with Williams Communications, a fiber-optic broadband and network company, at their Atlantic Telecom Center in Brooklyn.

ATLANTA-The company tries to reduce peak usage by offering rates to commercial and industrial users below national average.

BOSTON-A bill that would enable towns to allow development rights to be transferred from one parcel of land to another was introduced in the state legislature here. Three towns in the state permit the transfer to preserve local forests and farmland.