IN BRIEF (Page 17)

German exports plummet

German exports and company spending plunged in the first quarter, dragging Europe's largest economy into its deepest slump on record.

Exports dropped 9.7 percent from the fourth quarter and company investment declined 7.9 percent, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said yesterday. Gross domestic product fell a seasonally adjusted 3.8 percent from the previous three months, the office said, confirming an initial estimate from May 15. That's the steepest drop since quarterly data were first compiled in 1970.