NATION // BUSINESS IN BRIEF

CONTINENTAL TO CUT JOBS HOUSTON - Continental Airlines said Wednesday it will cut about1,000 jobs by the end of the year as part of a plan to transformitself into a low-cost, no-frills carrier. Continental ChiefExecutive Robert Ferguson will announce the companywide job cuts thisweek at meetings with employees. The layoffs are expected to includeabout 7 percent of the airline's managers and 2 percent of otherstaff, company sources said. Some of the cuts will result fromContinental's plan, announced late Tuesday, to end jet service tothree cities and commuter service to seven other cities in thesummer. The latest round of layoffs follows 2,500 job cutsannounced last August as …