DALLAS — Dell Inc., one of the world's largest PC makers, said Thursday that an internal audit committee has found a number of accounting errors and evidence of misconduct in its monthslong review of previous earnings statements.

Dell also said it would miss an April 18 deadline to file its annual 10K financial report to the Securities and Exchange Commission until the internal review is completed.

Dell shares fell in electronic trading after the market closed, when the news was released.

In a short news release, the Round Rock, Texas, company said the internal audit had "identified a number of accounting errors, evidence of misconduct, and deficiencies in the financial control environment."

Further details were not provided, and Dell spokesman Dwayne Cox said the company was unable to comment further.

The company added in the statement that it was working with management and the company's independent auditors to determine whether the errors would require the restatement of previous earnings reports.

$48B TELECOM DEAL AWARDED TO 3 RIVALS

WASHINGTON — Dealing a significant blow to Sprint Nextel, the government on Thursday awarded the largest-ever federal telecommunications contract — a 10-year deal worth up to $48 billion — to its rivals AT&T, Qwest Communications and Verizon.

The three contract winners will split $525 million, but beyond that they will have to compete with each other for the business of dozens of federal agencies needing to enhance the quality and security of voice, video and data technologies, the General Services Administration announced.

Among the products federal agencies will choose from are Internet-based voice and video systems, wireless and satellite communications services and updated network infrastructure.

Several major departments, including Homeland Security and Treasury, have already signed onto the contract, though no specific deals are anticipated before summer.

While AT&T Inc., Qwest Communications International Inc. and Verizon Inc. gained an important and deep-pocketed client, the announcement was a serious loss to Sprint Nextel Corp., analysts said, not least because the Reston, Va.-based company has been providing telecom services to the federal government for nearly 20 years.

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT RATE UP SLIGHTLY

WASHINGTON — After ending 2006 lethargically, the economy is expected to remain sluggish most of this year as businesses and consumers cope with fallout from the painful housing slump.

The broadest barometer of the country's economic health, gross domestic product, grew at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the final three months of last year, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

It was a small improvement from the 2.2 percent pace previously estimated for the fourth quarter and a 2 percent growth rate logged in the third quarter. However, the new reading still marked a lackluster showing that reinforced economists' predictions for similarly listless activity in the coming quarters.

According to various projections, GDP growth will remain mediocre, hovering at around the 2 percent to 2.5 percent pace in the first half of this year. In contrast, the economy's average, or trend, growth rate is closer to 3.25 percent, economists said.

STEEL COMPANY EXPANDS WITH $2.1B DEAL

PITTSBURGH — United States Steel Corp. plans to buy Lone Star Technologies Inc., a maker of welded pipe used in oil fields, in a $2.1 billion cash deal that will make it North America's largest producer of tubular steel.

The Pittsburgh-based company said Thursday the transaction will combine its largely seamless tubular business with Lone Star's welded tubular operation, broadening its line of energy sector products.

U.S. Steel will be able to produce about 2.8 million tons of tubular steel in North America annually after the transaction is completed, the company said. The deal is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2007.

John P. Surma, U.S. Steel's chairman and chief executive, said the transaction represents "a compelling strategic opportunity" for the company that significantly expands its tubular product offerings, production capacity and geographic footprint.

CREDIT CARD INFORMATION STOLEN FROM TJX

BOSTON — Information from at least 45.7 million credit and debit cards was stolen by hackers who accessed TJX's customer information in a security breach that the discount retailer disclosed more than two months ago.

TJX Cos., the owner of about 2,500 stores, said in a regulatory filing late Wednesday that about three-quarters of those cards had either expired at the time of the theft, or data from their magnetic strips had been masked — stored as asterisks rather than numbers.

But TJX acknowledged it still knows little about the full scope of the breach, in part because the hacker or hackers accessed TJX's encryption software and could have known how to unscramble the information.

In addition, TJX deleted much of the transaction data in the normal course of business between the time of the breach and the time that TJX detected it, making it impossible to know how many total cards were affected.

CRUDE OIL PRICES CROSS $66 MARK

NEW YORK — Crude oil prices surged above $66 a barrel Thursday, driven to a new six-month high by concerns that strained relations between Iran and the West could put oil exports in jeopardy as U.S. gasoline supplies wane and demand swells.

Pump prices kept rising as well: The average U.S. retail price of unleaded regular gasoline was $2.62 a gallon Thursday, 12 cents higher than a year ago, according to AAA.

Iran detained 15 British navy personnel last week, and on Thursday the country suspended the release of a female British sailor, and a top official said the captives may be put on trial. The incident comes several months into a standoff between Iran, the fourth-largest oil producer, and the United Nations over the country's nuclear program.

Worries related to Iran — which is also located on a key waterway in the oil trade — have led traders to put an extra premium on oil prices, which are already high due to seven straight weeks of declines in U.S. gasoline inventories.

LATE PAYMENTS ON LOANS CLIMB IN 4TH QUARTER

WASHINGTON — Late payments on certain auto and home equity loans climbed in the final quarter of last year, while delinquencies on credit card bills largely held steady, suggesting some consumers are feeling more squeezed than others.

The American Bankers Association, in its quarterly survey of consumer loans, reported Thursday that late payments on home equity loans rose to 1.92 percent in the October-December period. That was up sharply from 1.79 percent in the prior quarter and the highest since the first quarter of 2006.

Payments are considered delinquent if they are 30 or more days past due. The survey is based on information supplied by more than 300 banks nationwide.

Some homeowners — especially those with adjustable-rate mortgages who are unable to refinance because of poor credit histories — have gotten clobbered. Weak home prices and higher interest rates have made it difficult for them.

STRIKE BARRED BY NORTHWEST FLIGHT ATTENDANTS

MINNEAPOLIS — A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld an injunction barring a strike by flight attendants at Northwest Airlines Corp., which is operating under bankruptcy court protection.