Short Reports

Kmart Corp., the nation’s second-largest discount chain, named the 39-year-old president of the drug chain CVS Corp. on Wednesday to replace chairman and chief executive Floyd Hall. Hall had announced earlier this month that he would step down before his five-year contract expires in April. Although some analysts had anticipated that he might hang on to the title of chairman, he is turning both jobs over to CVS’s Charles C. Conaway.

Hewlett-Packard Co. announced a deal that will make it the major supplier of technology to Amazon.com Inc. and said its gross margins would improve as it sold more higher-margin server and storage products in the second half of 2000. H-P said it would supply Seattle-based online retail giant Amazon.com with 90 percent of its technology infrastructure.

Seven Nasdaq-listed companies began trading Wednesday on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The seven companies traded for the first time in Asia during regional hours include Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp., Dell Computer Co., Cisco Systems Inc., Applied Materials Inc. and Amgen Inc. - all high-technology companies - and the coffee chain Starbucks Corp.

Ask Jeeves Inc., the Internet search engine company, said Wednesday that President and Chief Operating Officer Ted Briscoe has resigned to become chief executive officer of the privately held Play Streaming Media Group, which aims to develop the streaming video industry through a network of affiliates.