Short Reports

Third-quarter sales at Levi Strauss & Co.’s sales declined 8 percent, but the company said its turnaround efforts are picking up steam, helped by increased demand for its basic jeans.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the 131-year-old investment firm that went public last year, earned $824 million, or $1.62 a share, in the three months ended August 25, up from $638 million, or $1.32 a share, a year earlier. The latest results beat analyst estimates of $1.51 a share for the period.

Interstate Bakeries Corp., the nation’s largest wholesale baker, said higher delivery costs and weak sales in some regions resulted in a 19 percent drop in first quarter earnings.

Antitrust chief Joel I. Klein, who launched the case to break up Microsoft and won record criminal fines against international price fixers, will leave government at the end of this month. Klein, 53, intends to take time off and then begin a search for his next job, Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona said.