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Cigna, Legg Mason weigh cost cuts

Cigna shares tumbled this morning -- while Legg Mason shares rose -- as they joined other financial companies reporting higher losses and cost-cutting.

Cigna Corp. may leave vacant jobs unfilled, curb travel and consolidate office space as the economic slowdown trims profits, says spokesman Chris Curran, elaborating comments by chief financial officer Michael Bell during the Philadelphia-based health insurer's conference call this morning. Bell said Cigna may take a charge in the fourth quarter; Curran said the company doesn't expect that will come from layoffs. Cigna employs around 2,700 in Philadelphia, Voorhees, Horsham, Wilmington, Media and other local sites.

Cigna plunged below $16 for the first time in five years after it reported profits fell by more than half during the third quarter, compared to last year, and cut estimates for next year. Prospects are falling with health insurance coverage as the economy slows; third-quarter profits were dragged down by losses from annuities and investment businesses it quit at the end of the 1990s.

By contrast, Legg Mason shares rose after the Baltimore-based investment company reported lower profits as asset values plunged. Legg "identified $50 million in identified cuts" by the end of this year, said chief executive Mark Fetting. Legg Mason Capital Markets, also in Baltimore, will eliminate around one-third of its 150 jobs, confirmed spokeswoman Mary Atheridge. She said she didn't know if jobs will also be lost at Legg's Philadelphia unit, Brandywine Global Investment Management, or its Wilmington, Del. affiliate.