The company's printer business, its most consistently profitable unit, was another area of concern.

It is also one of Morgan's most profitable units.

It plans to concentrate on more profitable units that provide managed care drug benefits and coordinate medical treatments.

The profitable unit generated $350 million in revenue last year.

It is now one of Xerox's most profitable units.

Pennzoil's most profitable unit is its motor oil division.

To deal with that, Enron shifted the division's trading books into a separate, highly profitable unit, avoiding direct reporting of the losses.

Still, some analysts worried that selling profitable units was comparable to burning furniture to heat a house.

Some analysts said the move would enable the profitable unit to be sold or transferred to the control of Texas Air, Eastern's parent company.

Mr. Young, known as Woody, had run the global communications group, the most profitable unit of the investment bank's advisory business, for several years.