1.  Description: The world's biggest retailer now says it offers 500,000 items online, including a broader assortment of toys and consumer electronics.

2.  Department store sales in Tokyo rose 21.7 percent in March as consumers rushed to buy big-ticket items before the consumption tax increased, the Japan Department Store Association said.

3.  Department surveys have found that New Yorkers are recycling about half of the items they could be.

4.  Designers talk daily to store managers, to discover which items are most in demand.

5.  Delivery is available only from Monday to Saturday, at fees ranging from $4.95 to $11.95 depending on items ordered.

6.  CUPKEEPER _ Column of offbeat, interesting items.

7.  Curator Raymond Doswell says the museum is raising funds to purchase more Negro League baseball artifacts, rare items whose prices soar daily.

8.  Despite an official freeze on prices and wages, the cost of most items in Mexico has soared, while wages have risen only slightly.

9.  Delphi's 1996 net margin, excluding special items, was 2.8 percent, while the company's North American auto business ran at 0.4 percent.

10.  Delphi's 1996 net margin, excluding special items, was 2.8 percent, while the North American auto business ran at 0.4 percent.