Also. . .

* Southwest Airlines Co. said it expects Internet ticket sales to surpass $1 billion this year, placing the low-fare airline among the top electronic commerce companies in terms of revenue. Dallas-based Southwest said about 27% of January passenger revenue came from its Internet site. For all of 1999, Internet ticket sales totaled $850 million, or 18% of the airline’s $4.74-billion overall revenue. Southwest said an Internet ticket sale costs the company less than $1, whereas a ticket sale through a travel agency costs it $10.

* L’Oreal agreed to buy Carson Inc., maker of Dark & Lovely and Ultra Sheen ethnic beauty products, for about $79 million, or $5.20 a share. The deal would make the French company the top maker of cosmetics aimed at black consumers. Shares in Carson, which is based in Savannah, Ga., jumped $1.31 to close at $5.06 on the NYSE. Carson has 1,100 employees and generated sales of $176 million in fiscal 1999.