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Wednesday Aug-20-2008 -- BAA Should Sell Two London Airports, UK Regulator Says Market participants had expected the Commission to recommend the sale of just one London airport, but in a statement the regulator said common ownership of seven U.K. airports by BAA was having an adverse consequence for passengers and airlines. Quoting people familiar with the matter, the report said the Commission would also suggest other options to break BAA's grip through less severe asset disposals and tighter regulation. More... Aug-20-2008 -- BOE Panel Split Three Ways in Vote to Keep Rate at 5% (Update1) The Bank of England's rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) split three ways this month, for a second month in a row, with one member again voting for an immediate rise in interest rates. The Bank of England voted to hold interest rates at 5% for the fourth month in a row at the beginning of August. More... Aug-20-2008 -- EBay Is Planning to Emphasize Fixed-Price Sales Format Over Its ... SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - EBay Inc is cutting the fees U.S. sellers on its site pay for fixed-price items, in one of the company's boldest moves this year to boost merchandise for sale, lure new buyers and take on competitors. Online auctioneer eBay Inc. said it will lower the fees it charges for products listed for sale at a fixed price, in a bid to become more competitive. More... Aug-20-2008 -- Microsoft and Novell Expand Successful Interoperability Relationship August 20, 2008 (Computerworld) Microsoft Corp., which two years ago agreed to buy and resell $240 million worth of enterprise support subscriptions for Novell Inc.' s SUSE Linux Enterprise Server operating system, will buy and resell up to another $100 million of vouchers, the two companies said today. Linux is the most widely adopted open-source computing platform, and has particularly strong take-up in large enterprises. More... Aug-20-2008 -- Adriana Partners With ArcelorMittal The group also announced it reached an agreement with Canada's Adriana Resources for the development of an iron ore port facility in the State of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. 'The acquisition of London Mining Brasil along with our investment in MPP - Minera''''''''o Pir''''mide Participa''''''''es Ltda - ensures that our iron ore base is further diversified in the face of tighter supply for raw materials. More... Aug-20-2008 -- Hewlett's Printing Business Struggles According to Noland, 70 percent of HP's revenue comes from non-U.S. sales. Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd eliminated about 15,000 jobs, or 10 percent of the total, to save $1.9 billion a year. More... Aug-20-2008 -- EPA plans to cite 5 Midwest states for pollution In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out a two-year-old rule that may have allowed some refineries, power plants and factories to exceed pollution limits because the Environmental Protection Agency "failed to fix inadequate monitoring requirements. and prohibited states and local authorities from doing so." State and local governments have three years to develop plans to reduce emissions and attain the standards, said EPA environmental scientist John Summerhays. More... Aug-20-2008 -- Salesforce.com Acquires InStranet for $31.5 Million The company has acquired InStranet, a Chicago-based maker of call center software, for approximately $31.5 million. BOSTON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Business software maker Salesforce.com Inc (CRM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz ) said on Wednesday that it bought smaller software maker InStranet Inc for $31.5 million. More... Aug-20-2008 -- Stem Cell Therapies May Be Right Under Our Nose - Vision.org U.S. researchers reported that they have devised a way to grow red blood cells in limitless quantities in the lab by using embryonic stem cells. Stem cells taken from days-old embryos are especially powerful, with the ability to produce any cell type. More... Aug-20-2008 -- Possible Lehman asset management sale portends pain "Lehman continues to have significant exposure to mortgages and asset backed securities,'' JPMorgan's Worthington said in the report. Neuberger Berman is valued at $6.5 billion by Standard & Poor's equity research and $13 billion by Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. The business is worth $8 billion according to Fox-Pitt Kelton Cochran Caronia Waller. More... Aug-20-2008 -- Intel details new core chip line SAN FRANCISCO'Advanced Micro Devices is preparing to release a new server platform in the second half of 2009, now code-named Fiorano, which will take advantage of chip maker's upcoming 45-nanometer processor called "Shanghai." From AMD's point of view however, Intel's 'innovations' are just mere imitations of AMD's own innovations. More... Aug-20-2008 -- Federal foreclosure-purchase program may fall flat in California A total of 4,116 homes sold in July, up from 2,769 for July 2007, while the median price of a home in Riverside County last month was $260,000, down from $399,000 in the same month a year ago, according to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick. Sales of new and existing homes rose at least 30 percent in Contra Costa and Solano counties in July, following the Bay Area trend which showed a year-over-year rise for the first time since early 2005, MDA DataQuick reported. More... Aug-20-2008 -- Amylin Pharmaceuticals Diabetes Drug Byetta(R) the Focus of ... Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Eli Lilly & Co. and Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc.' s diabetes drug Byetta was linked to deaths in two patients with an inflamed pancreas, say U.S. regulators who are seeking stronger warnings for the medicine. Injectable, extended-release naltrexone (Vivitrol, Cephalon), used for the treatment of alcohol dependence, has been linked to adverse injection-site reactions, some requiring surgery, according to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory notice to healthcare professionals released yesterday. More... Aug-20-2008 -- Board approves law that holds parents accountable for kids' graffiti LOS ANGELES -- An ordinance holding taggers and their guardians liable for civil damages received final approval Tuesday from the county Board of Supervisors. Adult graffiti offenders are subject to a civil citation issued by the Sheriff, and administered through the County's Ombudsman for fines up to $1,000. More... Aug-20-2008 -- Shanghai, Hong Kong Stocks Surge The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.56 percent, or 13.528 points, last Friday to 2,450.61, but turnover sank to 27.21 billion yuan from Thursday's 27.731 billion yuan. Index heavyweight China Mobile (nyse: CHL - news - people ) was 2 percent higher at HK$93.40. More... Tuesday Aug-19-2008 -- Fannie, Freddie shares battered Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac tumbled in New York trading to their lowest levels in more than 17 years on concern the government will be forced to bail out the mortgage- finance companies, wiping out common stockholders. Construction and material firm Boral slipped eight cents to $6.03 after the company announced full year net profit fell 19 per cent due mainly to weakness in the U.S. housing market. More... Aug-19-2008 -- Venezuela Cement Takeover Widens Government's Control (Update1) CARACAS, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Venezuela will go ahead with the government takeover of three cement companies when a deadline for compensation talks is reached next week, President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday. The number of pedestrians killed on Swiss roads dropped by a third to 21 in the first half of 2008, while cyclist and motorcyclist. More... Aug-19-2008 -- Electronic Arts lets $2-billion buyout offer for rival Take-Two expire Nearly six months after starting a public battle to take over the "Grand Theft Auto" publisher, Electronic Arts has withdrawn its $2 billion tender offer for Take-Two Interactive to enter private negotiations. Redwood City-based EA's (NASDAQ: ERTS) tender for outstanding shares of Take-Two stock is set to expire Aug. 18. More... Aug-19-2008 -- InBev Receives DOJ Request for Additional Information Regarding ... Stella Artois brewer InBev has reported a further drop in UK sales volumes, but said it had increased market share as the wider industry suffered sharper falls. InBev's quarterly tax rate fell to 8.2 percent from 19.9 percent a year earlier after the company booked deferred tax assets related to earlier losses. More... Aug-19-2008 -- American Consumer Satisfaction Slips, Portends Economic Woes "The company seems to have an uncanny ability to understand its users and read the market right. Google's score of 87 out of 100 (based on interviews with 3,000 customers) is one of the highest scores ever recorded by the ACSI. For the e-business sector as a whole (including search and portals and a second category for news and information sites), the survey paints an improving picture: customer satisfaction improved 5.5 percent from 2007 to 79.3 this year on the ACSI's 100-point scale. More... Aug-19-2008 -- CME Group Inc. Shareholders and NYMEX Holdings, Inc. Shareholders ... In the merger, NYMEX Holdings will merge with and into CMEG NY Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of CME Group. The deal, which brings the Nymex markets for energy and precious metals under the broad CME futures umbrella, is expected to close Friday. More... Aug-19-2008 -- Lehman May Write Off $4 Billion in Third Quarter, JPMorgan Says '''We are going to depend on the Venezuelan, the Nigerian or the Iranian oil companies for the future of our oil supplies,''' said Bruce Bullock, the director of the energy institute at Southern Methodist University. Capital markets and investment banking businesses, on the other hand, have unpredictable profits in good markets and potentially deadly results in down markets. More... Aug-19-2008 -- UPDATE 1-Merck Vioxx study was for marketing -researchers TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A 1999 Merck & Co. study of its since-withdrawn painkiller Vioxx, touted to participating doctors and patients as meant to show whether Vioxx caused fewer stomach problems than another drug, was primarily a stealth marketing strategy, researchers report. The next step would be a societal consensus that it is wrong to deceive institutional review boards and participants about the true purpose of a trial. More... Aug-19-2008 -- Japanese Banks Halt Lending as Bounced Checks Rise to Record UnionBanCal (nyse: UB - news - people ) late Wednesday rejected Mitsubishi UFJ's's $3 billion takeover bid, saying the $63 per share offer for the 35% stake that the Japanese lender does not already own "substantially undervalues" the bank and was not in the best interests of minority shareholders. MUFG, a majority shareholder of the bank since 1996, holds a 65.4 percent stake in UnionBanCal. More... Aug-19-2008 -- Chrysler LLC Announces Executive Retirement, Appointments One of the industry's rising stars, Ralph Gilles, is now at the top of Chrysler design. Schell is taking over for William Mattingly, who left the company last month. More... Aug-19-2008 -- Fitch: No Rating Action on Brinker Int'l Divestiture Announcement ... NEW YORK -- Brinker International Inc., owner of the Chili's Grill & Bar chain, said Monday that it would sell a majority stake in Romano's Macaroni Grill to a private equity firm. Restaurant group says private equity firm will purchase stake in 220-location Romano's Macaroni Grill chain for $131.5M in cash. More... Aug-19-2008 -- Lilly, Amylin's Diabetes Drug Linked to Two Deaths (Update1) Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Eli Lilly & Co. and Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc.' s diabetes drug Byetta was linked to deaths in two patients with an inflamed pancreas, say U.S. regulators who are seeking stronger warnings for the medicine. Amylin, of San Diego, and Indianapolis-based Lilly agreed to warn of the risk of pancreatitis in October, after 30 milder cases were reported. More... Aug-19-2008 -- Grocery Manufacturers Association: FDA Once Again Reaffirms Safety ... The FDA have come out and stated that a chemical found in baby bottles called bisphenol A is safe when used in plastic baby bottles and food cans. In April the U.S. Health Department's National Toxicology Program helped raise an alarm about BPA, stating in a preliminary report that the chemical could cause "neural and behavioral effects in fetuses, infants and children, at current human exposures." More... Aug-19-2008 -- Bay Area airports expect Labor Day downturn An airline industry group said Monday that only 16 million passengers are expected to board planes during the end-of-summer holiday period. NEW YORK'''Labor Day weekend is one of the busiest travel times every year, but this year, airlines are expected to carry fewer passengers than last year, according to a new report by an airline industry group. More... Aug-19-2008 -- First Marblehead: Miracles Do Happen The majority of the firm's stake will be in preferred convertible securities and the investment on average has a breakeven point of $15 dollars a share. The loss reflects a $60 million charge for higher discount rates used in valuing the company's fees and residuals from securitization of loans structured for clients. More... Aug-19-2008 -- Lowe's Profit Falls, but Beats Expectations Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a smaller profit of 56 cents a share on lower revenue of $14.1 billion. Analysts predict higher profit for Ross Stores (ROST), Gymboree (GYMB), Limited Brands (LTD), Children's Place (PLCE) and Aeropostale (ARO), but others are expected to report lower earnings. More... Aug-19-2008 -- Obama's Tax Plan Is Really a Welfare Plan Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) detailed his tax agenda on Thursday, amid criticisms from Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) that he plans to raise taxes at a time of economy difficulties. The campaign launched a new Web site today with details of the plan, comparisons with McCain'''s proposals, and rebuttals to what the site calls the '''baseless claims''' that the presumptive Democratic nominee would dramatically raise tax rates. More... Monday Aug-18-2008 -- Mitsubishi UFJ to Pay $3.5 Billion for UnionBanCal (Update2) UnionBanCal (nyse: UB - news - people ) late Wednesday rejected Mitsubishi UFJ's's $3 billion takeover bid, saying the $63 per share offer for the 35% stake that the Japanese lender does not already own "substantially undervalues" the bank and was not in the best interests of minority shareholders. SYDNEY, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Mining giant BHP Billiton, bidding for rival Rio Tinto in what would be the worlds second-biggest takeover, posted a 30 percent rise in half-year profit on Monday, boosted by Chinese demand. More... Aug-18-2008 -- Tropical storm Fay drives up oil Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Transocean Inc. have evacuated workers as Tropical Storm Fay, with maximum sustained winds of about 50 miles (80 kilometers) an hour, may strengthen to a hurricane before striking Florida's northwest coast today, the National Hurricane Center said. Fay raked Cuba's southern coast with gusty winds and heavy rains yesterday while tourists fled the Florida Keys as the storm threatened to reach hurricane strength by the time it hits the United States later today. More... Aug-18-2008 -- UPDATE 1-Qwest reaches tentative agreement with union Qwest said it was fully operational Sunday and that the the Communications Workers of America, which represents some 20,000 Qwest workers, had not called a strike. DSL may not have the download speed like Cable, but I'll take the balanced by-directional over Cable (not to mention reliablity and minimal bandwidth throttling that Comcast has been caught doing outright) any day. More... Aug-18-2008 -- China A-shares close sharply lower; South Locomotive up 58 pct ... Local-currency A shares in China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corp (601766.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz ), the country's largest train maker, opened at 3.86 yuan versus a Shanghai initial public offering price of 2.18 yuan. China South Locomotive (SHA 601766), the country's largest rail equipment maker, closed up 58.26 pct at 3.45 yuan, off an intraday high of 4.00. More... Aug-18-2008 -- Adecco Keeps `Options Open' on Michael Page Takeover (Update3) Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Adecco SA, the world's largest supplier of temporary workers, indicated it's considering a hostile offer for Michael Page International Plc after the British recruitment company rejected a 1.3 billion-pound ($2.4 billion) bid. Zurich-based Adecco has plans to meet with Michael Page shareholders to resurrect the rejected bid, the Sunday Telegraph on Sunday without citing where it got the information. More... Aug-18-2008 -- Mahindra & Mahindra Executive: Not Pursuing GM's Hummer Brand Buy Industry sources have said in recent weeks that the company that emerges with control over the civilian Hummer brand may also be interested in acquiring AM General, which is privately held, as a way to be a bigger player in overseas military vehicle sales. All times are ET. : Time reflects local markets trading time. - Intraday data delayed 15 minutes for Nasdaq, and 20 minutes for other exchanges. Disclaimer More... Aug-18-2008 -- Stocks set for rocky start NEW YORK -- Oil fell to its lowest price in three months yesterday, briefly touching the US$111 level after the U.S. dollar muscled higher and OPEC predicted the world's thirst for fuel next year will fall to its lowest point since 2002. India's inflation rose to another record at 12.44 percent for the week ended August 2, on the back of rising food and fuel prices. More... Aug-18-2008 -- I-405 project wraps up early In addition to the tunnel demolition work, crews used the total closure of southbound lanes to repair several sections of I-405 and complete preparation work to connect a new I-405 southbound bridge over I-90. For project information on the I-405, South Bellevue Widening Project please visit: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/i405/112thAvetoSE8th/. More... Aug-18-2008 -- Safety warnings were ignored before Deutsche Bank fire I felt gratitude mixed with guilt about the fact that I still had Jay's hands to hold. Thick, plastic sheets meant to contain asbestos on some floors also held in smoke. More... Aug-18-2008 -- Doosan Won't Participate in Daewoo Shipbuilding Bid (Update1) SEOUL, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Shares in Doosan Group units climbed on Monday on market talk that the South Korean heavy industry group would drop its bidding interest for Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (042660.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz ). Korea Development Bank and Korea Asset Management Corp. plan to conclude the sale by the end of the year. More... Aug-18-2008 -- OPEC official says output cuts may be needed As economic growth stagnated in the developed world and cash-strapped American consumers cut back on expensive gasoline purchases, that production increase turned into a glut and oil prices plunged by more than $30 a barrel. Brent crude oil futures prices in the first quarter of 2009 were forecast to average $115.50 a barrel, while the price estimate for West Texas Intermediate crude - which is particularly relevant in North America - was seen at $116 in the first quarter of next year. More... Sunday Aug-17-2008 -- Housing starts expected to head lower again The Federal Reserve has been worried about inflation, or the rise in prices across the economy, for months. U.S. inflation rose to a 17-year-high annual rate last month, according to the Department of Labor. More... Aug-17-2008 -- Where to Find a 'Checkpoint Friendly' Bag Savvy travelers can begin ignoring that commandment of air travel beginning Saturday, when the Transportation Security Administration begins recognizing the latest innovation in aviation security -- checkpoint-friendly computer bags. Along with taking off my shoes at security (ick!) my other airport check-in pet peeve is having to take my laptop out of its bag. More... Aug-17-2008 -- Will the T-Mobile Deal Help Make Google Android Real? Like the iPhone, the Dream has a full touch-screen and will be able to run a slew of applications written by third-party developers for the open-source Android operating system . The Treo, which has been the step-brother to the Blackberry for the past few years, is getting a hip upgrade with the latest model . More... Aug-17-2008 -- Risk-based loans limit Fannie, Freddie point shaving NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York on Wednesday said the cost of its housing-related loans may rise after concerns over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac raised its funding costs. In the annals of penny stock crime, here's one tactic I have not seen before: Steal the company. More... Aug-17-2008 -- Merrill, Goldman Pressured by Cuomo on Auction-Rate Debt With last week's settlements, Citi, Merrill and UBS agreed to buy back nearly $40 billion in bonds and pay hundreds of millions in fines. Wall Street's costs to end federal and state investigations of the auction-rate bond market's collapse may wind up exceeding the sanctions for abuses of mutual funds and analyst research in the past decade. More... Aug-17-2008 -- Two Large Solar Plants Planned in California Up until now, most of the utility-scale solar contracts have been for solar thermal power plants, which utilize fields of mirrors to focus the sun's rays to boil water and generate steam to power a turbine. The two would run transmission lines to a PG&E facility in Morro Bay. More... Aug-17-2008 -- Airlines Add Fees, Trim Frequent-Flier Benefits WASHINGTON (AP) - Airlines are reacting to the criticism of charging military personnel extra bag fees. On Sept. 15, Northwest Airlines will add a fuel surcharge of $25 to $100 to WorldPerks tickets issued in North America. More... Aug-17-2008 -- LA Times names Hartenstein new publisher The embattled newspaper Los Angeles Times has named Eddy Hartenstein, the former head of DirecTV, as its new publisher, a story first broken by DHD last month . The paper's Web site says Eddy Hartenstein — the former head of DirecTV — will assume the post on Monday. More... Aug-17-2008 -- The Export of Jobs Dorgan in a statement called the report "a shocking indictment of the current tax system." The Republican spin machine is at it again. More... Aug-17-2008 -- Cadence Ends $1.6B Hostile Bid for Mentor Graphics Cadence accused Mentor's management of refusing to enter talks, hindering Cadence's abilitly to secure financing for the deal. Shares of Cadence Design Systems (nasdaq: CDNS - news - people ) surged 6.7% during Friday's trading session, adding 48 cents to close at $7.64 a share while shares of Mentor Graphics Mentor Graphics (nasdaq: MENT - news - people ) tanked, losing $3.67, or 26.2% to close at $10.33. More... Aug-17-2008 -- Georgia: A Blow to US Energy The British oil major denied that either pipeline had been damaged in the fight between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia but said it had decided to stop pumping until the conflict died down. "The task of the Russian forces at present is to ensure control of South Ossetia. More... Aug-17-2008 -- Foreclosures in Coweta above US average "The sharp rise in REOs, combined with slow sales, has resulted in a bloated inventory of bank-owned properties for sale," said James Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac. Nationwide, more than 272,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice in July, up 55 percent from about 175,000 in the same month last year, and up 8 percent from June, RealtyTrac Inc. said. More... Aug-17-2008 -- Yahoo adds Kirkland's Chapple, ex-Nextel Partners CEO, to board Biondi is a senior managing director of investment adviser WaterView Advisors, former chairman and chief executive of Universal Studios, and former head of Viacom. SEATTLE (AP) — Yahoo Inc. says it will add the former chief executives of Viacom and Nextel Partners to its board of directors. More... Aug-17-2008 -- Back in Service: Netflix Fixes Shipping Error The retailer has yet to reveal the root of the problem. Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey said the company was able to send out some discs on Wednesday, but shipped none on Tuesday and hadn't shipped any Thursday morning either. More... Aug-17-2008 -- RPT-UPDATE 4-Wal-Mart profit up, cautious on 3rd-qtr forecast NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. raised its full-year earnings forecast Thursday after second-quarter profit rose more than expected, helped by tight inventory controls and a renewed focus on low prices that is attracting financially squeezed shoppers around the world. Net income at Kohl's, the fourth-largest U.S. department- store chain, decreased 12 percent to $236 million, or 77 cents a share, from $269.2 million, or 83 cents, a year earlier. More... Aug-17-2008 -- Teamsters Rally in Support of Anheuser-Busch Workers Members of Missouri Jobs with Justice, Service Employees International Union, Change to Win federation, the St. Louis Labor Council, the Building Trades of St. Louis and officials from InBev unions will also join in the demonstration, which organizers said will feature signs, banners and Teamster trucks. The change comes as Anheuser-Busch executes a $1 billion cost-cutting plan introduced shortly before the brewery's directors accepted a $52 billion takeover offer from Belgium's InBev. More... Aug-17-2008 -- Chemical Used in Plastic Bottles Is Safe, FDA Says Minuscule amounts of Bisphenol, which has been in use for many years for packaging food, trickle out of food containers, but it did not pose a threat to infants or adults, the FDA confirmed. Along with California, New Jersey and nearly a dozen other states also are considering bills to restrict use of bisphenol A. The European Union and the European Food Safety Authority, which both recently reviewed the research on bisphenol A, have deemed the chemical safe. More... Aug-17-2008 -- OPEC official says output cuts may be needed Former energy minister Piyasvasti Amaranand believes that oil prices can rise yet higher in the face of persisting high world demand and urges the government to spend taxes collected on developing public utilities or infrastructure rather than applying them to enable lower fuel prices. OPEC production outlook Downward price pressure also could be limited by supply risks in Iraq, Nigeria, and Iran and from hurricanes, and by OPEC possibly deciding to limit production and keep inventories tight, EIA said. More... Aug-17-2008 -- Cablevision Declares Quarterly Dividend NEW YORK, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Cablevision Systems Corp (CVC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz ) said on Friday its board of directors agreed to initiate a quarterly dividend of 10 cents a share on its Class A and Class B stock. Harbinger is not shy about voicing criticism of management of companies it invests in, and a source close to the firm said that it has strong views about the direction that the Dolans are taking with Cablevision. More... Saturday Aug-16-2008 -- New York Steps Up Probe On Auction-Rate Securities With last week's settlements, Citi, Merrill and UBS agreed to buy back nearly $40 billion in bonds and pay hundreds of millions in fines. Morgan Stanley is buying back $4.5 billion of the securities and paying a $35 million fine. More... Aug-16-2008 -- T-Mobile to Offer First Phone With Google Software Like the iPhone, the Dream has a full touch-screen and will be able to run a slew of applications written by third-party developers for the open-source Android operating system . How the Android platform will fare once on shelves is a completely different story, though the iPhone has proven that people can respond favorably to innovative phone platforms. More... Aug-16-2008 -- Back in Service: Netflix Fixes Shipping Error "This morning, we're happy to report that all of our shipping centers are resuming normal operations after experiencing three days of significant issues," Andy Rendich, head of operations for Netflix, wrote in a Friday blog post . Today's blog posting by the retailer suggested Netflix may not know the cause of the snafu. More... Aug-16-2008 -- Two Large Solar Plants Planned in California Up until now, most of the utility-scale solar contracts have been for solar thermal power plants, which utilize fields of mirrors to focus the sun's rays to boil water and generate steam to power a turbine. The news was welcomed by investors, who have sold off solar stocks in recent weeks due to an impending pullback in key government subsidies in Spain and falling oil prices that have tempered interest in renewable energy sources. More... Aug-16-2008 -- Penney, Abercrombie beat estimates but cautious Among divisions, Abercrombie & Fitch net sales increased 5% to $383.6 million, and comparable store sales rose 3%. abercrombie net sales were $94.8 million, flat compared to last year, while the segment's comparable store sales decreased 11%. J.C. Penney, which has 1,083 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, rose $3.11 to $39.94 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. More... Aug-16-2008 -- Bracing for Inflation The Federal Reserve has been worried about inflation, or the rise in prices across the economy, for months. "Now that the tidal surge in energy and other commodity costs is showing unmistakable signs of turning up in consumer prices at large, the Fed finds itself pushed further into the corner," Beauchemin said. More... Aug-16-2008 -- Cablevision Declares Quarterly Dividend Harbinger Capital Management, an activist hedge fund with a history of shaking up the management of companies in which it invests, has accumulated a 4.9% stake in Cablevision Systems Corp., according to regulatory filings. Two years ago, the company paid a special, one-time dividend of $10 per share to Class A and B shareholders for a total of about $3 billion. More... Aug-16-2008 -- Cadence Withdraws Proposal to Acquire Mentor Graphics SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Cadence Design Systems' (CDNS.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz ) pursuit of rival chip design software maker Mentor Graphics Corp (MENT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz ) could fall through on concerns over its ability to shoulder additional debt after it lowered its financial outlook last month. California-based Cadence Design Systems Inc. announced plans to buy Mentor in June after first approaching the Oregon company privately and being rebuffed. More... Aug-16-2008 -- Bigger bid possible for trash hauler Waste Management The stock is up 18 percent since the start of the year. Waste Management rose 17 cents to $34.78, while Allied climbed 31 cents to $13.32. More... Aug-16-2008 -- Obama Camp Puts Forward More Modest Tax Changes Only those making over $250,000 will see a tax increase under Obama's tax plan. Obama has pledged NO NEW TAXES except for the restoration of tax breaks to big oil and the top 1%. More... Aug-16-2008 -- Cookie Maker Mrs. Fields Files for Chapter 11 Mrs. Fields, which licenses and franchises about 1,200 Mrs. Fields Cookies and TCBY frozen yogurt locations worldwide, said in a filing in June with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it wanted certain agreements from debtholders or it would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors by Friday, August 15. Hi Topnypi: well thats one reason I guess why Mrs. Fields is going bankrupt! I would have been totally frustrated with them like you were. More... Aug-16-2008 -- Stocks close mixed on credit concerns, oil Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- MBIA Inc. and Ambac Financial Group Inc., the bond insurers that had lost at least 80 percent of their market value in the past year, rose in New York trading after Standard & Poor's affirmed the companies' credit ratings and called steps to shore up their businesses positive. In premarket trading, Ambac shares rose 25 percent and MBIA shares rose 9.5 percent. More... Aug-16-2008 -- CME, NYMEX expect deal to close in a week NEW YORK (Reuters) - CME Group (CME.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz ), operator of the world's largest derivatives exchange, said on Friday that it expected its $8.4 billion acquisition of NYMEX Holdings Inc (NMX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz ) to close on August 22, if shareholders and members vote for the deal at meetings scheduled for August 18. Pushing back the meeting, which is scheduled for Monday, would give the CME time to rework the tax treatment of a special $750,000 payout it has agreed to give each Nymex member as part of the deal. More... Aug-16-2008 -- National Poll: Americans Say T. Boone Pickens' Energy Independence ... Constructing wind farms from the Texas Panhandle to North Dakota could produce as much as one-fifth of the electricity for the United States at a cost of $1 trillion, according to the Pickens Plan. Pickens' plan calls for investing in power generation from domestic renewable sources, like wind, and using the nation's abundant supplies of natural gas for transportation, replacing more than one-third of imported oil at a savings of $230 billion a year. More... Aug-16-2008 -- John Fees Named Chief Executive Officer of McDermott McDermott announced a key acquisition of a Tennessee nuclear company, and also reported second-quarter results that got a chilly reception on Wall Street. Wolfe Research analyst Ed Wolfe, based in New York, said in a report to investors that Bruffett's move strengthens the management team at San Mateo, Calif. -based Con-way. More... Aug-16-2008 -- Yahoo adds Kirkland's Chapple, ex-Nextel Partners CEO, to board Biondi is a senior managing director of investment adviser WaterView Advisors, former chairman and chief executive of Universal Studios, and former head of Viacom. Some analysts also believe that the new directors may be more receptive to a new bid from Microsoft for all or part of Yahoo. More... Friday Aug-15-2008 -- Air travel BA-AA alliance attracts flak from Branson The plan, which must first be approved by U.S. and European regulatory authorities, would affect flights to and from the U.S., Mexico, the European Union, Canada, Norway and Switzerland. BA and American'''s two previous applications for antitrust immunity in 1997 and 2001 failed when the airlines refused to sell off lucrative slots at London'''s Heathrow Airport as regulators requested. More... Aug-15-2008 -- Inflation Hits Annual Pace Not Seen Since 1991 Inflation reached a 17-year high last month, fueled by high gasoline and food prices, all but assuring that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates on hold for the time being. Central bankers use core CPI to see whether price increases are becoming entrenched in the broader economy; Fed officials are said to prefer a ceiling of 2 percent annual increases. More... Aug-15-2008 -- Adecco still keen on Michael Page despite rejection Michael Page said Adecco later revised the proposal with a suggested deal where Michael Page would issue shares so that Adecco would own more than 50.1% of the firm. The company said it will also ask the Takeover Panel to set a deadline for Adecco to make a formal offer. More... Aug-15-2008 -- Former Apple counsel Nancy Heinen to settle SEC stock-option suit Nancy Heinen, the former general counsel at Apple Inc., will pay $2.2 million to settle charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission that she backdated stock options. Jobs later surrendered the 7.5 million options awarded to him, in exchange for millions of shares of company stock. More... Aug-15-2008 -- Citigroup, UBS Settle With `Gossip Girl' Investors With last week's settlements, Citi, Merrill and UBS agreed to buy back nearly $40 billion in bonds and pay hundreds of millions in fines. Gen. Andrew Cuomo and regulators, the two big banks will repurchase a combined $7 billion worth of the troubled securities. More... Aug-15-2008 -- Ginnie Mae's New Role Spurs Concerns NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York on Wednesday said the cost of its housing-related loans may rise after concerns over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac raised its funding costs. Limits for Federal Housing Administration loans, the main Ginnie Mae collateral, also rose permanently, to the lesser of 115 percent of an area's median home price or 150 percent of the current base limit of $417,000. More... Aug-15-2008 -- Will New Directors Help or Hurt Yahoo? SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz ) said on Thursday it had appointed former Viacom Inc (VIAb.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz ) CEO Frank Biondi and former Nextel Partners CEO John Chapple to its board as part of a settlement with investor Carl Icahn. As part of the deal Yahoo brokered with Icahn, the firm agreed to expand its board to include Icahn and two new directors from a list of nine people Icahn recommended. More... Aug-15-2008 -- Obama Details Raising Taxes on Gains, Dividends The Obama Tax Plan Jason Furman and Austan Goolsbee, economic policy guys for Barack Obama, have an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal defending their man against accusations of being an economy-wrecking tax-hiker. If you make between $38,000 and $66,000, under Obama'''s plan your taxes decrease by $1,042; with McCain, the decrease is $319. More... Aug-15-2008 -- Two Large Solar Plants Planned in California Together, the two plants PG&E announced Thursday would produce enough power for nearly 239,000 homes. The solar industry has lobbied for a one-year extension if Congress isn't able to extend the existing, multi-year tax credit (see Senate Rejects Renewable Tax Credits Bill and No Tax Credit, No Solar Power ). More... Aug-15-2008 -- Oil Falls on Rising Economic Worries In earlier trading, oil fluctuated as traders monitored the conflict between Russia and Georgia that some believe could disrupt supplies. U.S. crude fell to a session low of $112.48 a barrel, the lowest since early May, and was trading $1.32 lower at $113.13 by 1132 GMT. London Brent crude was $1.29 lower at $111.38. More... Aug-15-2008 -- Wal-Mart keeps reaping benefits in tight economy NEW YORK (AFP) — U.S. retail titan Wal-Mart Stores reported a 16 percent jump in quarterly profits to 3.449 billion dollars Thursday as it continued to weather a stiff front of economic winds buffeting consumers. Excluding a gain from a discontinued operation, Wal-Mart (WMT) said it would have earned 86 cents a share. More... Aug-15-2008 -- US Home Sales Fall to 10-Year Low as Prices Tumble (Update3) Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Existing U.S. home sales fell to a 10- year low in the second quarter and the median price for a single- family house dropped 7.6 percent as the real estate recession deepened. The median price of houses sold in the San Jose metro area in the second quarter fell nearly 13 percent compared to a year earlier. More... Aug-15-2008 -- European Stocks Advance, US Index Futures Rise; H&M Gains The euro fell the most in almost eight years, pushing the currency to a six-month low against the U.S. dollar, as traders pared bets the European Central Bank will raise interest rates as the economy slows. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note declined 9 basis points, or 0.09 percentage point, yesterday to 3.91 percent in New York, according to BGCantor Market Data. More... Aug-15-2008 -- BP to appeal CEO Robert Dudley's suspension BP and its Russian co-owners in TNK-BP plan to meet next month in an effort to resolve their feud over the group's management and to consider a partial flotation. "Robert Dudley has BPs full support. More... Aug-15-2008 -- Report: NH foreclosures skyrocket 80% in July Across the country, more than 272,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice in July, up 55 percent from about 175,000 in the same month last year and up 8 percent from June, according to a report from Irvine, Calif. -based RealtyTrac Inc., which monitors default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions. Notices of trustee sale, usually recorded 105 days after the default notice goes out to the property owner, jumped 9.8 percent in July, to 39,010 filings. More... Aug-15-2008 -- Volvo to Restructure US Operations The decision was made to relocate the company's headquarters as a part of a restructuring plan. The promise of added jobs was welcome news to Hagerstown economic development officials. More... Aug-15-2008 -- Toyota to Combine Pickup Output in Texas 6 Months Ahead of Plan TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz ) sees an opportunity to increase sales through vehicle leasing as U.S. automakers pull back, Toyota U.S. sales chief said on Wednesday. Chrysler LLC is already exporting a significant number of vehicles from a car plant in Illinois, and GM is making plans to export from several U.S. plants. More... Aug-15-2008 -- Gannett to Eliminate 1000 Newspaper Jobs The latest cuts won't affect the Advertiser since the newspaper just finished a round of layoffs that eliminated 54 jobs or about 9 percent of its work force. According to Desert Sun president and publisher Rich Ramhoff, the paper is expected to layoff three employees. More... Aug-15-2008 -- Amerigroup Settles Federal and State Medicaid Fraud Claims for ... Insurer Amerigroup Corp. finalized an agreement under which the company will pay $234 million to settle claims that it avoided enrolling pregnant women and sick people in Medicaid programs, the U.S. Justice Department and the attorney general of Illinois said Thursday. The health insurer was accused of excluding pregnant women and unhealthy patients in Illinois's Medicaid plan for the poor, which the state and federal government paid the company to operate. More... Thursday Aug-14-2008 -- European Economy Shrinks 0.2% as Spending, Investment Falter Economic growth will be "particularly weak'' through the third quarter, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said last week, prompting investors to increase bets that the bank will start cutting interest rates next year. The stronger euro and slower global growth have damped demand for German exports just as faster inflation erodes domestic spending power. More... Aug-14-2008 -- US Foreclosures Increase 55%, Bank Seizures Rise to Record Foreclosure filings -- default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions -- rose 8 percent from June and 55 percent from July 2007 to 272,171, according to RealtyTrac, which records property in various stages of foreclosure. Nationwide, more than 272,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice in July, up 55 percent from about 175,000 in the same month last year and up 8 percent from June, RealtyTrac Inc. said. More... Aug-14-2008 -- Ford Ushers in Global Small Car Era with Production Launch of New ... TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz ) said on Wednesday it expects small car sales to increase sharply and a double-digit increase in their profits as it cuts complexity in customer offerings and in production. The company, which along with GM, Chrysler and Toyota suffered mightily from shrinking sales volume due to ballooning gasoline prices, has announced plans to shore up global sales and trim waste by moving from separate small-car vehicle platforms for different markets--North America, Europe and Asia--to just two. More... Aug-14-2008 -- InBev profit edges up on Brazil growth, lower taxes Chief financial officer Felipe Dutra said the company was on track to complete a $45 billion financing pact by next week, despite the deteriorating credit market, and was still looking at what it could sell to pay for the purchase. Stella Artois brewer InBev has reported a further drop in UK sales volumes, but said it had increased market share as the wider industry suffered sharper falls. More... Aug-14-2008 -- BMW recalls 200000 vehicles for airbag fix The German automaker said the recall involves the 2006 3 Series, the 2004-2006 5 Series, and the 2004-2006 X3 compact sport utility vehicles in the United States. One of the most important safety features to become standard on cars recently, passenger airbag sensors help protect children by preventing the supplemental restraint from deploying unless the person sitting up front is above a certain weight. More... Aug-14-2008 -- Genentech Rejects Takeover Bid From Roche NEW YORK (AP) - Shares of biotech giant Genentech are trading near a 3-year high after the company turned down a $43.7 billion buyout offer from its majority owner Roche. Genentech rose 52 cents to $98.37 at 4:06 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. More... Aug-14-2008 -- Chrysler in talks with automakers in Russia, India Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Chrysler LLC, the third-largest U.S. automaker, will invest $1.8 billion in new-vehicle programs and expand a Detroit factory that makes sport-utility vehicles. Speaking to WWJ's Jeff Gilbert at the Management Briefing Seminars conference in Traverse City Wednesday morning, Chrysler President Tom Lasorda confirmed the automaker will put in a new body shop and retool the factory for a new product to go along with an all-new Grand Cherokee. More... Aug-14-2008 -- Most Asian Stocks Gain, Led by BHP, Nippon Yusen; Banks Decline Urban fell 1.6 percent to close at 62 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, before the company released the statement. Nipppon Yusen KK climbed 1.7 percent to 875 yen, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha rose 3.5 percent to 760 and Mitsui OSK Lines advanced 3.4 percent at 1,277 yen. More... Aug-14-2008 -- Crude Oil Rises a Second Day on Lower US Gasoline Supplies At the pump, a gallon of regular gasoline shed on average another penny overnight to $3.787, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures rose 1.36 cents to $3.1453 a gallon while gasoline prices gained 1.97 cents to $2.952 a gallon. More... Aug-14-2008 -- Conflict Narrows Oil Options for West Inaugurated in 2006, the BTC pipeline carries oil from Azerbaijan on the shores of the Caspian to Western markets via the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. McClatchy Newspapers August 12, 2008 WASHINGTON - Oil traders on Monday shrugged off Russia's widening invasion of neighboring Georgia, but if the conflict spreads further it could threaten nearly 1 million barrels a day of needed global crude supplies from the Caspian Sea, most of it bound for Europe. More... Aug-14-2008 -- Over 33000 buyers signed up for GM electric car DETROIT (Reuters) - In a bid to show the demand for the upcoming all-electric Chevrolet Volt, a proponent of the car has released details of an unofficial waiting list for the vehicle with over 33,000 prospective buyers. The Chevrolet Volt won't roll off an assembly line for another two years, but 34,520 people in 60 countries and all 50 states would buy one tomorrow if they could. More... Aug-14-2008 -- AMR buys new 737s as it grounds costlier jets Among the XAL's components, AMR Corp. (nyse: AMR - news - people ) slid 12% to $10.73. More than ever, the IATA Executive Financial Summit is relevant to the airline industry. More... Aug-14-2008 -- Retail Sales Feed a Mood of Decline The Commerce Department reported that retail sales dipped 0.1 percent last month when a variety of economic troubles combined to diminish the impact of billions of dollars in government stimulus payments to U.S. households. Sales of motor vehicles and parts fell a negative 2.4 percent, after posting a contraction of 2.1 percent in June, marking the sharpest dip since April. More... Aug-14-2008 -- Skechers again offers to buy Heelys Skechers released the letter in a press release on the acquisition offer. After Wednesday's close, Skechers said it would pay nearly $143 million, or $5.25 a share in cash, for each share of Heelys. More... Aug-14-2008 -- Deere stumbles on a poorer US housing market Deere & Co., the world's largest of maker of farm machinery, reported third-quarter earnings that missed Wall Street expectations and said escalating raw material costs will erode its profits later this year, pushing shares down more than 3 percent on Wednesday. Deere's Susan Karlix says that's because farmers are buying new equipment with profits from rising commodity prices. More... Aug-14-2008 -- Apple building damaged by fire, but no one is hurt A three-alarm fire burned for more than three hours late Tuesday night at Apple's Cupertino headquarters before firefighters were able to fully extinguish the blaze. The fire, which reportedly burned for approximately three hours, was mostly under control a little after midnight, Pacific Time. More... Aug-14-2008 -- Greenspan sees house price bottom in 2009: report NEW YORK/BANGALORE (Reuters) - Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan predicts U.S. house prices will begin to stabilize in the first half of next year, even as he faulted the government's rescue of mortgage market giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Living beyong the means is the recipe for financial disasters. More... Aug-14-2008 -- EBay Steps Up Asian Expansion Shares of Gmarket Inc. ( GMKT ) closed up 14% at $25.36 on news that eBay Inc. ( EBAY ) aims to buy a minority stake in the Korean online retailer and auction site. eBay said the company was in discussions with South Korean Web-based retailer Interpark Corp. and its chairman, Ki Hyung Lee to buy their stakes in Gmarket. Interpark, the largest shareholder in Gmarket, directly held a 29.3 percent stake of that company and Lee directly held 7.3 percent as of December 2007, according to Gmarket's most recent annual report filed in June. More... Aug-14-2008 -- Ten Exchanges Agree to Stronger Oversight The surveillance, investigation and enforcement of insider trading at ten U.S. equities exchanges is being consolidated under NYSE Regulation and the Financial Regulatory Authority (Finra), the self-regulatory organizations (SROs) announced today. Putting the stock exchanges in charge of flagging insider trading might be little more than putting a lame dog in charge of the hen house as the foxes circle. More... Wednesday Aug-13-2008 -- Japan's second-quarter GDP contracts 2.4% on year Japan's seasonally adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) in the April-June period of this year shrank at an annualized rate of 2.4 percent from the previous quarter, the Cabinet Office said Wednesday. "But we can probably avoid a full-fledged recession, as in several straight quarters of GDP contraction. More... Aug-13-2008 -- CVS to Buy Longs Drug for $2.7 Billion, Gaining in Western US Longs Drug Stores Corp., a venerable East Bay company based in Walnut Creek observing its 70th anniversary this year, has been acquired by the nationwide drug store giant CVS Caremark Corp. of Woonsocket, R.I., for $71.50 per share in cash, or a total of $2.9 billion, including the assumption of net debt. The transaction, which includes about $200 million in debt, makes CVS the largest drugstore chain in California, CEO Ryan said during a conference call yesterday. More... Aug-13-2008 -- Corporate-Tax Reporting Draws GAO Scrutiny Dorgan in a statement called the report "a shocking indictment of the current tax system." Anthony Sabino, who practices corporate law in Mineola, said the report was not surprising given the complex tax code. More... Aug-13-2008 -- London shares open lower; US closes down on JPMorgan losses; banks ... TOKYO (Thomson Financial) - Japanese shares are expected to open lower on Wednesday in the wake of losses on Wall Street as downbeat news from JPMorgan Chase & Co and other financial companies raised more concerns about the credit crisis. NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday, as bank shares tumbled on fresh worries about the economy and further losses stemming from the mortgage crisis. More... Aug-13-2008 -- CSL to Buy Talecris for $3.1 Billion, Adding Immune Treatments Private equity firm Cerberus and investment company Ampersand bought Talecris in 2005 for US$303.5 million after spinning it out of Bayer. "CSL is confident that there is significant scope to increase output and improve the efficiency, profitability and cash flows of Talecris by optimising plasma supply, production flows and removing duplication between the businesses," Dr McNamee said. More... Aug-13-2008 -- Russia's Strike Shows The Power Of the Pipeline Inaugurated in 2006, the BTC pipeline carries oil from Azerbaijan on the shores of the Caspian to Western markets via the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. "The outage on the BTC pipeline and recent hostilities in the Caucasus highlight the potentially precarious nature of pipeline energy supplies in the region," it said. More... Aug-13-2008 -- Recall Leads Whole Foods to a Change Whole Foods has begun an internal investigation after receiving "assurances from Coleman Natural Beef that no product delivered to Whole Foods Market was linked to the (previous) recall" of Nebraska Beef products, company spokeswoman Libba Letton said. Less than a month later, the same processor has recalled 1.2 million pounds of other beef products that might have sickened more than 30 people. More... Aug-13-2008 -- Corn harvest predicted to be second-largest ever CHICAGO (Reuters) - The worst may be over for U.S. corn, the price of which has tumbled 36 percent from a record high six weeks ago, with some analysts expecting a bounce later this year as ethanol production continues to climb. The new 2008 estimate of 155 bushels is up 3.9 bushels an acre from last year. More... Aug-13-2008 -- Russia's Novolipetsk to buy US steel pipe maker for $3.5 billion ... Russia's fourth largest steelmaker OAO Novolipetsk Steel has agreed to buy John Maneely Co from the Carlyle Group and the Zekelman family for USD 3.53 billion, adding steel pipe and tube manufacturing capacity in the U.S. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter. The deal is notable as it comes in a tough market for buyout firms to exit investments made during the private equity boom, which ended a year ago. More... Aug-13-2008 -- Nvidia Swings To a Net Loss On Chip Woes "Our focus now is to drive cost improvements and to further enhance our competitiveness through the many exciting initiatives we have planned for the rest of the year," Huang said in a statement. On average, analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect Applied Materials to post a profit of 14 cents per share on revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter. More... Aug-13-2008 -- Stocks Under 'Short' Order Fell During Protection Period The Securities and Exchange Commission is working furiously to unveil a proposal next month that would permanently tighten existing rules for short selling, according to people in talks with the agency. Cox has said the agency will soon propose a similar rule to restrict naked short selling across the entire market. More... Aug-13-2008 -- Boeing: More Heat Over Tankers The report cited unnamed sources familiar with Boeing's internal strategy. Some Boeing supporters say the new round is unfairly tilted to Northrops larger plane, and there has been speculation that Boeing might not bid again. More... Aug-13-2008 -- Trade On Fast Track For all those Americans deploring the alarming state of their country's import-export trade deficit, June brought some good news. The U.S. federal government will also release the July budget statement, which is expected to show a deficit of $90.0 billion up from June's deficit of $36.4 billion. More... Aug-13-2008 -- US Steel Reaches Tentative Four-Year The company also announced it has reached a tentative agreement with the United Steelworkers on a new four-year labor contract that will cover about 16,000 union-represented employees at U.S. Steel's domestic flat-rolled and iron ore mining facilities as well as tubular operations in Lorain, Ohio, and Fairfield, Ala. That contract also will replace one set to expire Sept. 1. Under the tentative contract, U.S. Steel (NYSE:X) also would be required to make capital investments in plants to keep mills "state of the art" and competitive, according to the USW statement. More... Aug-13-2008 -- Unabomber Objects to Newseum's Exhibit SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski wrote a letter to a federal appeals court complaining about a museum exhibit of the tiny cabin where he plotted an 18-year bombing spree. The cabin, 10 feet by 12 feet, is among about 200 items in the "G-Men and Journalists: Top News Stories of the FBI's First Century" exhibit. More... Aug-13-2008 -- FDA approves Gilead's Viread for hepatitis treatment Gilead Sciences Inc. announced The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved the use of Viread for treating chronic hepatitis B. According to Gilead, the drug, that is to be taken once a day, blocks the enzyme called HBV DNA polymerase, which is needed by the virus in order to replicate. The appeals court disagreed, noting that Gilead's price fell 12 percent the day after the company announced lower-than-expected quarterly sales - allegedly caused by the FDA's letter three months earlier. More... Aug-13-2008 -- Goldman to pay $1.5 billion for ABN assets: report A spokesman for Royal Bank of Scotland (nyse: RBS - news - people ) told Forbes.com that the three banks had agreed to sell "a portion" of private equity investments in British, Nordic and Dutch companies taken on as part of last year's purchase of ABN Amro, to a consortium of investors led by Goldman Sachs (nyse: GS - news - people ). It's buyers beware as private equity and real estate investment funds, fueled by growing commitments from their investors, are competing to buy the real estate debt now choking banks' books. More... Tuesday Aug-12-2008 -- UK Inflation Reaches 4.4%, More Than Double Target (Update2) Howard Archer at Global Insight, claimed the figures show "some very modest relief" on the inflation front. The rise in factory-gate prices during July was only slightly less than the 0.5% forecast by the City. More... Aug-12-2008 -- Recall Leads Whole Foods to a Change Whole Foods said Monday that it is inspecting all shipments of meat and tightening its guidelines for suppliers after last week's recall of two months' worth of ground beef that was potentially contaminated with E. coli bacteria. Listed below are some helpful links that can provide more information regarding the latest recall and questions concerning meat and safety. More... Aug-12-2008 -- Cuomo's Office Sent Letters to Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Wachovia If you didn't know better, you might reasonably conclude that the top financial regulator in the United States is Andrew Cuomo. For purposes of the settlement, retail customers are defined to include individual investors, all businesses with account values of up to $10 million, and all charities regardless of account values. More... Aug-12-2008 -- ANALYSIS-'Fire in neighbour's house' has Turkey on edge The Baku -Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, opened in 2006, transports 1 million barrels of oil each day from Baku, Azerbaijan, on the west coast of the Caspian Sea through Georgia's capital of Tbilisi to Ceyhan, Turkey, on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. "The Russian bear is trying to choke the vital east-west energy arteries in the Caucasus, specifically the BTC oil pipeline and the gas pipeline," said Ariel Cohen of the Heritage Foundation. More... Aug-12-2008 -- JDA Software Group to Acquire i2 Technologies SCOTSDALE, Ariz. and DALLAS--In another example of consolidation that has impacted the supply chain software sector in recent years, JDA Software Group Inc ., a provider of demand chain technology services, announced today that it plans to acquire i2 Technologies , a supply chain management software and services company, for approximately $346 million. The larger JDA, which also creates and markets software for managing inventory and suppliers, will ante up $346 million in cash for the purchase. More... Aug-12-2008 -- UBS to Split Investment Bank From Wealth Management After Loss ZURICH (AFP) — Swiss banking giant UBS said Tuesday it had posted a second-quarter net loss of 358 million Swiss francs (221 million euros, 329 million dollars) and announced a further writedown of 5.1 billion dollars on subprime-related positions. UBS is facing a major U.S. government investigation into allegations that it helped wealthy clients evade U.S. taxes. More... Aug-12-2008 -- Wachovia Details Job Cuts, Securities Probe NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wachovia Corp increased its previously reported second-quarter loss to $9.11 billion to cover costs to settle a probe of auction-rate securities sales, and said it will cut more jobs as the housing market deteriorates. Wachovia wasn't alone in controversy on Monday. More... Aug-12-2008 -- Bloomberg Backs Plan for Auctions at Airports The U.S. Air Transport Assn. followed through on its threat and yesterday filed a lawsuit against FAA over its announced Sept. 3 auction of two slots, or one roundtrip, at Newark. Sale of some slots would encourage competition by allowing new entrants to gain a foothold in limited markets, Peters's agency has said. More... Aug-12-2008 -- EnergySolutions Announces Second Quarter 2008 Results Colgan Air, Inc. operates as Continental Connection, United Express and U.S. Airways Express and operates a fleet of 15 Q400, 40 Saab 340 and five Beech 1900 turboprop regional aircraft. Reduced production volumes due to unplanned maintenance outages at our Perry, Florida wood cellulose mill and lower Nonwovens sales were the primary drivers behind a year-over-year reduction in Operating Income of $7.1 million. More... Aug-12-2008 -- United Air Pilots Call for CEO Tilton's Resignation (Update2) The acrimonious relationship between United and its pilots escalated when the group called for CEO Glenn Tilton's resignation and launched www.glenntilton.com to list company problems. Though, United spokeswoman Jean Medina called the Web site "an obvious and predictable" attempt to deflect attention from the carrier's lawsuit, as well as an effort to intimidate the airline into reopening a labor contract with pilots that expires in December 2009. More... Aug-12-2008 -- HP to Acquire Colubris Networks to Expand HP ProCurve's Wireless ... Hewlett-Packard Co. said Monday it agreed to acquire Colubris Networks Inc., a provider of intelligent wireless networks for enterprises and service providers. Next on the acquisition list could be Meru Networks . More... Aug-12-2008 -- Amazon climbs as analyst raises Kindle forecast Amazon.com (AMZN) shares are sharply higher today, aided by a bullish note this morning from Citigroup's Mark Mahaney focused on the company's Kindle e-book reader. Amazon shares rose almost 10 percent after the Citigroup announcement, closing at $88.09. More... Aug-12-2008 -- Oil Keeps Market in the Green NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks soared to round out their best week in more than three months, as oil plunged below $US115 a barrel, easing inflation concerns and improving prospects for business and consumer spending. The Dow jumped over 300 points as traders brushed aside news of another big loss at Fannie Mae. More... Aug-12-2008 -- SingTel Posts Slight Decline in Net Optus has reported flat earnings for the first quarter as Australia's second biggest telco booked charges for the depreciation of its networks and new offices and as service and promotion costs rose. The group's mobile customer base is in eight Asia Pacific markets, Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. More... Monday Aug-11-2008 -- Fred Meyer joins ground-beef recall Whole Foods has begun an internal investigation after receiving "assurances from Coleman Natural Beef that no product delivered to Whole Foods Market was linked to the (previous) recall" of Nebraska Beef products, company spokeswoman Libba Letton said. Nebraska Beef issued a second beef recall yesterday, raising the amount of meat affected altogether to nearly three (m) million kilograms. More... Aug-11-2008 -- Waste Management Presses for Rival The offer would represent a 33 percent premium to Republic's share price prior to Waste's first bid. The per-share offer for the number three player in American waste business will be raised to $37 a share from $34 a share, the newspaper reported. More... Aug-11-2008 -- Verizon and 2 Unions Reach Accord, Averting Strike From wire reports August 9, 2008 NEW YORK - Verizon Communications Inc.' s unions set a Sunday night deadline yesterday on labor negotiations, threatening to put almost a third of the work force on strike if the phone company fails to agree on contract terms. The company will also make 900 temporary workers in the landline unit regular full-time employees. More... Aug-11-2008 -- Crude Oil Rises on Excessive Drop, Supply Threat in Caspian Sea The oil pipeline blow-out was work of sabotage by separatist, violent, nationalistic group in Turkey that has claimed responsinility. The pipeline linking Azerbaijan with the Mediterranean was pumping about 800,000 barrels of oil a day before the fire. More... Aug-11-2008 -- Paulson Says He Doesn't Plan to Add Cash to Fannie, Freddie Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said there are no plans to inject capital into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after the two mortgage companies posted combined losses of $3.12 billion last week. Bill Gross, manager of the world's biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co., last week said the Treasury will probably be forced to buy as much as $30 billion of preferred shares in the two. More... Aug-11-2008 -- TNT Rises After Telegraph Reports UPS Made Informal Approach The U.S. package delivery giant and TNT have held early-stage talks in recent days, even though TNT was initially reluctant, The Sunday Telegraph of London reported over the weekend, citing anonymous sources. TNT soared 26 percent on July 14 following a Financial Times report that FedEx Corp., the second-largest U.S. package-shipping company, was in preliminary talks with TNT. The stock tumbled 16 percent on July 24 after the Wall Street Journal said Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx won't make an offer. More... Aug-11-2008 -- Japan 10-Year Yields Fall to 3 1/2-Month Low Before GDP Report TOKYO, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.6 percent on Friday, with banks such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz ) suffering sharp declines due to the bleak outlook for the domestic economy. Mitsui O.S.K., Japan's second- biggest bulk shipper, plunged 5.6 percent to 1,204 yen. More... Aug-11-2008 -- Alaska Airlines cancels 41 flight over volcanic ash Alaska Airlines canceled the flights after the National Weather Service issued a warning Sunday for an area in Southeast Alaska near the panhandle, spokeswoman Caroline Boren told the Anchorage Daily News. The cancellations began Sunday evening and affected flights between Alaska and Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, British Colombia, the airline said in a statement. More... Aug-11-2008 -- Euro slides below $1.50 NEW YORK, Aug 7 (Reuters) - The dollar retreated against the yen on Thursday, as investors took profits from its recent gains and U.S. jobless claims rose in the latest week, suggesting the economy's labor market woes are far from over. "Expect today's price action to be dominated mainly by a re-assessment of yesterday's strong market movements.'' More... Aug-11-2008 -- Arizonans pay less state, local taxes New Jersey taxpayers are stuck with the heaviest burden in state and local taxes, while Alaska taxpayers pay the least, according to a new study . Maine'''s new, lower ranking should be a boost to the state'''s psyche. More... Aug-11-2008 -- US Retail Gasoline Falls to $3.85 a Gallon, Lundberg Says The national average price for self-serve regular unleaded gasoline was $3.8472 a gallon on August 8, a decline of almost 15 cents in the past two weeks, according to a survey of about 5,000 gas stations. Motorists bought an average 9.651 million barrels of gasoline a day in the week ended Aug. 1, down from 9.993 million a year earlier. More... Aug-11-2008 -- FDIC Fund Strained by Bank Failures May Have to Raise Premiums Customers should feel secure in the knowledge that deposits in Isabella Bank are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).'' Your money is safe if your account at the bank -- checking, savings, money-market deposit, certificate of deposit, and the like -- is $100,000 or less. More... Aug-11-2008 -- Singapore Exports to Decline as Asia Braces for Deeper Slowdown Growth concerns were pushed to the fore by last week's remarks from the European Central Bank acknowledging that euro zone economies were slowing more than expected, and by suggestions the Australian authorities could be cutting rates. Growth was 7.7 percent last year. More... Aug-11-2008 -- Auction-Rate Costs May Rival Spitzer, Mutual Fund Settlements Aug. 8 (Bloomberg) -- UBS AG, Switzerland's biggest bank, agreed to pay $150 million in fines and begin buying back $18.6 billion in failed auction-rate securities, the largest settlement in a U.S. probe into whether banks stuck clients with hard-to-sell bonds. Zurich, Switzerland-based UBS may repurchase auction-rate securities valued at $25 billion by regulators, according to a person briefed on the negotiations. More... Aug-11-2008 -- Iowa Leaders Applaud EPA Ruling On RFS NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday it will not curtail a rule requiring that ethanol be added to gasoline, turning back a claim that the additive was artificially raising food prices. Our industry has suffered a record of nearly $1.5 billion in cattle feeding losses between January and June of 2008, which we believe constitutes the severe economic impact necessary to prompt a waiver from the RFS mandate. More... Sunday Aug-10-2008 -- Whole Foods Recalls Beef Processed At Plant Long at Odds With USDA The Department of Public Health said preliminary findings indicate that despite a July 3 national recall of ground beef produced by Nebraska Beef Ltd. due to possible E. coli contamination, the products may have entered Whole Foods' retail supply in June and July. Whole Foods Recalls Previously Recalled Meat. More... Aug-10-2008 -- Mortgage Woes; Computer Comeback The Washington-based company's second-quarter report comes after sister company Freddie Mac posted worse-than-expected results on Wednesday and its top executive warned the house price declines are only halfway over. Fannie was created as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal in the 1930s, a time when the U.S. economy was struggling to emerge from the stock market crash, industrial production had tumbled 50 percent and the unemployment rate rose as high as 30 percent. More... Aug-10-2008 -- UBS counts the cost of subprime after 'annus horribilis' Aug. 8 (Bloomberg) -- UBS AG, Switzerland's biggest bank, agreed to pay $150 million in fines and begin buying back $18.6 billion in failed auction-rate securities, the largest settlement in a U.S. probe into whether banks stuck clients with hard-to-sell bonds. When the financial markets turned volatile, securities regulators say the auction rate securities market lost Wall Street's support--disproving UBS's claim that the securities function as cash and can be sold at any time. More... Aug-10-2008 -- European Bonds Post Third Weekly Gain on Outlook for ECB Rates FRANKFURT, Aug 7 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged on Thursday and President Jean-Claude Trichet said risks to economic growth were starting to materialise, causing markets to rule out more rate rises this year. The Dollar Index on the ICE futures exchange, which tracks the dollar against the currencies of six U.S. trading partners, reached 74.604, the highest since Feb. 27. More... Aug-10-2008 -- Wal-Mart's Sales Slowdown May End of Best-of-Dow Run (Update2) NEW YORK (Associated Press) - A William Blair & Co. analyst downgraded shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, based on expectations for slower sales and profit growth in the second half of the year. Wal-Mart generates 24 percent of sales overseas, leaving it reliant on the U.S. while it slows construction of supercenters that sell groceries and general merchandise. More... Aug-10-2008 -- Tips to get the most FDIC coverage for your assets Customers should feel secure in the knowledge that deposits in Isabella Bank are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).'' "Isabella Bank's gross loans have also been growing, up $116.9 million over last year at the same time period," according to Mr. Barz.'' More... Aug-10-2008 -- Slow economy taking ad dollars from Web The Washington Post The Washington Post is reporting that Yahoo will allow users to shut off targeted advertising on its Web sites, a decision that comes in direct response to a congressional committee's concerns about consumer privacy. Charter later put the program on hold because of the privacy concerns. More... Aug-10-2008 -- On Religion Theology Finds Its Way Into a Debate Over Unions The union accuses the nuns of tactics including holding mandatory meetings advising workers against unionizing, barring union officials from distributing leaflets and intimidating labor organizers with photographers and security guards, the Los Angeles Times reports . Market wages are what the market will bear. More... Aug-10-2008 -- How to Handle the Inflation Monster NEW YORK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury debt prices slipped on Tuesday as rising stocks drew bids away from safe-haven bonds, but moves were muted ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision and statement. "The natural tendency is to inflate the currency, and we expect that to continue for some time." More... Aug-10-2008 -- Qwest union workers favor calling for strike From wire reports August 9, 2008 NEW YORK - Verizon Communications Inc.' s unions set a Sunday night deadline yesterday on labor negotiations, threatening to put almost a third of the work force on strike if the phone company fails to agree on contract terms. The unions are growing increasingly concerned over Verizon'''s increasing reliance on non-organized workers. More... Aug-10-2008 -- Ethanol battle unlikely to fade NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday it will not curtail a rule requiring that ethanol be added to gasoline, turning back a claim that the additive was artificially raising food prices. Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson said the mandate "is not causing severe economic harm," but rather is "strengthening our nation's energy security and supporting American farming communities." More... Aug-10-2008 -- In Hindsight: Yahoo, a 9.375% sales tax and other innovations Internet service provider EarthLink Inc. has been named as a potential bidder for the dial-up access business. An outright sale to a rival: AOL could sell the access business to a competitor like Earthlink. More... Aug-10-2008 -- ONN.tv Report: Wal-Mart Same Store Sales Lower than Estimates NEW YORK, Aug 7 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell on Thursday as a big loss from insurer American International Group Inc (AIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz ) heightened concerns about the credit crisis and its impact financial companies and the broader economy. The stock market's pullback erased most of the 370-point gain the Dow logged the previous two sessions and shows the lack of solid conviction behind many of investors' recent bets. More... Aug-10-2008 -- Cloud Peak Readies IPO But Rio Holds Reins Diversified miner Rio Tinto has filed a registration statement for a proposed initial public offering of the common stock of its Cloud Peak Energy subsidiary, the company said on Friday. Rio Tinto, the target of a hostile bid from rival miner BHP Billiton, filed for an initial public offering of its North American coal business on Friday but said it is still considering other options. More... Aug-10-2008 -- Credit Card Industry Faces Reforms The Federal Reserve reported that U.S. consumer credit increased 14.3 billion in June compared to an 8.1 billion increase the prior month, which brought outstanding consumer credit to $2.59 trillion. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer credit expanded at the fastest rate in seven months in June as Americans turned to credit cards and consumer loans to maintain spending in the face of rising food and energy costs, a government report on Thursday showed. More... Aug-10-2008 -- Sirius XM: Tune in next year NEW YORK, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Sirius XM Radio (SIRI.O: Quote, Profile, Research ) expects to trim costs in everything from programming to research and development as it integrates the newly merged companies Sirius and XM Satellite Radio, chief executive Mel Karmazin said on Thursday. I didn't think it was possible, but I am actually more excited about this insider stock purchase by Mel Karmazin than I was following the approval of the merger. More... Aug-10-2008 -- Toyota OK But Not Rolling The world's biggest automaker, which has a major plant Burnaston in Derbyshire, declined to reveal targets for the production and contract staff reductions. Nissan's results reflected $400 million in risk provisions taken for vehicles leased in North America and $520 million in foreign exchange losses. More... Aug-10-2008 -- Buoyant home sales index gives cause for cautious optimism Pending-home sales in June rose 5.3% over May but were still well off year-ago numbers. The NAR's Yun noted in late July that foreclosures and short sales represented roughly 1/3 of all market transactions, and we've seen estimates ranging from 18 to 30 percent from various data sources over the past month or so. More... Aug-10-2008 -- Berkshire Net Falls 7.6% to $2.88 Billion as Insurance Slumps "Regardless of what's happening to earnings, the cash is still rolling in and asset prices are down,'' which will help Berkshire add holdings, said Frank Betz, a partner at Warren, New Jersey-based Carret Zane Capital Management, which oversees $800 million, including Berkshire shares. The investment company said second quarter earnings were $2.9 billion or $1,859 a share, compared with $3.1 billion or $2,018 a share in the same period a year earlier. More...