World Business Briefing | Europe: News Corporation Concessions
Date: 17 January 2003
By Paul Meller (NYT)
Paul NYT
News Corp gives new concessions to European Commission in bid for regulatory approval for its planned acquisition of Italian pay TV channel Telepiu (S)
Full Article
Muted Call in Race Case
Date: 17 January 2003
By Linda Greenhouse
Linda Greenhouse
Linda Greenhouse analysis of Bush administration's handling of its Supreme Court brief on affirmative action at University of Michigan: masterly piece of political stage management that allowed Pres Bush to dominate prime-time news with strong denunciation of affirmative action and then followed up with briefs that diverge substantially from his rhetoric; says that while briefs do ask court to strike down university's undergraduate and law school admissions programs, they do so by means of legal analysis that, far from insisting that any consideration of race is impermissible, does not even ask justices to overturn Bakke decision of 1978, which ushered in generation of affirmative action in public and private college admissions by allowing race to be used as 'plus factor' (M)
Full Article
Despite Major Achievements, Bloomberg Gets Scant Credit
Date: 18 January 2003
By Jennifer Steinhauer
Jennifer Steinhauer
News analysis discusses public opinion of New York City Mayor Michael R Bloomberg after first year on job; New York Times poll finds that 53 percent of New Yorkers are unhappy with Bloomberg's performance, pointing to property tax increase and budget cuts, despite record drops in crime, improvements in police department and strides towards creating affordable housing (M)
Full Article
S.E.C. UPGRADES E.D.S. INQUIRY TO FORMAL INVESTIGATION
Date: 18 January 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Securities and Exchange Commission upgrades informal inquiry into Electronic Data Systems begun in Oct 2002 to formal investigation; probes company's purchase and settlement of stock-option contracts and events leading up to its Sept 18 forecast that third-quarter earnings would be a fifth of company's previous prediction (S)
Full Article
KMART WANTS REPAYMENT OF EXECUTIVE RETENTION LOANS
Date: 18 January 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Kmart Corp demands repayment of all executive retention loans made before its bankruptcy filing; fires five remaining bonus recipients still with company; finds that previous management did not properly disclose data to board when it set up loan program in 2001; Kmart lent over $30 million given to dozens of executives in year before bankruptcy filing (S)
Full Article
NATIONAL-OILWELL ACQUIRES HALLIBURTON PUMPING UNIT
Date: 18 January 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Drilling equipment maker National-Oilwell Inc acquires Halliburton Co's pumping-equipment business, known as Monoflo Inc in United States and Mono Group in Great Britain, for about $89.2 million in stock and cash (S)
Full Article
JUDGE ORDERS LIQUIDATION OF WADE COOK FINANCIAL
Date: 18 January 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Judge orders Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation of stock-trading educator Wade Cook Financial Corp, which owes employees back wages and pocketed their health insurance premiums (S)
Full Article
INTERNATIONAL PAPER TAKES $278 MILLION CHARGE
Date: 17 January 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
International Paper takes after-tax charge of $278 million in fourth quarter to increase reserves used to settle claims that it made defective siding and roofing; company has raised reserve at least three times to pay customers who say company's former Masonite unit made building products that swelled and fell apart when wet; has $507 million to pay claims from three-class action lawsuits, which were settled in 1998 and 1999 (S)
Full Article
VERITAS SOFTWARE RESTATES LOSSES FOR 2000 AND 2001
Date: 18 January 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Veritas Software Corp restates its 2000 and 2001 losses to correct how it had accounted for swap of software and advertising with AOL Time Warner Inc; widens 2000 $620 million loss by $7 million and narrows 2001 $651 million loss by $8 million; action results from subpoena Veritas received for federal inquiry into AOL division's accountings (S)
Full Article
JONES APPAREL SAYS IT WILL LAY OFF 2,100 WORKERS
Date: 17 January 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Jones Apparel Group will lay off 2,100 people, or 14 percent of work force; says 1,500 job cuts will be made in Mexico, where it is closing three plants; also closing warehouses in El Paso; will convert some stores to lower-price brand (S)
Full Article