AP
Business Highlights
On Monday April 4, 2011, 6:21 pm EDT
NEW
YORK (AP) -- With the possible theft of millions of email addresses from an
advertising company, several large companies have started warning customers to
expect fraudulent emails that try to coax account login information from them. Companies
behind such brands as Chase, Citi and Best Buy said over the weekend that
hackers may have learned their email addresses because of a security breach at
a Dallas-based company called Epsilon that manages email communications. The
email addresses could be used to target spam. It's also a standard tactic among
online fraudsters to send emails to random people, purporting to be from a
large bank and asking them to login in at a site that looks like the bank's
site. Instead, the fraudulent site captures their login information and uses it
to access the real account. Texas
Instruments buying National Semiconductor SAN
FRANCISCO (AP) -- Texas Instruments says it is buying fellow chipmaker National
Semiconductor for $6.5 billion in cash in a move to expand its share of the
market for analog chips, which are used in a wide range of electronics. Texas
Instruments Inc., based in Dallas, has agreed to pay $25 per share for Santa
Clara, Calif.-based National Semiconductor Corp. That marks a 78 percent
premium to that stock's closing stock price Monday before the deal was
announced. Pfizer
selling Capsugel unit to KKR for $2.38B NEW
YORK (AP) -- Pfizer Inc. said Monday it will sell its Capsugel capsule-making
business to private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Robert & Co. for $2.38
billion in cash. In
October, Pfizer said it would review options for Capsugel and might sell the
company. Pfizer, which is the world's biggest drugmaker, said it will use
proceeds from the sale to buy back additional stock and may use some of the
funds to make other investments or deals. Geithner
issues new warning on debt limit WASHINGTON
(AP) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is telling lawmakers that the
country is only weeks away from reaching the limit on the amount of money the government
can borrow. Geithner
tells congressional leaders in a letter that the country will reach the current
debt limit of $14.3 trillion no later than May 16. He says he has a few options
that would delay a government default on its debt. But he warns that the most
time he could buy is another eight weeks, or until around July 8. Geithner
says that the longer Congress delays raising the debt limit, the greater the
risk that investors around the world will lose confidence in America's ability
to meet its obligations. NTSB:
Cracks similar to those found in damaged Southwest Airlines jet found in 3
other planes PHOENIX
(AP) -- Three more Southwest Airlines jetliners have small, subsurface cracks
that are similar to the ones suspected in the fuselage tear on another of its
planes. Federal aviation officials are considering an order for other airlines
to inspect their aircraft. The
5-foot-long hole tore open Friday in the passenger cabin roof shortly after the
Southwest plane carrying 118 people left Phoenix for Sacramento, Calif. It made
a rapid descent, landing at a military base in Yuma, 150 miles southwest of
Phoenix. No one was seriously hurt. Since
then, Southwest grounded 79 other Boeing 737-300s and began inspecting them.
The grounding caused about 600 flight cancellations over the weekend and
another 70 on Monday. Nineteen inspected aircraft showed no problems and will
be returned to service. Largest
US dealer expects Japanese auto shortage DETROIT
(AP) -- Cars made by Japanese manufacturers will be in short supply in
showrooms this spring and summer because of last month's earthquake and
tsunami, the head of the largest U.S. dealership chain said Monday. AutoNation
Inc. CEO Mike Jackson said in an interview with The Associated Press that
customers will first see shortages of vehicles made exclusively in Japan. Then
parts shortages will slow down production of Japanese-brand cars assembled in
North America. Toyota:
N. American plant closures likely in April LOUISVILLE,
Ky. (AP) -- Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday that it's inevitable that the
company will be forced to temporarily shut down all of its North American
factories because of parts shortages due to the earthquake that hit Japan. The
temporary shutdowns are likely to take place later this month, affecting 25,000
workers, but no layoffs are expected, spokesman Mike Goss said. Just how long
the shutdowns last or whether all 13 of Toyota's factories will be affected at
the same time is unknown and depends on when parts production can restart in
Japan, he said. Sbarro
filing for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection MELVILLE,
N.Y. (AP) -- Pizza and pasta chain Sbarro Inc. said Monday that it is filing
for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it works to restructure. The
restaurant chain has suffered, like many restaurants, since consumers clamped
down on spending in the recession. It didn't help that many of Sbarro's
restaurants are located in retail malls, which shoppers steered clear of during
the depths of the economic downturn. Rising food costs, particularly for cheese
and flour, have added to its woes of late. Sbarro
is also strapped by debt it took on when private-equity firm MidOcean Partners
bought it in January 2007. Google
plans to bid for Nortel patent portfolio WASHINGTON
(AP) -- Google Inc. plans to bid $900 million in cash for Nortel Networks'
patent portfolio in a bankruptcy auction scheduled for June. Nortel,
the Canadian maker of telecommunications equipment and computer networking
gear, has selected Google's offer as the "stalking horse bid" to serve
as the starting point in the bidding process. Ontario-based
Nortel has been selling its operations piece by piece since it filed for
bankruptcy protection in Canada and the U.S. in January 2009. Its patent
portfolio includes about 6,000 patents and patent applications spanning a broad
range of technology, including wireless, data networking and semiconductors. Citi
to start clearing smaller checks first NEW
YORK (AP) -- Citibank will soon start clearing customer checks in a way that
minimizes the potential for multiple overdraft charges. In
an internal memo sent Monday, the bank said it will process checks starting
with the smallest amounts first as of July 25. Most banks process larger checks
first, a practice consumer advocates say increases the potential for multiple
overdraft violations on checking accounts. Customers
are being notified of the change in statements this week. McDonald's
wants to fill 50K jobs on hiring day McDonald's
Corp. will hold its first national hiring day April 19 to fill 50,000 openings
at its restaurants nationwide. The
company, based in Oak Brook, Ill., says it is making a concerted effort to add
staff as its business improves and as more of its restaurants stay open 24
hours a day. McDonald's
is hiring restaurant crew and management for full-time and part-time positions.
The company's hiring goal translates to between three and four new hires per
restaurant. By
The Associated Press The
Dow Jones industrial average rose 23.31 points, or 0.2 percent, to 12,400.03.
The S&P 500 index gained less than a point to 1,332.87. The Nasdaq
composite lost less than a point to 2,789.19. Benchmark
crude for May delivery gained 53 cents to settle at $108.47 a barrel on the New
York Mercantile Exchange. At one point the contract rose as high as $108.78 per
barrel, the highest price since September 2008. In London, Brent crude rose
$2.25 to settle at $120.66 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. In
other Nymex trading in May contracts, heating oil rose 3.69 cents to settle at
$3.1714 a gallon and gasoline gained 1.75 cents to settle at $3.1688 a gallon.
Natural gas futures lost 7.3 cents to settle at $4.289 per 1,000 cubic feet. ·
McDonald's one-day hiring blitz seen as PR move
- at Reuters ·
Asian shares mixed as Japan crisis drags on -
AP ·
Google Bids $900 Million for Nortel Patent Assets
- at New York Times ·
Yen Weakens, Treasuries Fall on Concern Global Growth May
Spark Rate Rises - at Bloomberg ·
Antitrust Fears Slow Google Takeovers to a Crawl
- at New York Times ·
TiVo Reports Database Compromise - Zacks
·
Americans Buying Smaller Cars - Zacks
·
Cancer Study to Continue at SPPI - Zacks
·
Lilly's Axiron Launched in the U.S. -
Zacks ·
Jobs Report In-Depth, pt. 2 - Zacks
·
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