Wednesday, September 17, 2008 - Posts

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 12:16 AM

Best Buy to acquire music-sharer Napster

Napster Inc., the online music community that rose from a dorm room project to became the scourge of the global recording industry, is being purchased by Best Buy Inc. for nearly $127 million as the electronics retailer tries to boost its digital music business.

The $2.65 per share all-cash deal announced Monday is nearly double the music network's Friday closing price but a small sum to pay for Best Buy, which gets access to Napster's 700,000 subscribers who pay a monthly fee to access digital music catalogs.

posted by isnaini (Comments Off)
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 12:15 AM

Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 protection

Lehman Brothers, a 158-year-old investment bank choked by the credit crisis and falling real estate values, filed for Chapter 11 protection in the biggest bankruptcy filing ever on Monday and said it was trying to sell off key business units.

The filing was made in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the bank's holding company.

posted by isnaini (Comments Off)
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 12:14 AM

Bank of America agrees to buy Merrill for $50 bln

Bank of America Corp. said early Monday it would acquire Merrill Lynch in a $50 billion all-stock transaction that should lift the uncertainty shrouding the investment bank since the start of the credit crisis over a year ago.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America has the most deposits of any U.S. bank, while Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. is the world's largest and most widely recognized brokerage.

Bank of America will rival Citigroup Inc., the biggest U.S. bank in terms of assets.

posted by isnaini (Comments Off)
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 12:10 AM

Oil closes below $100 for first time in 6 months

Oil prices closed below $100 a barrel for the first time in six months Monday, tumbling in another dramatic sell-off as the demise of Lehman Brothers and the sale of Merrill Lynch deepened worries about the U.S. economy.

Crude prices shed more than $5 a barrel and have now given up virtually all their gains for the year, extending a steep, two-month slide from record levels above $147 a barrel.

Oil's pullback also came as early signs suggested that Hurricane Ike delivered less damage than feared to the Gulf Coast energy oil and gas infrastructure. But pump prices jumped above $4 a gallon in parts of the country as a precautionary shutdown of Gulf refineries caused gasoline shortages.

posted by isnaini (Comments Off)
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 12:03 AM

HP to cut 24,600 jobs as part of EDS integration

Hewlett-Packard Co. said Monday it plans to slash 24,600 jobs over the next three years, nearly 8 percent of its work force, as it combines operations with Electronic Data Systems Corp., the technology-services company it recently acquired.

Most of the cuts will come from within EDS's ranks, and nearly half will hit jobs in the U.S., HP said Monday after the markets closed.

HP had not previously detailed how many employees of the combined company would lose their jobs. Before the acquisition, HP had 178,000 people and EDS had 142,000, a total of 320,000.

posted by isnaini (Comments Off)