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Fannie, Freddie Set to Pay $210 Million in Retention Bonuses
In a compensation program that has drawn angry protests from politicians, Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) expect to pay about $210 million in retention bonuses to 7,600 employees over 18 months, according to a letter from the mortgage companies’ regulator to Sen. Charles Grassley.
U.S. Stocks Fluctuate After Unemployment Hits 25-Year High
U.S. stocks drifted between gains and losses after the unemployment rate climbed to a 25-year high of 8.5 percent, matching economists’ estimates. Oil retreated and the dollar gained. Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) fell at least 1.6 percent as the government said employers cut 663,000 jobs last month, 3,000 more than the average estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) slipped more than 1 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) said changes to fair-value accounting rules won’t spur a rally in financials.
Oil Prices Weaken on Jobless Data
Crude-oil futures were lower, hovering near $52 a barrel on Friday, after the U.S. Labor Department reported the March unemployment rate was the highest in 25 years. The jobless rate hit 8.5%, up from 8.1% in February, but in line with expectations. New unemployment claims rose by 663,000, less than the consensus forecast of 673,000.
GE’s Jeffrey Immelt: All Boxed In
On the day before President Barack Obama’s inauguration, Jeffrey R. Immelt tried to give General Electric (NYSE:GE) investors his own brand of hope. With the world going through a fundamental reset, the GE chairman and CEO told MSNBC viewers: “We’ve got to come out of this a brand-new company.”
M’bishi doubles output plans for electric car
Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (TYO:7211) is planning to double production capacity for the i MiEV electric vehicle to 20,000 units a year by 2011, according to a published report. The Japanese business daily Nikkei reported Mitsubishi had originally planned to produce 2,000 plug-in electric cars in fiscal 2009, raising production to 10,000 in 2011. Some 2,000 units already have been pre-ordered by corporate clients for the current fiscal year, according to the report.
Northrop Agrees to Pay $325 Million to Settle Suit
Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC) agreed Thursday to pay the U.S. government $325 million to settle civil claims that a company it acquired allegedly made defective parts for spy satellites that resulted in serious malfunctions and expensive fixes several years ago. The suit alleges that officials at TRW Inc., which Northrop acquired in 2002, previously worked with Aerospace Corp. to cover up problems with certain widely used microelectronic parts.
RIM Jumps After Profit, Sales Forecasts Top Estimates
Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:RIMM), the maker of the BlackBerry phone, surged the most in more than five years in Nasdaq trading after first-quarter profit and sales forecasts exceeded analysts’ projections. RIM said yesterday that earnings will amount to at least 88 cents a share, compared with the 82-cent average of estimates.
IBM Near Deal to Buy Sun for Lower Price
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) and Sun Microsystems Corp. (NASDAQ:JAVA) are in the final stages of negotiations to combine the two corporate computer giants. The companies are now discussing a deal in which IBM would pay $9.55 a share for Sun, about $1-a-share lower than Sun previously expected, according to people familiar with the talks.
Dell, Ingersoll-Rand Pay Up as Recession Lifts Borrowing Costs
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), the world’s second- largest personal-computer maker, and refrigeration-equipment producer Ingersoll-Rand Co. (NYSE:IR) borrowed at higher rates this week than in offerings last year, amid investor concern that the recession will squeeze their cash reserves. Dell sold $500 million of debt due 2014 at almost a percentage point more in interest costs than in its last offering in April 2008.
Coke to correct ‘misleading’ campaign in Australia
Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO) is to publish advertisements in Australia newspapers to “correct” an earlier campaign that claimed its products did not contribute to tooth decay or obesity. The corrections will also amend the company’s earlier message that its products are not over-caffeinated. The trouble began last October with a series of newspaper ads featuring Australian actress Kerry Armstrong that attacked “myths” about the risks of drinking Coca-Cola.
Cable TV: Pushing to Become More Web-like
So Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC), and their ilk are going on the offensive. Long technology laggards, the cable companies have set up skunk works. The aim of doing so is twofold: putting more of their content online and making the regular television viewing experience more Weblike. “We don’t want to be alarmists,” says Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt. “But we really need to look at what consumers want.”
