Business - Page 12

Reuters - Alinta Ltd. , Australia's largest energy infrastructure group recommended a A$7.4 billion ($6 billion) bid by a consortium led by Australia's Babcock & Brown on Friday, rejecting a rival bid by Macquarie Bank Ltd. . More Info...  

Investor's Business Daily - The honeymoon continued. After returning to domestic equity funds in January, investors lavished even more new money on their accounts in February. More Info...  

Business

Reuters - Dell Inc., the world's second-largest personal computer maker, said on Thursday an internal financial audit found evidence of misconduct, accounting errors and deficiencies in its financial controls.

Reuters - Beazer Homes USA Inc. on Thursday said it has received a grand jury subpoena from the U.S. Justice Department for documents related to the company's mortgage origination business.

Reuters - U.S. economic growth at the close of 2006 was revised up, according to a government report on Thursday that identified rising stocks of unsold goods as a key reason and cast a shadow over future prospects.

Reuters - U.S. Steel Corp. expanded its reach in the lucrative oilfield sector on Thursday with a $2.1 billion deal to buy Lone Star Technologies Inc. , which makes products to line oil and gas wells and build pipelines.

Reuters - CarMax Inc. , the largest retailer of used cars in the United States, posted a 15 percent rise in quarterly earnings on Thursday, but missed estimates, sending shares lower by 8 percent.

FT.com - London equities started higher on Thursday, shrugging off a weak performance on Wall Street overnight, as Alliance Boots was boosted by bid rumours and DSG International was shaken by news of fraudulent activity. More Info...  

Reuters - Shell U.S. Gas and Power (RDSa.L) is discontinuing plans to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal offshore of Louisiana because import capacity will be sufficient without it, the company said Wednesday. More Info...  

Reuters - Chinese developer Country Garden was looking to raise as much as US$1.66 billion after setting the price range for its Hong Kong initial pubic offering at HK$4.18 to HK$5.38 per share, sources close to the deal said on Thursday. More Info...  

Business

Reuters - Citigroup Inc. plans to double its number of outlets in China this year to more than 30, Chairman and Chief Executive Charles Prince said on Thursday.

AP - Orders to factories for big-ticket manufactured goods posted a disappointing increase in February that raised new worries about the strength of the economy. More Info...  

Reuters - Testimony by the two top U.S. economic officials Wednesday raised fresh concerns in financial markets about the deteriorating housing market, despite their view that subprime mortgage problems are "contained."

Reuters - New Century Financial Corp. , the troubled subprime mortgage lender, said on Wednesday it ended its relationship with mortgage financier Freddie Mac , and that "several" of its own lenders plan to sell loans that had backed $17.4 billion of credit lines.

Reuters - Circuit City Stores Inc. said it has hired Goldman Sachs to explore strategic options for a possible unit sale and will replace 3,400 store employees with lower-paid workers, sending its shares up on Wednesday. More Info...  

FT.com - Wall Street stocks continued to slide on Wednesday as investors reacted negatively to testimony by the Federal Reserve chairman. More Info...  

Reuters - Palm Inc. remains a potential takeover target, with at least one strategic buyer interested in taking over the maker of the Treo smartphone, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday. More Info...  

Reuters - British Airways is contemplating a 1 billion-pound ($2 billion) bid for smaller rival bmi , the Times reported on Wednesday. More Info...  

Business

Reuters - General Motors Corp. will not make a first-round bid for DaimlerChrysler AG's (DCXGn.DE) Chrysler unit, leaving just private equity firms and an auto parts supplier in the running, the Times reported on Wednesday.

Reuters - DBS Group Holdings Ltd , Southeast Asia's largest lender, is contacting investors to form a multinational consortium to buy Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) from U.S. fund Lone Star, the Chosun Ilbo reported on Wednesday. More Info...