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Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

Google to display more information

MOUNTAIN VIEW - Google Inc. on Thursday introduced a new option that will enable visitors to display more information on the online search engine leader's bare-bones home page, a departure that pushes the company a step closer to operating an Internet portal in the mold of rivals Yahoo and MSN.com.

The feature, available at labs.google.com, allows the millions of Google users worldwide to select components tools located underneath the search engine's hood and display them on the main page.

For instance, a user could choose to have the weather, an e-mailbox, movie listings, top news stories, stock market quotes, and driving directions displayed whenever they visit Google's home page and sign in using a personalized account. The company unveiled the feature during a media day hosted at its Mountain View headquarters.

Possible United striking hanging

CHICAGO - Unable yet to negotiate an agreement on a new long-term contract, United Airlines and its machinists union returned to a bankruptcy courtroom Thursday to resume arguing whether the union's contract should be broken in the absence of a deal.

The failure to wrap up a contract agreement left hanging the issue of a possible strike by United workers, who have threatened to walk off their jobs if lower pay and benefits are imposed without a consensual deal.

Negotiators for both sides were racing to beat a new unofficial deadline of late this morning, when closing arguments in the case are scheduled and a ruling to break the contract could soon follow.

Greenspan wants mortgage limits

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan again pushed for limits on the multibillion-dollar mortgage holdings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying such restrictions would not hurt the thriving housing market.

Greenspan, who has been pressing Congress to limit the holdings of the two mortgage giants, warned on Thursday that their debt poses a risk to U.S. financial markets.

Greenspan's remarks echoed similar comments he has made in the past and appeared to have no effect on the companies' stock prices. Shares of Fannie Mae rose 4 cents to close at $56.54 in Thursday trading on the New York Stock Exchange, while Freddie Mac's shares rose 52 cents to $64.85.

Mortgage rates at lowest levels

WASHINGTON - Rates on 30-year and 15-year mortgages this week dropped to their lowest levels since late February, offering a bit of good news for people wanting to buy a home.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday in its weekly survey that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.71 percent, down from 5.77 percent last week.

Analysts attributed the decline in mortgage rates to reduced fears on the part of investors that the economy might face an outbreak of inflation.

Maytag will sell to investor group

DES MOINES, Iowa - Maytag Corp. said Thursday it has agreed to sell the company to an investor group led by private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC in a cash deal valued at $1.3 billion.

The deal values the appliance maker at $14 per share, and includes the assumption of about $975 million in debt.

Maytag shares soared more than 21 percent, or $2.44, in late trading on news of the acquisition, after closing 9 cents higher at $11.56 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.

The board of Newton, Iowa-based Maytag approved the transaction and said it will recommend company shareholders approve it. The sale is expected to close before year's end, pending regulatory and shareholder approval.

Jury asks to hear FBI Scrushy tapes

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Jurors began deliberations in the fraud trial of Richard Scrushy on Thursday and quickly asked to review some of prosecutors' most important evidence: secretly made FBI recordings of the fired HealthSouth Corp. chief.

The jury of seven men and five women - split evenly between blacks and whites - asked U.S. District Judge Karon Bowdre to listen to a pair of recordings of Scrushy's talks with former HealthSouth finance chief Bill Owens, who wore a hidden microphone for the FBI.

In one conversation that often dropped into hushed tones, Scrushy seemed to be urging Owens to sign financial statements despite Owens' angst over a possible divorce by his wife. In the exchange, Owens told Scrushy his wife was angry over what he had been doing at work.