BRIEFCASE.Byline: -- Staff and Wire Services Ex-Fannie Mae chief faces charges The government on Monday filed civil charges against former Fannie Mae Fannie Mae: see Federal National Mortgage Association. chief Franklin Raines Franklin Delano Raines (born January 14, 1949 in Seattle, Washington) is the former chairman and chief executive officer of Fannie Mae who served as White House budget director under President Bill Clinton. and two other executives, seeking fines and the return of millions in bonus money. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight announced that it filed 101 charges against Raines, former chief financial officer Timothy Howard and former controller Leanne Spencer. Raines and Howard were swept out of office two years ago in the multibillion-dollar accounting scandal at the government-sponsored mortgage giant, which finances one of every five home loans in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Target sticks to growth forecast Target Corp. said late Monday that it is sticking by its earlier sales forecast Sales forecast A key input to a firm's financial planning process. External sales forecasts are based on historical experience, statistical analysis, and consideration of various macroeconomic factors. for December, which calls for same-store sales Same-store sales is a business term which refers to the revenue generated by one of a retail chain's specific outlets during a certain period of time (often a fiscal quarter or a particular shopping season), compared to an identical period in the past, usually in the previous year. growth to be anywhere from 3.5 percent to 5.5 percent. The discounter said in a pre-recorded message that it is basing its estimates on the first three weeks of December combined with its outlook for the remaining two weeks. During its fiscal year so far, Target has averaged a 4.9 percent increase in same-store sales. In November, it posted same-stores sales gain of 5.9 percent, beating analysts' expectations. MySpace and Cingular in deal Cingular Wireless LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , the nation's largest cell phone provider, has made a deal with MySpace.com that will allow MySpace users to access their profiles through Cingular phones. Under the agreement, cell phone users will be able to go to their MySpace.com page to edit it, post photos and get messages, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Monday. For example, a MySpace.com user could take a picture with his or her cell phone and then immediately post the image to a Web page. The new MySpace Mobile application will cost $2.99 a month plus charges for data usage, Atlanta-based Cingular said. NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. gives more data to Google Anyone with an Internet connection will soon be able to get three- dimensional maps of the moon, or real-time tracking of the space shuttle space shuttle, reusable U.S. space vehicle. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it consists of a winged orbiter, two solid-rocket boosters, and an external tank. , after NASA agreed Monday to give more of its imagery and information to Google Inc. The collaboration marks another step in a partnership announced 15 months ago when Google unveiled plans to build a 1 million-square-foot campus at the NASA center, located a few miles south of the company's Mountain View headquarters. AT&T-BellSouth deal in doubt AT&T Inc.'s proposed buyout of BellSouth was thrown into doubt Monday when Robert McDowell, a member of the Federal Communications Commission Federal Communications Commission (FCC), independent executive agency of the U.S. government established in 1934 to regulate interstate and foreign communications in the public interest. and a former telecommunications industry lobbyist, said he is excluding himself from participation in the agency's deliberations on the deal. McDowell's personal disqualification means that the nation's largest telecommunications merger is stuck at a presumed 2-2 deadlock. He said he hoped that his fellow commissioners ``will come back to the negotiating table in good faith to offer meaningful concessions.'' |
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