Business Briefs - Monday

TECHNOLOGY

EBay sets charge, Skype CEO quits

The online auction house said the head of its Internet telephone unit, Skype, is stepping down and that it will take $1.43 bil in charges related to the division, which lets users make calls using their PCs. EBay acquired Skype in '05 for $2.6 bil, but the charges, including a $900mil write-down of Skye's value, indicate it vastly overpaid for the VoIP company. EBay rose 1.6% to 39.66.

IBM acquires Nokia Siemens units

The computer giant said it signed a deal with Nokia Siemens Networks that includes the transfer of research and development activities for four business lines to a unit of IBM IBM. The units being transferred were working on voice and multimedia technologies, mobile Internet, and voice over Internet protocol. Nokia Siemens is a venture of Nokia NOK and Siemens SI. IBM rose 1% to 119.03.

Microsoft Office extends online

The software giant launched Microsoft MSFT Office Live Workspace, which allows computer users to store, share and comment on documents online. Office Live Workspace gives users room for about 1,000 average Office documents "in the cloud." PC users can upload Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. If users want to edit the text, they must open the documents through a Web browser. It rose 1% to 29.77.

Apple rose on support from Caris & Co. and Deutsche Bank, which both said demand for the company's products is strong. Caris raised its price target $10 to $175. Deutsche Bank said sales for Apple's iPods have increased . Apple rose 1.9% to 156.34. Acxiom buyout deal falls through

The provider of software and services to marketers said its $2.25 bil buyout had fallen through. Acxiom ACXM had agreed to be acquired by Silver Lake and Value Act Capital in May. The private equity firms will pay a $65mil breakup fee. Chairman and CEO Charles Morgan, who has led the company for 35 years, said he will leave as soon as a replacement is found. It fell 19.7% to 15.89.

TELECOM

Court seeks input on AT&T case

The Supreme Court asked the Justice Dept. for its opinion on an appeal by AT&T T over a $31 mil verdict against it in a pension-related suit. The request indicates justices may take the case, which could have far- reaching impact on pension plans. The class-action suit filed on behalf of 2,000 workers claims Ameritech, now part of AT&T, illegally amended its pension plan to reduce lump-sum payouts. Some firms had made similar moves to control expenses. AT&T dipped 0.2% to 42.23.

AT&T T said its Indian unit has applied for licenses to provide services in India with India's Mahindra Group. India's mobile providers have been signing up more than 8 mil users every month. AT&T T said it reached an agreement to buy privately held Web-conferencing provider Interwise for about $121 mil in cash. Research in Motion RIMM, maker of the BlackBerry smart phone, was downgraded from top pick to outperform by RBC Capital Markets, contending the stock's 130% gain this year has largely exhausted its upside potential. Shares edged up 11 cents to 98.66. DIVERSIFIED

GE foreign sales to overtake U.S.

For the first time, the U.S.-based conglomerate said it will earn more this year from its international operations than in the U.S., mainly because of strong growth in developing nations. The head of GE's foreign operations said the company's sales in emerging nations are growing two to three times as fast as those in developed countries. "Unless there is some kind of a catastrophic event ... this growth could be sustained for a considerable amount of time," Ferdinando Beccalli-Falco told Reuters. GE climbed 1.5% to 42.02.

GE GE said it will sell 200 wind turbines to Canadian utility SkyPower in a deal worth $400 mil. TRANSPORTATION

UPS reaches tentative labor pact

The world's largest shipping carrier rose 1.1% to 75.90 after it reached a new 5-year contract with leaders of the Teamsters union. Union members must still vote on the deal. The Teamsters represent 238,000 of UPS' UPS 427,700 employees. The agreement allows UPS to withdraw from the Central States Pension Fund, with the company making a $6.1 bil pretax payment to Central States. UPS also will fully fund the new plan.

American Airlines to pay off debt

AMR, AMR the airline's parent company, said it'll pay off $545 mil in debt years ahead of time, saving the company tens of millions of dollars in interest costs. The company plans to make payment near the end of Q4. It was scheduled to be paid off by December 2012. Paying off the loan releases 16 planes that were used to secure the loan. American climbed 4.3% to 22.25.

Airlines face turbulence over oil

Southwest Airlines LUV and American were downgraded to hold by Citigroup, which warned that the carriers will be hurt by higher fuel prices. Citigroup lowered its price target on AMR AMR 29% to $24, and cut its price target on Southwest by nearly 16% to $15.20. Citigroup also trimmed its JetBlue JBLU target 26% to 9.20. Southwest dipped slightly and JetBlue rose 2% as oil fell 1.7%.

GM may close Ind., Mich. plants

The automaker may close 2 more plants in suburban Detroit and Livonia, Ind., and possibly shut down several other facilities under the new labor agreement with UAW. General Motors could also sell or close a stamping plant in Indianapolis. About 74,000 hourly GM workers will vote on the pact starting this week. GM fell 1.8% to 36.05.

LEISURE

Thor beats on improved margins

The maker of recreational vehicles and commercial buses said its Q4 EPS rose 11% to 90 cents, beating views by 23 cents. Revenue fell 6% to $754.9 mil, topping forecasts. Thor Industries THO' RV sales slipped, while bus sales increased 28%. Improved margins, lower warranty costs and higher interest income helped the result. Shares soared 6.5% to 47.93.

FINANCE

Chicago Merc daily trading up

CME Group CME, the operator of the Chicago options and commodities exchanges, said 12.7 mil contracts were traded daily on average in Q3, up 49% from a year ago. In Sept., contracts traded surged 25% to 9.3 mil a day. Quarterly volume exceeded 798 mil contracts, 77% of which were electronically traded. Interest rate product volume for the quarter rose 42% to a record 8.1 mil a day. Shares surged 3.6% to 608.30.

Bank of America BAC said it completed its $21 bil purchase of Chicago's LaSalle Bank from ABN Amro Holding ABN. The bank will lay off 2,500 in Illinois over the next 2 years. It rose 0.7% to 50.64. CONSUMER

Sony selling TV as thin as a coin

Japanese electronics company launched the first TV with an organic light-emitting diode display called OLED. The OLED uses materials that emit light on their own and don't require a back light. Sony SNE said the technology is superior to liquid crystal and plasma displays. The OLED display measures just 0.12 inches thick, about the same as a coin. The OLED TV is going to go on sale on Dec. 1 in Japan for $1,700. Sony climbed 2.8% to 49.38.