Colombo Disalvatore

Colombo DiSalvatore – Dell Financial Problems

Colombo DiSalvatore business highlight topic today is Dell 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. Dell, already facing federal and regulatory probes of its accounts and reeling from several disappointing quarters, said its audit committee was working with management and independent auditors to determine whether to restate past results. Dell shares fell more than 2 percent in after-hours trade.

For more information on this topic introduced on Colombo DiSalvatore business news please visit the following link:

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2007-03-30T022832Z_01_N29303105_RTRUKOC_0_US-DELL-ACCOUNTING.xml

© 2007 Colombo DiSalvatore, Disalvatore business today. All rights reserved

Colombo DiSalvatore – Citigroup Expands in China

Colombo DiSalvatore business highlight topic today is Citigroup. No more talks about job cuts…Citigroup Inc. plans to double its number of branches in China this year to more than 30, Chairman and Chief Executive Charles Prince said on Thursday. Citi was among the first batch of four foreign banks that won approval on March 20 to incorporate as local banks, allowing them for the first time to do business with Chinese households, which have amassed $2 trillion in savings. Prince, who is on an Asian tour, told reporters that local incorporation was a milestone. "We intend to accelerate our network expansion with the aim of reaching more than 30 outlets by the end of 2007," he said. "China is crucial to our long-term ambitions."

For more information on this topic introduced on Colombo DiSalvatore business news please visit the following link:

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2007-03-29T030600Z_01_BJC000032_RTRUKOC_0_US-CHINA-CITIGROUP.xml

© 2007 Colombo DiSalvatore, Disalvatore business today. All rights reserved

Colombo DiSalvatore – Subprime Mortgage Market

Colombo DiSalvatore business highlight topic today is subprime mortgage market. Reports are due next week…Stock investors will look to a slew of economic data next week to sustain Wall Street's recovery, but lingering worries about the economy and the subprime mortgage market could create more jitters. Critical among next week's data will be two reports on consumer sentiment, which could shed light on how the recent turmoil in the subprime lending market is affecting the view of the economy. There will also be reports on new-home sales, U.S. durable goods orders and gross domestic product.

For more information on this topic introduced on Colombo DiSalvatore business news please visit the following link:

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2007-03-25T152353Z_01_N23291139_RTRUKOC_0_US-COLUMN-STOCKS-OUTLOOK.xml

© 2007 Colombo DiSalvatore, Disalvatore business today. All rights reserved

Colombo DiSalvatore – Chrysler Sale

Colombo DiSalvatore business highlight topic today is Chrysler. IG Metall keeps U.S. in mind…

The powerful German trade union IG Metall is opposed to DaimlerChrysler selling its Chrysler business to a private equity buyer, a regional union leader told a German newspaper. "We don't have any interest in seeing Chrysler sold to a locust," Joerg Hofmann, the head of union IG Metall in the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, told the Berliner Zeitung. "There should be a solution for our colleagues in the U.S. which benefits the Chrysler brand," Hofmann said. "A purely financial investment with the aim of making a quick buck doesn't do much in this respect." The term locust refers to a comment about foreign investors made by a key German politician in 2005.

For more information on this topic introduced on Colombo DiSalvatore business news please visit the following link:

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2007-03-25T155309Z_01_L25366390_RTRUKOC_0_US-TRADEUNION-DAIMLERCHRYSLER.xml

© 2007 Colombo DiSalvatore, Disalvatore business today. All rights reserve

Colombo DiSalvatore – Feds hold rates

Colombo DiSalvatore business highlight topic today is interest rates. Nervous about the rates going up, no need to be…The U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday and said it remained concerned about inflation, but dropped its reference to the possibility of pushing rates higher, leaving its options open. The decision by the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee to keep benchmark overnight rates at 5.25 percent, the level they hit in June after 17 straight quarter-percentage point increases, was widely expected. However, in a shift that markets saw as evidence that the Fed is no longer leaning toward higher rates, officials said that "future policy adjustments would depend on the evolution of the outlook for both inflation and economic growth."

For more information on this topic introduced on Colombo DiSalvatore business news please visit the following link:

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2007-03-21T204158Z_01_N20380439_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-FED.xml

© 2007 Colombo DiSalvatore, Disalvatore business today. All rights reserved

Colombo DiSalvatore – HP Ex-Execs Charges Dismissed

Colombo DiSalvatore business highlight topic today is Hewlett Packard. Hours before Hewlett-Packard Co. shareholders convened their annual meeting on Wednesday, a judge dismissed charges against HP's former chairman, Patricia Dunn, for her role in a boardroom spying scandal. The

California

judge, in a ruling that triggered concerns about whether

U.S.

privacy law is strong enough to protect individuals, cited health concerns in dismissing the case against Dunn, who is battling breast cancer. He also offered three other defendants the same result if they completed 96 hours of community service and paid restitution.

For more information on this topic introduced on Colombo DiSalvatore business news please visit the following link:

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2007-03-14T231312Z_01_N14301099_RTRUKOC_0_US-HEWLETTPACKARD.xml

© 2007 Colombo DiSalvatore, Disalvatore business today. All rights reserved

Colombo DiSalvatore – Wrigley Gum Price Increase

Colombo DiSalvatore business highlight topic today is gum. Remember when gum cost a quarter…Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. plans to raise prices in the United States by about 10 percent, on average, the chewing gum maker said on Wednesday, sending its shares more than 4 percent higher. It will be its first significant price increase since 2001, a spokesman said. In 2003, Wrigley raised prices on five-stick packs of its sugared gums such as Big Red and Doublemint. Wrigley said the increase was due in part to rising costs, but did not specify which costs. Food companies have been hit by higher costs for natural sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup as demand for use of crops in ethanol has sent prices soaring.

For more information on this topic introduced on Colombo DiSalvatore business news please visit the following link:

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2007-03-14T213239Z_01_N14360450_RTRUKOC_0_US-WRIGLEY-PRICES.xml

© 2007 Colombo DiSalvatore, Disalvatore business today. All rights reserved

Colombo DiSalvatore – Viacom Sues Google

Colombo DiSalvatore business highlight topic today is YouTube. Is there an extra $1 billion laying around…Media conglomerate Viacom Inc. sued Google Inc. and its Internet video-sharing site YouTube for more than $1 billion on Tuesday in the biggest challenge yet to the Web search leader's strategy to dominate the online video market. The lawsuit accuses Google and its popular online video unit of "massive intentional copyright infringement," threatening its ambitions to turn YouTube into a major distributor of entertainment and outlet for advertising. Shares in Viacom, home to the MTV and Comedy Central channels, gained 1 percent to $39.98 and Google shares slipped 2.1 percent to $445.25.

For more information on this topic introduced on Colombo DiSalvatore business news please visit the following link:

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2007-03-13T171812Z_01_WEN5351_RTRUKOC_0_US-VIACOM-YOUTUBE.xml

© 2007 Colombo DiSalvatore, Disalvatore business today. All rights reserved

Colombo DiSalvatore – New Century close to Bankruptcy

Colombo DiSalvatore business highlight topic today is bankruptcy. New Century Financial Corp, the largest independent U.S. subprime mortgage lender, said on Monday its lenders plan to halt financing, pushing the company closer to bankruptcy amid dwindling cash and $8.4 billion in obligations that could come due immediately. New Century's struggles are part of a wider meltdown among lenders to less-creditworthy home buyers who are defaulting on mortgages in increasingly large numbers. The contagion could spread, roiling a larger section of the U.S. economy while hitting investors, such as pension funds, which bought securities backed by suspect home loans, analysts say. If home prices remain flat this year and next, mortgage defaults could total $225 billion, creating a real risk of pulling down the broader housing market and weighing on borrowers with good credit, Lehman Brothers analysts said in a research note.

For more information on this topic introduced on Colombo DiSalvatore business news please visit the following link:

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2007-03-12T231730Z_01_WEN5284_RTRUKOC_0_US-NEWCENTURY-LENDERS.xml

© 2007 Colombo DiSalvatore, Disalvatore business today. All rights reserved

Colombo DiSalvatore – CVS Sweetened the Bid

Colombo DiSalvatore business highlight topic today is CVS. CVS is still trying for Caremark…CVS Corp. sweetened its $23.9 billion takeover bid for Caremark Rx Inc. on Thursday with an increased dividend, calling its newest proposal its "best and final" offer for the pharmacy-benefits manager. CVS, seeking to thwart rival suitor Express Scripts Inc, offered to pay $54.12 a share, plus a higher, one-time dividend of $7.50 per share after closing of the deal. The dividend previously was $6 per share. The increased dividend marked the third time CVS has improved its bid since November, when it agreed to buy Caremark in an effort to expand its prescription benefits and mail-order business.

For more information on this topic introduced on Colombo DiSalvatore business news please visit the following link:

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2007-03-09T012509Z_01_N08249567_RTRUKOC_0_US-CAREMARK-CVS.xml

© 2007 Colombo DiSalvatore, Disalvatore business today. All rights reserved