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***** Considers Playing a Google Defense
By Kevin J. Delaney and Matthew Karnitschnig
Word Count: 536 | Companies Featured in This Article: *****, Microsoft, Google
***** Inc.'s board of directors discussed its options Friday in the face of Microsoft Corp.'s unsolicited offer to buy the Internet company, including an advertising-outsourcing pact with Google Inc., people familiar with the matter said.

Meeting by telephone, the ***** directors also discussed strategy for negotiating a higher bid from Microsoft in the event they pursue the offer, these people said.

The board discussions came one week after Microsoft went public with its unsolicited offer for *****, which was valued at $44.6 billion, or $31 a share. A subsequent fall in Microsoft's share price effectively valued the cash-and-stock deal .

Dell Pares Back Sales Of AMD-Based PCs
By Don Clark
Word Count: 388 | Companies Featured in This Article: Dell, Advanced Micro Devices, Intel
Dell Inc. has stopped selling most consumer systems that use Advanced Micro Devices Inc. chips through Dell's popular Web site.

The big computer company said it still plans to keep selling the AMD-based machines in retail stores and over the phone and is still using its Web site to sell AMD-powered machines for business users. But Dell's shift is nevertheless seen as negative for AMD, which took years to convince Dell to modify its longtime strategy of using .

Next Up for Raters: SEC Rules?
By Kara Scannell
Word Count: 526 | Companies Featured in This Article: Moody's
WASHINGTON -- The Securities and Exchange Commission may soon propose rules that require credit-ratings firms to disclose the accuracy of past ratings and distinguish between various products they rate, the first indication how the industry might be regulated in the wake of the subprime crisis.

SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said the potential rules "would require credit-rating agencies to make disclosures surrounding past ratings in a format that would improve the comparability of track records and promote competitive assessments of the accuracy of past ratings."

He added that the SEC "may propose rules aimed at enhancing investor understanding" about the differences .

Mumbai Slum-Clearing Projects Might Bolster Real-Estate Firms
By Krishna Pokharel and Jackie Range
Word Count: 1,070
NEW DELHI -- Urban redevelopment plans for Mumbai, India's largest city, call for moving millions of slum dwellers off some of the country's potentially most valuable land.

Analysts say that relocation projects, in line with plans by the government of Maharashtra state, should benefit two listed companies with a focus on such work: Housing Development & Infrastructure and Akruti City.

An estimated 13 million people live in Mumbai itself -- the wider metropolitan area has a larger number -- and more than half of them are in slums. They say slums occupy about 8% of the land in a city .

AP
G-7 Nations Aim to Steady Markets
Saturday February 9, 2:37 am ET
By Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer
G-7 Draft Statement Says Nations Will Work to Steady Global Markets, No Specifics Given


TOKYO (AP) -- The world's leading economies pledged to take appropriate action to secure stability in global markets but stopped short of prescribing specific measures, according to a draft statement Saturday from the Group of Seven wealthy nations.



The draft, obtained by Dow Jones Newswires, said the fundamentals of the world economy are solid, but uncertainty has increased because of a deterioration of the U.S. economy, financial market turmoil, high oil and commodity prices, and heightened inflation expectations.

The document was agreed to on Friday evening, and the final version was due after a G-7 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors, which began Saturday afternoon. The draft statement left blank the paragraph on exchange rates.

"Going forward, we will continue to watch developments closely and take appropriate actions, individually and collectively, in order to secure stability and growth in our economies," the draft said.

The G-7 had faced calls for increased coordinated action to deal with the financial market turmoil, although the various countries differed on what measures were appropriate. The U.S. has urged other countries to pursue policies to boost domestic demand, while the Europeans have said their economies are resilient and focused more on regulatory coordination.

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said earlier in the day the statement would call for beefing up stabilization efforts in the wake of the U.S. credit crisis, which surfaced last year, roiling global markets and fueling fears of a worldwide slowdown.

"There is a great convergence of views on proposals aimed at improving transparency, governance and supervision," she told reporters ahead of the G-7 meeting, while declining to elaborate.

The draft statement took note of the downturn in the global economy, though it did not forecast a recession.

"The world confronts a more challenging and uncertain environment than when we met in last October, though its fundamentals as a whole remain solid," the draft said. "In all our economies, to varying degrees, growth is expected to slow somewhat in the short-term, reflecting wider global economic and financial developments."

Lagarde and senior ministers from Japan and Britain, however, had already thrown cold water on hopes that this weekend's meeting will produce any sweeping policy agreements -- such as a unified move to cut interest rates -- to remedy market instability. The draft statement made a reference to steps that are "appropriate to our domestic circumstances."

The seven industrialized nations comprise the U.S., Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada.

World financial markets have been battered since the start of the year amid worries about a possible U.S. recession and uncertainty about the full extent of the subprime mortgage crisis that has led to billions of dollars in losses at major banks.

Investor's Business Daily
IBD's Top 10 - Friday
Friday February 8, 6:36 pm ET
Investor's Business Daily


Recession Calls Grow Louder
1 The U.S. has entered a recession that'll be deeper and longer than recent slumps, said Richard Curtin, head of the Reuters/Univ. of Mich. consumer sentiment survey. Other economists aren't so sure. Several fed officials have said recession risks have risen, but it's not a done deal. The ECRI leading U.S. index's growth rate fell to -7.9%, the worst since the '01 recession.




Oil Soars On OPEC, Cold, Supply

2 March crude spurted $3.66 to $91.77 a barrel, the highest close since Jan. 31. Several OPEC members floated the idea of an output cut in March. Shutdowns in Nigeria and the North Sea raised supply questions. Arctic cold prompted Northeast consumers to crank thermostats. Also, courts in several countries backed Exxon and froze assets of Venezuela's PDVSA oil company.

Wheat Soars In Monster Squeeze

3 March wheat on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange leapt the daily 30-cent limit to $15.53 a bushel. Options trading, which has no limit, values the contract at $20 or $21 a bushel. The USDA cut its estimate of ending stocks to 272 mil bushels, the smallest in 60 years. Drought and a big ethanol-driven acreage switch to corn set the stage for a wheat shortage.

Voters Head To Polls In 5 States

4 Dem hopeful Barack Obama won the endorsement of Wash. Gov. Chris Gregoire while Hillary Clinton touted herself as the candidate of "dreams and practicality" heading into weekend battles for 185 delegates in Wash. state, La., Neb., Maine and the Virgin Islands. Likely GOP nominee John McCain continued to seek party unity.

Markets Mixed In Quiet Session

5 The Nasdaq rose 0.5%, with the big-cap Nasdaq 100 up 1.2%. But the Dow fell 0.5% while the S&P 500, NYSE composite and small-cap S&P 600 all lost 0.4%. Volume came in well below Thu.'s elevated level. Soaring oil prices helped energy firms and hurt transports. Retailers and financial firms also sold off. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 9 ticks to 3.65%.

ADS Drops Blackstone Lawsuit

6 The credit card transaction processing firm dropped a suit to force the private equity firm to complete its proposed $6.76 bil buyout. Alliance Data Systems (NYSE:ADS - News) said Blackstone (NYSE:BX - News) was committed to the deal, but added there's no guarantee. ADS shares rose early, but closed off 3% to 50. Blackstone, which fell 1%, has agreed to pay $81.75 a share.

Allergan Falls On Botox Review

7 Shares of the maker of Botox fell after the FDA said it's reviewing the drug because of reports of deaths and breathing problems in some patients. A handful of deaths occurred mostly among children treated for cerebral palsy-related limb spasticity, the FDA said. It hasn't OK'd Allergan's (NYSE:AGN - News) popular cosmetic drug for that purpose, but other countries have. Shares fell 6%.

Wholesale Stockpiles Jump 1.1%

8 Dec.'s gain was far bigger than expected and followed Nov. 0.8% rise. Boosting inventories can be sign that firms expect demand to pick up. But maybe not this time. Sales at the wholesale level slid 0.7%, though that followed several hefty gains. The inventory-to-sales ratio remained near record lows.

McDonald's U.S. Sales Improved

9 The fast-food giant's Jan. global same-store sales rose 5.7%, as Europe gained 8.2% and its Asia/Pacific, Mideast and Africa unit gained 7.8%. Domestic same-store sales grew 1.9%. That's not great, but better than Dec.'s flat comps. Analysts have been closely watching McDonald (NYSE:MCD - News)'s U.S. sales to see how much the struggling economy is affecting the industry. Its shares rose 2%.

Amazon Rises On Buyback Plan

10 Shares of the online retailer rose after it announced a plan to repurchase up to $1 bil in stock and $1.25 bil in debt. The 2-year stock buyback replaces a $500 mil program. Citigroup said the buyback underscores the health of Amazon's (NasdaqGS:AMZN - News) cash flow. Along with positive analyst comments on the company's business, shares rose almost 4%.

AP
***** Board to Spurn $44B Microsoft Bid
Saturday February 9, 10:15 pm ET
By Michael Liedtke, AP Business Writer
***** Board Intends to Turn Down Microsoft's Unsolicited $44.6 Billion Takeover Bid


SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- ***** Inc.'s board will reject Microsoft Corp.'s $44.6 billion takeover bid after concluding the unsolicited offer undervalues the slumping Internet pioneer, a person familiar with the situation said Saturday.



The decision could provoke a showdown between two of the world's most prominent technology companies with Internet search leader Google Inc. looming in the background. Leery of Microsoft expanding its turf on the Internet, Google already has offered to help ***** avert a takeover and urged antitrust regulators to take a hard look at the proposed deal.

If the world's largest software maker wants ***** badly enough, Microsoft could try to override *****'s board by taking its offer -- originally valued at $31 per share -- directly to the shareholders. Pursuing that risky route probably will require Microsoft to attempt to oust *****'s current 10-member board.

Alternatively, Microsoft could sweeten its bid. Many analysts believe Microsoft is prepared to offer as much as $35 per share for *****, which still boasts one of the Internet's largest audiences and most powerful advertising vehicles despite a prolonged slump that has hammered its stock.

*****'s board reached the decision after exploring a wide variety of alternatives during the past week, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press. The person didn't want to be identified because the reasons for *****'s rebuff won't be officially spelled out until Monday morning.

Microsoft and ***** declined to comment Saturday on the decision, first reported by The Wall Street Journal on its Web site.

*****'s board concluded Microsoft's offer is inadequate even though the company couldn't find any other potential bidders willing to offer a higher price.

Without other suitors on the horizon, ***** has had little choice but to turn a cold shoulder toward Microsoft if the board hopes to fulfill its responsibility to fetch the highest price possible for the company, said technology investment banker Ken Marlin.

"You would expect *****'s board to reject Microsoft at first," Marlin said. "If they didn't, they would be accused of malfeasance."

But by spurning Microsoft, ***** risks further alienating shareholders already upset about management missteps that have led to five consecutive quarters of declining profits.

The downturn caused *****'s stock price to plummet by more than 40 percent, erasing about $20 billion in shareholder wealth, in the three months leading up to Microsoft's bid.

Seizing on an opportunity to expand its clout on the Internet, Microsoft dangled a takeover offer that was 62 percent above *****'s stock price of just $19.18 when the bid was announced Feb. 1. ***** shares ended the past week at $29.20.

Led by company co-founder and board member Jerry Yang, ***** now will be under intense pressure to lay out a strategy that will prevent its stock price from collapsing again. What's more, Yang and the rest of the management team must convince Wall Street that they can boost *****'s market value beyond Microsoft's offer.

*****'s shares traded at $31 as recently as November, but have eroded steadily amid concerns about the slowing economy and frustration with the slow pace of a turnaround that Yang promised last June when he replaced former movie studio mogul Terry Semel as *****'s chief executive officer.

This isn't the first time that ***** has spurned Microsoft. The Redmond, Wash.-based company offered $40 per share to buy ***** a year ago only to be shooed away by Semel, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person didn't want to be identified because that bid was never made public.

***** now may want that Microsoft to raise its price to at least $40 per share again. That would force Microsoft to raise its current offer by about $12 billion -- a high price that might alarm its own shareholders.

Microsoft's stock price already has slid 12 percent since the company announced its ***** bid, reflecting concerns about the deal bogging down amid potential management distractions, sagging employee morale and other headaches that frequently arise when two big companies are combined.

Although it isn't involved directly in the deal, Google is the main reason ***** is being pursued by Microsoft.

***** has struggled largely because it hasn't been able to target online ads as effectively as Google.

Microsoft believes *****'s brand, engineers, audience and services will provide the company with valuable weapons in its so far unsuccessful attempt to narrow Google's huge lead in the lucrative Internet search and advertising markets.

As it examined ways to thwart Microsoft, ***** considered an advertising partnership with Google -- an alliance long favored by analysts who believe it would boost the profits of both companies. It was unclear Saturday if *****'s plans for boosting its stock price include a Google partnership, which would probably face antitrust issues.

A Microsoft takeover of ***** would also be scrutinized by antitrust regulators in the United States and Europe. The antitrust uncertainties could be cited as one of the reasons that *****'s board decided to spurn Microsoft.

Obama wins big in Wash., Nebraska, La.
Illinois senator sweeps Democratic contests; Huckabee wins in Kansas

Robert F. Bukaty / AP
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., campaigns in Bangor, Maine, on Saturday.
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High stakes for Clinton, Obama
Feb. 9: Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are fighting for the chance to gain the upper hand in their neck-and-neck battle for delegates. NBC's Lee Cowan reports.
Nightly News





Voters cast their ballots
Presidential candidates hit the trail in a bid to win presidential nominating contests from Washington state to Maine.
more photos


Video: Decision '08
Obama on Neb., Wash., La. sweep
Feb. 9. Sen. Barack Obama speaks to supporters at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Richmond, Va., following his sweep of caucuses in Nebraska and Washington state and the Louisiana primary.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clinton: I'm ready for McCain
High stakes for Clinton, Obama
Can McCain afford to dismiss Huckabee?
Obama wins Louisiana primary

Interactive

Elections ’08 results — national overview
Primary and caucus results from each state
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Explaining the election system
Msnbc.com's political reporter Tom Curry answers questions about the road to the presidency
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Obama projected WA, NE winner
Huckabee projected KS winner
Hillary: FL and MI should be heard

msnbc.com political calendar

A day-by-day guide to American politics
FEBRUARY 2008
10 Maine Democratic caucus
12 Maryland, Virginia and D.C. primaries
19 Hawaii Democratic caucus
Washington primary
Wisconsin primary
MARCH 2008
4 Ohio primary
Rhode Island primary
Texas primary
Vermont primary
8 Wyoming Democratic caucuses
11 Mississippi primary
APRIL 2008
22 Pennsylvania primary
MAY 2008
6 Indiana and North Carolina primaries
13 Nebraska primary
West Virginia Democratic primary
West Virginia Republican primary (1/3 selected)
20 Kentucky and Oregon primaries
27 Idaho Republican caucus
JUNE 2008
3 Montana Democratic primary
New Mexico Republican caucus
South Dakota primary
AUGUST 2008
25-28 Democratic National Convention in Denver
SEPTEMBER 2008
1-4 Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul
26 Presidential debate in Oxford, Miss.
OCTOBER 2008
2 Vice Presidential debate in St. Louis, Mo.
7 Presidential debate in Nashville, Tenn.
15 Presidential debate in Hempstead, N.Y.
NOVEMBER 2008
4 Election Day




updated 11:26 p.m. ET Feb. 9, 2008
WASHINGTON - Sen. Barack Obama swept the Louisiana primary and caucuses in Nebraska and Washington state Saturday, boosting his slim delegate lead over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in their historic race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The Illinois senator also won caucuses in the Virgin Islands, completing his best night of the campaign.

"Today, voters from the West Coast to the Gulf Coast to the heart of America stood up to say 'yes we can'" Obama told a cheering audience of Democrats at a party dinner in Richmond, Va.

Story continues below ↓
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He jabbed simultaneously at Clinton and Arizona Sen. John McCain, saying the election was a choice between debating the Republican nominee-in-waiting "about who has the most experience in Washington, or debating him about who's most likely to change Washington. Because that's a debate we can win."

Clinton preceded Obama to the podium. She did not refer to the night's voting, instead turning against McCain. "We have tried it President Bush's way," she said, "and now the Republicans have chosen more of the same."

She left quickly after her speech, departing before Obama's arrival. But his supporters made their presence known, sending up chants of "Obama" from the audience as she made her way offstage.

Obama's winning margins ranged from substantial to crushing.

He won roughly two-thirds of the vote in Washington state and Nebraska, and almost 90 percent in the Virgin Islands.

With returns counted from nearly two-thirds of the Louisiana precincts, he was gaining 53 percent of the vote, to 39 percent for the former first lady. As in his earlier Southern triumphs in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, Obama, a black man, rode a wave of African-American support to victory in Louisiana.

In all, the Democrats scrapped for 161 delegates in the night's contests. In initial allocations, Obama had won 31, Clinton nine.





Before Saturday, in overall totals in the NBC News count, Obama had 861 delegates to 855 for Clinton. A total of 2,025 is required to win the nomination at the national convention in Denver.

The Democratic race moved into a new, post-Super Tuesday phase as McCain flunked his first ballot test since becoming the Republican nominee-in-waiting. He lost Kansas caucuses to Mike Huckabee, gaining less than 24 percent of the vote.

Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, got nearly 60 percent of the vote a few hours after telling conservatives in Washington, "I majored in miracles, and I still believe in them." He won all 36 delegates at stake.

Stocks slammed by economic outlook
Investors biting nails over bond insurers, broader economy
Market update
Index Last Change % change
• DJIA 12182.13 -64.87 -0.53%
• NASDAQ 2304.85 +11.82 +0.52%
• S&P 500 1331.29 -5.62 -0.42%



Data: MSN Money and ComStock

Overseas markets
SYMBOL LAST CHANGE % CHANGE
FTSE (London) 5784.00 +59.90 +1.05%
DAX (Frankfurt) 6767.28 +33.56 +0.50%
Nikkei 225 (Tokyo) 13017.24 -189.91 -1.44%
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Data: MSN Money and ComStock

updated 5:12 p.m. ET Feb. 8, 2008
NEW YORK - Wall Street finished a dismal week with a mixed performance Friday as investors grappled with fears about insurers of distressed mortgage-backed bonds and anxiety about the broader economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average, which rose in earlier trading, fell more than 60 points, while the Nasdaq composite index managed a gain. Both ended the week down more than 4 percent, however, and it was the Dow's worst week, percentage-wise, since March 2003.

The market has been shaken in recent weeks by uncertainty surrounding bond insurers and whether they'll be able to handle huge losses in the value of mortgage-backed bonds. On Thursday, Moody's Investors Service lowered its rating on the bond insurer Security Capital Assurance Ltd. Then at midday Friday, Fitch Ratings, another credit rating agency, put a series of mortgage-backed securities insured by MBIA Inc. on negative watch.

Oil prices rise back above $91 a barrel
Renewed concerns about supply disruption, U.S. recession
Cartoons
A look at the soaring price of crude oil.


Market update
Index Last Change % change
• DJIA 12182.13 -64.87 -0.53%
• NASDAQ 2304.85 +11.82 +0.52%
• S&P 500 1331.29 -5.62 -0.42%
Enter company symbol • Look up symbol

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World’s oil thirst
Around the globe countries are drilling for it, trading it and looking for ways to run their economies with replacements for it.
more photos


updated 4:01 p.m. ET Feb. 8, 2008
NEW YORK - Oil futures jumped back above $91 Friday, building on the previous session’s gains on renewed concerns about supply disruptions and also advancing on waning fears of a recession that would curb demand.

Crude gained on word that oil exports from Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer and a major U.S. supplier, could fall by as much as 1 million barrels a day due to the nation’s deteriorating security situation and planned maintenance. Nigeria is locked in a long-running battle with rebels intent on hurting the nation’s crude infrastructure.

Prices also rose on news that North Sea oil production has been cut by 280,000 barrels a day due to technical problems at a Total SA oil field, and that Russian crude output could fall this year due to the depletion of a large oil field, said JBC Energy GmbH, an energy research firm in Vienna, in a research report