BUSINESS BRIEFS
Billionaire plans to boost his stake in Ford to 5.5%
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian's investment company said yesterday its tender offer for 20 million additional shares of Ford Motor Co. attracted a huge response and will enable it to increase its stake in the automaker to about 5.5 percent.
Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. said that its tender offer of $8.50 a share drew overtures of more than 1 billion of the company's shares, or nearly half of Ford's outstanding stock. Tracinda will buy 20 million shares for about $170 million.
HUNT PETROLEUM DEAL FACES HURDLE
DALLAS — XTO Energy Inc. said yesterday it is acquiring privately held Hunt Petroleum Corp. for $4.19 billion in cash and stock in a deal made more attractive by high oil and gas prices.
But the deal could become tangled in a money feud roiling the Hunt family. The lawyer for one of Hunt's great-grandsons, who is suing his own family over billions held in trust funds, vowed yesterday to block the sale. He considers the price too low.
XTO said the deal includes $2.6 billion in cash and 23.5 million shares of XTO stock that were valued at about $1.6 billion, or $67.50 per XTO share.
PAULSON OUTLINES U.S.-CHINA POLICY
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the administration intends to keep pursuing a policy of "robust engagement" with China that will include filing unfair trade cases as needed and pressuring the Chinese to move more quickly to revalue their currency.
Paulson, delivering a speech outlining the goals of a high-level meeting the two countries will hold next week, said that it was important for both nations to resist calls for erecting protectionist barriers. The trade deficit with China rose by 25.9 percent in April to $20.2 billion.
SHANGHAI INDEX PLUMMETS 7.7%
SHANGHAI, China — China's main stock index fell 7.7 percent yesterday, its biggest drop in a year, leading a second straight day of broad declines in Asia amid worries over inflation and slower growth.
The 257-point loss brought the Shanghai composite index to 3,072, the lowest close since March 2007.
Analysts said the primary catalyst was another round of credit-tightening measures by China's central bank, which sees inflation as a serious threat to one of the world's largest and fastest-growing economies.
Yesterday's decline cast a heavy pall over other Asian markets, which had retreated Monday in reaction to a sharp pullback Friday on Wall Street.
$200M IN FINES SOUGHT BY FEDS
WASHINGTON — Federal officials are seeking more than $200 million in fines and restitution from CompuCredit Corp. and two banks that allegedly engaged in deceptive credit card marketing practices.
The Federal Trade Commission and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. yesterday said CompuCredit and the banks failed to adequately disclose up-front fees and other conditions when marketing cards under the Aspire, FreedomCard, Tribute and other brand names.
The cards were largely marketed to individuals with weak credit histories, also known as the subprime market.
PANAMA CANAL FEE: $331,200
PANAMA CITY, Panama — The Disney Cruise Line has paid a record $331,200 for one of its ships to cross the Panama Canal.
The Panama Canal Authority said the 964-foot "Disney Magic" made the crossing May 16.
Panama increased canal fees last year and now charges cruise liners according to number of beds rather than cargo capacity.
The "Disney Magic" has 875 staterooms.
The previous record fee paid by any ship was $317,142 on May 7 by the cargo vessel "MSC Fabienne."
