BUSINESS BRIEFS
Microsoft bumps up original bid offer for Yahoo
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft Corp. finally dangled a higher takeover bid in front of Yahoo Inc. yesterday, hoping to reach a friendly deal after weeks of saber rattling.
The Redmond, Wash.-based software maker upped its offer beyond the original value of $44.6 billion, or $31 per share, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The specifics of the new offer weren't known by this person, who didn't want to be identified because the negotiations are still confidential.
Representatives from Microsoft and Yahoo declined to comment on the negotiations.
GAS PRICES DIP FOR FIRST TIME IN WEEKS
NEW YORK — Retail gas prices nationally fell slightly yesterday — the first time in 18 days they haven't hit a record — and analysts say pump prices may be peaking for the year. Oil futures, meanwhile, soared after Turkish airstrikes on Kurdish rebel bases in Iraq injected some supply concerns into the market and the Labor Department's employment report gave investors reason to be optimistic about the economy.
The national average price of a gallon of regular gas fell 0.1 cent overnight to $3.622, according to a survey of gas stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. That's the first time since April 14 that retail prices have fallen. Diesel prices fell 0.2 cent to a national average of $4.249 a gallon.
FED BOOSTS SUPPLY TO U.S. BANKS
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve announced yesterday that it will expand a series of efforts to deal with the global credit crisis, in coordination with European central banks.
The Fed said it was boosting the amount of emergency reserves it supplies to U.S. banks to $150 billion in May, from the $100 billion it supplied in April. The Fed took this action and several other moves to boost credit in coordination with the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank.
The latest moves are part of a series of actions the Fed has made since the credit crisis struck in August.
NCL CHARGED IN FATAL '03 EXPLOSION
MIAMI — Norwegian Cruise Line has been charged with grossly negligent operation of a vessel for a 2003 ship explosion in Miami, according to court documents filed yesterday.
Eight sailors died and several others were injured after a boiler exploded on the 1,035-foot ship Norway in May 2003. The explosion sent debris and a blast of steam through parts of the 43-year-old ship after it docked at the Port of Miami-Dade.
It was not clear why authorities waited five years to file the charge.
Launched as the France in 1960, the 2,000-passenger ship was towed to Germany after the blast and has been retired from the company's fleet.
