Vodafone eyes AT&T Wireless
Published 9:00 pm Monday, February 9, 2004
Vodafone will try to acquire AT&T Wireless Services Inc., a move that would require the British cellphone company to sell its 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless. Redmond-based AT&T Wireless, the third-biggest cellular provider in the United States, put itself up for sale last month, saying it had received numerous inquiries about whether it was ready to entertain buyout offers.
The judge overseeing the Martha Stewart trial sent jurors home 15 minutes early when secretary Ann Armstrong could not continue her testimony Monday. Armstrong broke down in sobs as she described thanking Stewart for a gift of plum pudding Dec. 27, 2001 just before relaying a broker’s prediction that ImClone Systems stock would drop. The government claims the broker was trying to tell Stewart that ImClone founder Sam Waksal was dumping his shares, prompting Stewart to sell her stake in the company.
Seattle’s music industry pumps up the volume of the local economy by more than $650 million a year and nearly 8,700 jobs, according to an economic study by the mayor’s office. Combined with revenue generated by companies that support the industry, the figure tops $1.3 billion. More than 2,600 local businesses provide jobs for musicians, composers, music distributors, promoters, teachers, audio engineers and others, said the study, which was completed last year.
The Treasury Department sold $19 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.92 percent, unchanged from the previous week. An additional $17 billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 0.99 percent, down from 1 percent. The new rates understate the return to investors – 0.939 percent for three-month bills with a $10,000 bill selling for $9,976.70 and 1.011 percent for a six-month bill selling for $9,950.00. The Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year constant maturity Treasury bills, the most popular index for changing adjustable rate mortgages, rose to 1.28 percent last week from 1.25 percent.
The American Stock Exchange was shut down for trading of stocks and exchange-traded funds Monday morning because of technical problems. Trading resumed by 12:30 p.m. The delayed opening was caused by a computer problem at the Securities Industry Automation Corp., Amex spokeswoman Mary Chung said. The problem did not affect options trading.
From Herald news services
