CombiMatrix Corp. has commitments from institutional investors who plan to purchase $2.9 million of its stock, the Mukilteo-based company announced Thursday. Money raised from the sale will strengthen the company’s balance sheet and pay for efforts to enter the market for molecular diagnostic tools, said Amit Kumar, CombiMatrix’s chief executive officer.
Morgan Stanley gets new leader
John Mack returned to Morgan Stanley as its chairman and chief executive Thursday, bringing the stability of a Wall Street veteran to an embattled firm and promising to seek the return of top employees who left the company under former chairman and chief executive Phil Purcell. The company’s board of directors voted unanimously to name Mack chairman and CEO, a long-rumored appointment thought to appeal to the company’s investment bankers and promote internal unity.
Bank of America buys credit leader
In a bold move that reinforces Bank of America Corp.’s dominance of consumer banking in the United States, the nation’s third-largest bank said Thursday it will buy credit-card leader MBNA Corp. in a deal worth $35 billion in stock and cash. The acquisition reshapes the landscape for banks that issue credit cards – including many of Bank of America’s top rivals – and transforms the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank into one of the world’s largest holders of consumer debt.
Personal income growth flattens out
Personal income growth slowed sharply in May, and consumer spending didn’t increase at all, but analysts view the weakness as temporary and not a signal of a serious slowdown of the economy. The Commerce Department said personal incomes rose a slight 0.2 percent last month, far below the 0.6 percent increase in April.
U.S. won’t give up control of Internet
The U.S. government will indefinitely retain oversight of the main computers that control traffic on the Internet, ignoring calls by some countries to turn the function over to an international body, a senior official said Thursday. Michael Gallagher, assistant secretary for communications and information at the Commerce Department, said the declaration was in response to growing security threats and increased reliance on the Internet globally for communications and commerce.
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