Business & Finance
Embattled auditor Arthur Andersen LLP was expected to admit it illegally destroyed Enron Corp. documents as part of a larger, though still tentative, deal with federal prosecutors, The New York Times reported. Under the draft agreement, which would encompass both criminal and civil charges facing Chicago-based Andersen, the government would defer prosecution for years, and dismiss its indictment if Andersen met strict requirements, such as cooperating with the inquiry into Enron's collapse, the Times said. The settlement was prompted by Tuesday's guilty plea by David Duncan, a former partner fired by Andersen for shredding Enron documents.
Internet company Yahoo! Inc. posted a net loss for the sixth quarter in a row, but beat revenue forecasts and said its turnaround plan remains on track because the company is tapping new sources of income, beyond advertising. The Sunnyvale, Calif.,-based company lost $53.6 million, or 9 cents per share, on $192.7 million in revenue during the first three months of 2002. After seeing its fortunes plunge in the dotcom bust, Yahoo pledged to reduce its reliance on advertising, which once made up 90 percent of its revenue but now represents 63 percent.
General Motors Corp.'s takeover bid of Daewoo Motor Co. is moving forward, now that creditor banks of Daewoo have settled key differences that had slowed the deal. The US auto giant signed a preliminary deal in September to take over the debt-ridden Daewoo for $1.2 billion, but negotiations dragged on over several points. The acquisition, which is now expected to be completed this month, would give Detroit-based GM production bases in Asia.
Efforts by Australian media magnate Rupert Murdoch to arrange a rescue mean the pay-television service of deeply indebted German media group Kirch probably won't file for insolvency this week, sources said. The conglomerate's core unit KirchMedia did file, and Murdoch, whose BSkyB owns an equity stake in KirchPayTV, would loose his foothold in the German industry if it follows suit.
