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Oct31
Satellite Radio Asked to Pay More in Royalties
XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XMSR) and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI) have been asked to pay at least 10 percent of their revenues for the right to play songs over their networks.

Federal law requires satellite radio, digital cable and Internet companies to pay the artists and record companies unlike traditional land-based radio stations, which pay royalties to songwriters and publishers.

Although the figures are not publicly disclosed it is estimated that the two subscription satellite radio companies currently pay about 6.5 to 7 percent but that agreement expires at the end of this year.

Neither company has yet to make a profit and if they were to pay 10 percent of revenues or $1.10 per subscriber, whichever is higher as SoundExchange has suggested, royalties could reach $9 million the first year.

Read more about the proposal here.
Oct31
Commercial Real Estate Firm CB Richard Ellis Merges With Trammell Crow
CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. (CBG), the world's largest commercial real estate broker, will acquire rival Trammell Crow Co. (TCC) in a $2.2 billion deal that will more than double its current property management business.CB Richard Ellis, one of the... Continue Reading
Merck Buys Gene-Silencing Drug Maker
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) will acquire Sirna Therapeutics, one of the leading companies in the pursuit of the Nobel Prize award winning technology that could lead to the ability to "turn off" a gene. The $1.1 billion deal was announced yesterday... Continue Reading
Government Drops Claims Against Chevron
In a move that will cost the federal government tens of millions of dollars the Interior Department has dropped claims against Chevron Corp. (CVX)--claims that they systematically underpaid the government for natural gas produced in the Gulf of Mexico. This... Continue Reading
Oct30
Viacom Asks YouTube To Purge Videos
Viacom Inc. (VIA) has requested YouTube, the video-sharing Web site, to remove Viacom videos as part of ongoing discussions on how the two companies can work together. Thousands of Viacom clips are still available on YouTube as of today. A... Continue Reading
Amerigroup Fined $48 Million for Discrimination
A federal court jury returned a verdict against insurance company Amerigroup Corp. (AGP), a company that specializes in health care for low-income patients, for $48 million in damages for discriminating against pregnant women. The amount would be tripled, to $144... Continue Reading
KFC To Switch to Non-Trans Fat Oil
Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFCKF.PK) has decided, after two years of careful secret taste tests, to stop frying their famous chicken in artery-clogging trans fats. Although the announcement has won the praise of consumer advocates, including The Center for Science in... Continue Reading
More Than 100 Companies Part of Stock Option Abuse Investigations
Avoiding paying income taxes is the lastest twist in the stock options game. A game that such companies as Symbol Technologies Inc. (SBL) and Mercury Interactive Corp. (MERQ.PK) seemed to have played in order to avoid paying hundreds of thousands... Continue Reading
Verizon Stock Slides Despite Healthy Third Quarter
Wallstreet didn't seem too inspired by Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) despite the dazzling third quarter that Verizon Wireless brought in. That would have to do with the worries about the wired side of Verizon, where losses of traditional phone customers... Continue Reading
Microsoft Is Playing Hardball With Pirates
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is getting tough and trying to curb widespread piracy of many of their programs including the Windows operating system and Office suite. Monday they said they had filed more than 50 lawsuits and other legal actions worldwide... Continue Reading
Oct27
Political Ad Gets Wal-Mart Consultant Fired
Republican strategist, Terry Nelson, just struck out with first infuriating Canada's ambassador to the United States, next offending black voters in Tennesse and then most heinous of all--becoming a political liability for Wal-Mart (WMT).The nation's biggest retailer cut all ties... Continue Reading
Norfolk & Amtrak Sued By Trespassers for $24.2 Million
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) and Amtrak were parties in a lawsuit wherein a federal jury awarded $24.2 million to two men severely burned by electrical wires while trespassing onto railroad property and climbing onto a rail car.The two boys, 17... Continue Reading
Wal-Mart Adds 12 More Stores Selling $4 Prescriptions
Last month Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) announced the offering of $4 generic prescription drugs in Florida area stores. The world's largest retailer is extending the drug plan to 12 more states, bringing the total to 27.One-month supplies of 314 different... Continue Reading
A Starbucks on Every Corner and Behind Every Bush
If you are in Seattle don't accept directions that begin with "turn left at the Starbucks" or you might find yourself with quite the dilemma. Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) can be found on the first floor, 40th floor and across the... Continue Reading
Ford Rolls Out Last Taurus Leaving 2,000 Workers Jobless
2,000 workers at Ford Motor Co.'s (F) Atlanta plant lose their jobs as the last of Ford's Taurus sedans rolls off the assembly line. The Atlanta Assembly Plant has been in existance for 59 years and has been closed as... Continue Reading
Harley-Davidson Stock at a Record High
Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) has long been the topic of discussion about when this veteran of motorcycles, in existence since 1903, would give up the ghost and lay down and let the younger companies take over.The same could be said for... Continue Reading
Oct26
Exxon Reports Unsuprisingly Huge Profits
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) reported the second largest quarterly profit ever posted by a publicly traded American company--$10.49 billion. Coincidentally, the largest profit on record was also reported by ExxonMobil--$10.71 billion in the fourth quarter of 2005.High oil and natural-gas... Continue Reading
Might Daimler Make A Go Without Chrysler?
With Chrysler losing money , $1.5 billion in the last three months, for parent company DaimlerChrysler (DCX) the possibility exists that the Chrysler Group could be spun off or sold.Executives at the German parent company are not ruling the option... Continue Reading
Boeing's Dreamliner Program Not So Dreamy
Boeing Co. 's (BA) outlook to retake the No. 1 spot in the commercial airliner business has hit a snag with the rising costs of its key 787 Dreamliner program. Chicago-based aerospace company Boeing still expects to deliver the first... Continue Reading
Man Sells Stolen Legos on E-Bay
A man who stole Lego merchandise from stores in at least five states by placing counterfeit bar code labels over the real labels sold them on Internet sites including eBay Inc. (EBAY). William A. Swanberg, 41, of Hillsboro, Ore., carried... Continue Reading
Oct25
Oracle Undersells Support for Red Hat Linux
In an aim to solve key problems holding back the development of Linux among big corporate customers Oracle Corp. (ORCL) is offering half-price support to Red Hat Inc. (RHAT) users. With support costs less than half what Red Hat charges... Continue Reading
Verizon Offering Flash For Cell Phones
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) is deploying  "Flash Lite for Brew" technology, a version of the Web media technology known as "Flash" that will boost the look of graphics, animation and video delivered to its cell phones. Verizon is hoping to... Continue Reading
Amazon Posts Profits Below Last Year's
Amazon.com Inc. 's (AMZN) profits have been on  a steady decline for the past 2 1/2 years with with profits in the last three months being $19 million when they were $30 million the same time last year. The decline... Continue Reading
GM Reports $115 Million Loss
General Motors Corporation (GM) and the Chrysler division of DaimlerChrysler (DCX) both reported third-quarter losses in the millions today. GM, the world's largest automaker, reported $115 million with Chrysler reporting $1.48 billion. GM's loss is an improvement on the losses... Continue Reading
Oct24
Starbucks to Open 100 Stores a Year in China
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) has opened 200 stores in China since 1999 and plans to open at least 100 stores a year intending to build on the successes that they project will rival its US market.Starbuck's presence in the big cities... Continue Reading
Wal-Mart Blames Weak October Sales On Gas Prices Not On Union-Backed Groups
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) vows they will gain back sales in the upcoming holiday season despite a weak October that they blame on gas prices and not the organized efforts of critical union-backed groups.Stores in Germany and South Korea were... Continue Reading
Toyota Recalls 30,000 Scions
Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) announced the recall of about 30,000 Scion TC sports coupes due to concerns that the side air bags might inadvertently deploy if the door is slammed hard. About 20 percent of the 2005 and 2006 models are... Continue Reading
Kellogg COO Promoted to CEO
When James M. Jenness steps down as chief executive of Kellogg Co. (K) on Dec. 31, current chief operating officer and president, David Mackay, will take over.Jenness, who has been on Kellogg's board since 2000 and was named chief executive... Continue Reading
Kimberly-Clark Shares Fall Even With Profit Increases
Despite a 12 percent increase in third-quarter profits Kimberly-Clark Corp. (KMB)  did not impress Wall Street and its shares fell.The maker of Kleenex tissues, Huggies diapers, Kotex feminine products and Scott paper products and other well known brands, also stated... Continue Reading
Coca-Cola Donates Prime Land to Civil Rights Museum
The Coca-Cola Co. (KO) has announced the donation of two and a half acres of prime land near the downtown tourist district in Atlanta to be used for a proposed civil rights museum.The museum would hold, among other exhibits, the... Continue Reading
Medco Agrees to Pay $155 Million to Settle Kickback Case
MedcoHealth Solutions Inc. (MHS), a manager of employee prescription drug benefits, has agreed to pay $155 million to settle a case that includes accusations that they accepted kickbacks from drug makers and submitted false claims to the government.According to the... Continue Reading
Oct23
Wrigley Hires Outside the Family For the First Time In 114 Years
William Wrigley Jr. Co. (WWY), known for its chewing gum, breath mints and hard candy, has gone outside the family for the first time to choose a new chief executive. They have chosen William D. Perez, formerly and briefly at the... Continue Reading
Google's People Will Be Contacting Your People
Google Inc. (GOOG) has changed the way we find information and resources on everything from music to law. Heck, you can even find info on how to go about sueing them or find a lawyer to do it for you. Google, the... Continue Reading
Whole Foods Market Offering Kinder, Gentler Meats
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFMI) might be kinder and gentler to some cows, pigs and chickens but ultimately they are still going to end up dinner.In a marketing approach that hopes to soothe the feelings of a niche market of... Continue Reading
Cingular, Verizon Are Among Many Targeting Hispanic Community
Cingular and Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) are just two of the many technology companies, including cell phone companies, that are targeting the young, tech-savvy  Hispanic population--43 million strong and the fastest-growing minority group in the U.S. Those numbers will translate... Continue Reading
IBM Sues Amazon Over Patents
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) filed two lawsuits on Monday that allege that important components that are the foundation of Amazon.com Inc.'s (AMZN) Web site were developed and patented years before-at IBM. IBM contends that Amazon, the massive online retailer who... Continue Reading
Ford Reports $5.8 Billion Loss for Third Quarter
Ford Motor Co. (F) is struggling with an immense restructuring plan that hopes to cut costs making them better able to compete with its overseas competition, offering lower-cost auto options for the consumer. The third-quarter loss of $5.8 billion is... Continue Reading
Oct20
UnitedHealth May Delay Filings Due to Stock Option Abuse Investigation
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH), the nation's largest provider of health insurance, reports third-quarter income increases of 38 percent, due to acquisitions that raised the number of policyholders.The purchase of PacifiCare Health Systems last December increased members 24 percent, in the... Continue Reading
Nokia and Ericsson Post Earnings Below Expectations
Both Nokia Corp. (NOK), the cellphone maker, and its Swedish rival Ericsson Telephone Co. (ERIC) posted third-quarter results that were below expectations in the European market.Nokia sold 88.5 million mobile handsets, a third more than in the same period in... Continue Reading
McDonald's Earnings Up 15 Percent
The world's largest restaurant company, McDonald's Corp. (MCD) has reported a 15 percent increase in third-quarter profits, which beat expected forecasts it presented last week.The company has seen turnarounds in the United States over the last three years and due... Continue Reading
Sony Gets Ready For Video Game Console Battle
Sony Corp. (SNE) and PlayStation 3 video console and 21 new games are getting ready for the shopping battle that will be waged for the consumers holiday dollars when they go on sale next month. Rival Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) name was never mentioned in... Continue Reading
Allstate Age Bias Case Must Be Heard By A Jury
Allstate Corp. Insurance Company (ALL) must have its age discrimination case heard by a jury is the ruling of Federal District Judge E. Richard Webber made yesterday. According to this NYTimes.com article Allstate might have discriminated against older insurance agents... Continue Reading
Oct19
Pfizer Reporting Higher Profits
Pfizer Inc. (PFE), the world's biggest pharmaceutical company, is among the drug makers posting strong profits with Pfizer reporting third-quarter earnings that are more than double last year.Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY), Novartis AG (NVS), and Wyeth (WYE) joined Pfizer... Continue Reading
Google Nearly Doubles Profits
The world's largest search engine, Google Inc. (GOOG), shows evidence again of its financial prowess as its third-quarter profits come in at double last years.In comparison, its largest rival Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) has seen slow and declining sales for both... Continue Reading
Yahoo An Attractive Takeover Target
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) and its future have many people talking. They have stated they are experiencing a slowdown in advertising, and some analysts have even cut their ratings on its stock. With Google Inc.'s (GOOG) recent purchase some say that... Continue Reading
Cypress Semiconductor Is Not For Sale
Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (CY), a maker of chips for telecommunications, decides it will remain independent just two weeks after it suggested the entire company might be on the table for a merger or acquistion. They determined a standalone strategy was best... Continue Reading
Russian Tycoon Denies He Is Buying Stake In G.M.
A German magazine reported that Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska was buying up shares in General Motors Corporation (GM) but his investment firms states that was incorrect. Manager Magazine said in an article to be published on Saturday that Mr. Deripaska... Continue Reading
Music Companies Buy YouTube Stock Before Google Buyout
The YouTube founders might be happy about the $1.56 billion deal with Google Inc. (GOOG) but so are the old-line media companies who slipped in before the deal was made to snatch up shares of the video-sharing Web site. Three... Continue Reading
Oct18
Time Warner AOL Laying Off 1,300
Time Warner Inc.'s (TWX) AOL announced it will lay off 1,300 employees by closing call centers in New Mexico and Arizona a part of a previously declared restructing plan. AOL also plans on selling its call center in Odgen, Utah.... Continue Reading
Wal-Mart Faces Employee Walk Out
Approximately 200 employees of a Hialeah Gardens, Fla. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) Super Center walked out in protest against new store policies, rallying outside the store with shouts of "We want justice." The Workers numbered about 200. This is the... Continue Reading
Oct17
Viacom Providing Content For Fastest Growing Chinese Web Site
Viacom Inc. (VIA), one of the world's biggest media companies will provide television and music-video content to Baidu ,one the world's most trafficked web sites.Baidu is one of China's biggest and fastest-growing Internet companies and the deal with Viacom's MTV... Continue Reading
Yahoo Posts Drop In Quarterly Profit
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) posted a drop of 37 percent in quarterly profit today due mainly to weak online corporate advertising sales and competitive pressures.Last year this time quarter profits were at $254 million compared to today at $159 million, which... Continue Reading
$8 Billion Deal Between Chicago Mercantile & CBOT Holdings
Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. (CME) and CBOT Holdings Inc. (BOT) announced they will merge the two organizations, creating the most extensive and diverse global derivatives exchange.The combined company will be called CME Group Inc. and will bring together two... Continue Reading
Merck Gets Approval For New Diabetes Drug
Merck & Co. Inc.'s (MRK) new drug for treating Type 2 diabetes, Januvia, has gained approval by the Food and Drug Administration.The drug seems to work as well as older diabetes drugs but with fewer side effects such as weight... Continue Reading
Oct16
JLG Industries Sold to Oshkosh for $3 Billion
Oshkosh Truck Corp. (OSK), a military and commercial vehicle maker, is buying JLG Industries Inc. (JLG) for $3 billion in cash.JLG is the top provider of aerial platforms and booms in North America and Europe with $2.3 billion in revenues... Continue Reading
Disney Will No Longer Promote Junk Food
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) is following a growing trend of businesses that are helping promote good nutrition for children. Parents are becoming more and more concerned with what their kids are eating and Disney hopes to address those concerns by... Continue Reading
Wal-Mart Will Acquire Chinese Supercenter Chain
The behemoth retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) will reportedly acquire another big fish in the Chinese retail market, making Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, also the biggest food and department store network in China.Wal-Mart has declined to comment on the... Continue Reading
UnitedHealth Tries To Win Back Wall Street Confidence
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) is another company embroiled in a backdating of stock options scandal that is trying to regain Wall Street confidence. The unexpected departure of long time chief executive William McGuire "who undoubtedly has been one of the... Continue Reading
Former FDA Chief Illegally Held Pepsico, Embrex Stocks
Former FDA Chief Lester M. Crawford resigned as commissioner of the Food and Drug Adminstration only two months after being confirmed. Today he pled guilty to charges that he hid ownership of stock in food and drug companies that he... Continue Reading
Oct12
Motorola's Paper Trail Doesn't Block Sexual Discrimination Trial
Motorola Inc. (MOT) might have constructed a "paper trail" to justify firing a high-ranking female executive who later sued for alleged sex discrimination, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.The jury trial is scheduled for Nov. 6 in the Motorola 2005 firing... Continue Reading
Apple Stock Option Scandal Faces Al Gore
Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) will face the investigations of Al Gore, former US vice president, who has been asked to hlep uncover the truth about the recent Silicon Valley stock option scandals.Mr. Gore is a non-executive director of Apple, and... Continue Reading
Morgan Stanley Fallout Leads to Loss of Two More Jobs
Morgan Stanley (MS) has asked two bankers to leave after distribution of an e-mail that was critical of Singapore and cost the firm's former chief economist in Asia , Andy Xie, his job.Singapore-based equity saleswoman Celicia Ong and Hani Abuali,... Continue Reading
AT&T and BellSouth Merger Moving Fast
The deal to merge AT&T Inc. (T) and BellSouth Corp. (BLS) is huge but it is moving fast despite its size. Yesterday the Justic Department completed its review of the $78 billion transaction and agreed to allow it-with no strings... Continue Reading
GM May Avert Delphi Strike
General Motors Corporation  (GM), other creditors and Delphi Corp. (DPHIQ.PK), the bankrupt auto parts company, are near an accord that hopes to avoid a crippling strike at the world's largest automaker.In the accord GM would subsidize Dephi workers' pay and... Continue Reading
Kohls Goes to the Big Apple For Fashion
In a trend that is sweeping discount retailers, Kohl's Corp. (KSS) is opening an office in New York since finding trendy clothing designers near the company's Midwestern home office has proved difficult. Kohl's is not alone. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT)... Continue Reading
Oct11
Zyprexa from Eli Lilly No Better Than Placebo
Drugs most commonly used to soothe agitation and agression in Alzheimer patients, such as Zyprexa from Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY), Seroquel from AstraZeneca (AZN) and Risperdal from Janssen Pharmaceutical, owned by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), are no more effective than... Continue Reading
Heads Roll at Cnet, McAfee and Monster
Scandals are rampant in big business these days and three well-known technology companies are joining the club. The heads of Internet news publisher CNET Networks Inc. (CNET) , security software firm McAfee Inc. (MFE), and online recruitment service Monster Worldwide... Continue Reading
Oct10
Equity Firms Sweeten Bids for Harrah's
Apollo Management Group and the Texas Pacific Group have raised their bid for Harrah's Entertainment Inc. (HET), the world's largest casino operator, to more than $15.5 billion. The company's directors rejected the equity group's first offer of $15.05 billion in... Continue Reading
Genentech Drug Sales Lead to Soaring Profits
Genentech Inc. (DNA) has watched its third-quarter profits surge by 58 percent due to strong drug sales including Lucentis, the company's newest drug that treats the eye disease macular degeneration. The San Francisco-based company reported $568 million in profits for... Continue Reading
Dontcha Wish You Were YouTube?
$1.65 billion in Google stock would be yours if you were! Google Inc. (GOOG) has agreed to acquire the wildly popular, consumer-generated, top video entertainment site YouTube Inc. for the highest price yet paid for this type of media site.... Continue Reading
Procter & Gamble, Wal-Mart Give Marketing Tips
Who wouldn't want some marketing tips from mega companies like Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT)? The marketing message offered at the 96th annual Association of National Advertisers was giving up the steering wheel to a... Continue Reading
Sprint Nextel Chairman Will Step Down
Tim Donahue, executive chairman of Sprint Nextel