CITY

JONES APPAREL REPORTEDLY TO BUY BARNEYS

The Jones Apparel Group, a $4.3 billion clothing company is expected to announce today a deal to buy Barneys New York, the trendy clothing chain that has its flagship store on Madison Avenue, the New York Times reported on its Web site last night.

Although Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Federated Department Stores were originally mentioned as potential buyers, all the big chains dropped out because they considered the asking price of $400 million to $500 million too high, according to the Times. Jones did not and offered $400 million, the Times reported.

By this week, there were only two private investors left in the bidding – the designer Elie Tahari and the financier Nelson Peltz – people briefed on the bidding process said. Mr. Tahari had bid $360 million and Mr. Peltz had bid $380 million, the Time reported.

Bear Stearns had also bid up to $330 million, but had dropped out, these people said. Jones’s was the fourth bid, the Times reported.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

NATIONAL

FED RAISES TARGET RATE TO 2%, KEEPS ‘MEASURED’ PLAN

Federal Reserve policy makers raised the benchmark U.S. interest rate a quarter percentage point to 2% and restated a plan to carry out any further increases at a “measured” pace.

“With underlying inflation expected to be relatively low, the committee believes that policy accommodation can be removed at a pace that is likely to be measured,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement after meeting in Washington. “The committee will respond to changes in economic prospects as needed to fulfill its obligation to maintain price stability.”

The fourth increase this year and the possibility the FOMC may keep raising rates suggests that central bankers are confident the world’s largest economy will continue to grow, even amid a 47% increase in oil prices this year. The vote to raise the overnight bank lending rate was unanimous.

– Bloomberg News

ADVERTISING

NASCAR TO ALLOW HARD-LIQUOR PRODUCTS AS SPONSORS NEXT SEASON

Nascar will allow liquor companies as sponsors for its Nextel Cup and other stockcar racing series next season, a move that ends a 30-year ban and may create an infusion of money for racing teams.

Stock-car racing’s governing body is allowing distilleries to become sponsors because “attitudes have changed,” Nascar’s president, Mike Helton, said in a press release. Liquor sponsorships will be required to have a portion of the advertising dedicated to promoting responsible drinking.

The move opens the second-most watched sport on American television to companies including Diageo Plc, Brown-Forman Corp., and Fortune Brands Inc. to spend the approximately $15 million a year to sponsor a car.

Nascar has allowed teams to advertise beer for about 25 years and, more recently, malt beverages such as Diageo’s Smirnoff Ice. The ban on hard liquor, which dates back to the 1970s, stems from an agreement among television networks not to show liquor advertisements.

– Bloomberg News

TECHNOLOGY

PEOPLESOFT REJECTS $8.8 BILLION ORACLE BID

PeopleSoft Inc. rejected Oracle Corp. Chief Executive Larry Ellison’s takeover bid for the fifth time, saying the latest $8.8 billion offer is “inadequate” and doesn’t reflect the software maker’s true value.

Oracle pre-empted the announcement by releasing a statement declaring the offer its “best and final” and said it will be withdrawn unless a majority of PeopleSoft shares are tendered by midnight November 19. PeopleSoft in a statement urged shareholders not to tender their shares.

PeopleSoft’s chief executive, David Duffield, is under pressure from investors to give up the 17-month fight.

– Bloomberg News