NATIONAL

BLOCKBUSTER MAY TURN HOLLYWOOD BID INTO HOSTILE OFFER

Blockbuster, the largest American video store chain, threatened to make a $700 million hostile takeover offer for Hollywood Entertainment after saying the board refused to cooperate in negotiations.

Blockbuster demanded access to Hollywood Entertainment’s financial reports and will start a tender offer to buy the shares for $11.50 each by mid-January without the documents, Dallas-based Blockbuster said in a statement yesterday. The company has pressed for two months to get Hollywood Entertainment directors to open the books. The bid, supported by billionaire financier Carl Icahn, is competing with offers from Movie Gallery Incorpoated and buyout firm Leonard Green & Partners. Blockbuster lost sales this year to Internet services and cable companies, and the transaction may help stem client defections.

– Bloomberg News

TECHNOLOGY

PEOPLESOFT SAYS CHIEF EXECUTIVE DUFFIELD RESIGNED

PeopleSoft, which has agreed to be bought by Oracle for $10.3 billion, said its chief executive and founder, David Duffield, resigned as the company awaits the close of the takeover.

Mr. Duffield, who is also chairman, resigned December 21, business software maker PeopleSoft said in a regulatory filing yesterday. On December 13, the day PeopleSoft accepted Oracle’s $26.50-a-share offer, Mr. Duffield sent a letter to employees saying he was “deeply saddened” about the Oracle takeover.

Mr. Duffield reassumed the post of chief executive in October after Craig Conway was fired for misleading investors. Mr. Duffield, 64, who owns more than 5% of PeopleSoft’s shares, tried to help PeopleSoft fend off Oracle’s bid, then in the 16th month of an 18-month battle that saw five offers and numerous lawsuits.

– Bloomberg News

MARKETS

DOLLAR STRENGTHENS VERSUS EURO AFTER FOUR DAYS OF RECORD LOWS

The dollar rose against the euro in Asia after setting record lows for four consecutive days as some traders reduced bets the American currency would decline.

The currency pared its one-month drop against the euro to 2.2% in a move that may have been exaggerated by reduced trading.

Markets in Britain and Australia were closed the past two days and Japan has a holiday December 31. The dollar is heading for a third annual decline versus the euro and yen on speculation that America and Europe won’t combine to halt its descent.

Against the euro, the dollar rose to $1.3588 at 10:57 a.m. in Tokyo, from $1.3612 late in New York Monday, according to electronic currency trading system EBS. It also climbed to 103.31 yen, from 103.06.

– Bloomberg News

REGULATORY

ADELPHIA OFFERS $300 MILLION TO RESOLVE PROBE, SUIT

Adelphia Communications, the fifth-largest American cable-television operator, offered $300 million to resolve two government investigations as it tries to exit bankruptcy.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a securities fraud suit against Adelphia in July 2002 after examining $2.3 billion in loans backed to partnerships owned by the family of company founder and former Chairman John Rigas. The Justice Department opened a probe in May 2002. Adelphia disclosed the settlement offer in a December 23 filing with the SEC.

– Bloomberg News

IN THE COURTS

LAWSUIT CLAIMS CHILDREN’S MOTRIN CAUSES SEVERE SIDE-EFFECTS

The parents of a 7-year-old girl on yesterday sued the makers of Children’s Motrin and several other companies that distribute the painkiller, claiming their daughter lost her eyesight and suffered other side effects after taking the medication.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Sabrina Brierton Johnson of Los Angeles, seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages against New Jersey-based health care giant Johnson & Johnson, subsidiary McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals, and several other firms, including retailers Ralphs Grocery and Albertsons’s Sav-On pharmacies.

In their lawsuit, Kenneth and Joan Brierton Johnson accuse the defendants of negligence, breach of warranty and of concealing from consumers and doctors potential health risks of taking the flu and pain medication, specifically the risk of developing two disorders – Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis – which are typically caused by an adverse reaction to a drug or virus.

Sabrina took Children’s Motrin drops on September 8, 2003, after she came home from school complaining of a fever.

The next morning, she woke up with a high fever and other symptoms, including a pink coloration in her eyes and sores in her mouth. She was hospitalized, but a day later she was blind in both eyes.

Doctors later concluded Sabrina had contracted Stevens-Johnson Syndrome from taking Children’s Motrin, according to the lawsuit.

– Associated Press