TECHNOLOGY

DELL TO SELL PCS INSTALLED WITH GOOGLE SOFTWARE Dell Incorporated, the world’s biggest maker of personal computers, will sell PCs installed with Google Incorporated software, dealing a setback to Microsoft Corporation’s longtime control of the desktop.

Under the three-year agreement, Dell will offer machines with Google programs for searching hard drives and e-mail as well as its Web browser tool bar, Google’s chief executive officer, Eric Schmidt, said at a conference on Friday in Las Vegas. The agreement is for three years, a person familiar with the situation said.

The accord is a victory for Google, the world’s most-used search engine, putting its software before 100 million new PC owners over the life of the deal. Until now, Microsoft’s Internet browser and services have been the default settings on Dell PCs and the agreement may derail Microsoft’s attempts to draw users to its search services in the new Windows operating system.

– Bloomberg News

ECONOMY

GROWTH MAY SLOW FROM 5.3% ANNUAL RATE U.S. economic growth rose at an annual rate of 5.3% in the first quarter, slower than forecast and reflecting less momentum in consumer and corporate spending.

Stocks rose on signs the economy is expanding fast enough to boost company profits without igniting inflation. The rise in gross domestic product was the biggest since the third quarter of 2003 and compares with a 4.8% rate that was reported on April 28, the Commerce Department said.

Last quarter’s economic vigor may give way to a more moderate pace of growth for the remainder of 2006. Slower consumer spending and a weakening housing market will allow Federal Reserve policy-makers to stop raising interest rates if additional data point to a smaller risk of accelerating inflation, economists said.

– Bloomberg News

SALES OF EXISTING HOMES FALL, PRICE INCREASE SLOWS Sales of existing homes fell in April, and the price posted the smallest increase in 4 1/2 years, new signals that the nation’s once red-hot housing market has cooled.

The National Association of Realtors said yesterday that sales of previously owned single-family homes and condominiums dropped by 2 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted sales pace of 6.76 million units.

The median price of homes sold in April rose to $223,000, an increase of 4.2% from April 2005. That represented the smallest year-over-year price gain since September 2001.

– Associated Press

30-YEAR MORTGAGE RATES HIT HIGHEST LEVEL IN FOUR YEARS Rates on 30-year mortgages climbed this week for the eighth time in the past nine weeks, hitting the highest level in nearly four years.

Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported yesterday that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.62%, up from 6.60% last week.

This week’s rate was the highest since the week ending June 20, 2002, when 30-year mortgages were at 6.63%.

The housing sector, which has enjoyed five boom years, is exhibiting numerous signs of slowing under the impact of rising mortgage rates.

– Associated Press

PUBLISHING

MOODY’S CUTS NEW YORK TIMES RATING TWO NOTCHES Moody’s Investors Service cut its debt rating on the New York Times Company yesterday, citing a rise in leverage, Reuters reported. The third-largest American newspaper publisher saw its credit rating drop two notches to Baa1 from A2, and the commercial paper ratings dropped to Prime 2 from Prime 1.

The acquisition of About.com, spending on a new headquarters, and low profit margins significantly increased leverage, Moody’s said in a statement.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun