Business Desk

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

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REAL ESTATE

Fannie Mae Erases $6.3B in Profit

WASHINGTON — Fannie Mae erased $6.3 billion in profit in a long-awaited restatement yesterday, capping the accounting scandal that stunned financial markets and brought the ouster of top executives and a record fine against the government-sponsored mortgage leader. The correction of its earnings from 2001 through June 30, 2004, ordered by the Securities and Exchange Commission two years ago, was well below Fannie Mae’s earlier estimate of $10.8 billion. The reworking of its accounting is costing the company some $1 billion this year to conduct. It is the first earnings statement filed by Fannie Mae, which finances one of every five home loans in America, since late 2004.

— Associated Press

AUTOMOTIVE

Ford Sells $4.5B of Bonds, 50% More Than Planned

Ford Motor Co., under pressure to raise money to close plants and pay for employee buyouts, sold $4.5 billion of bonds that can be converted into shares, 50% more than originally planned. The sale, combined with a boost in the size of a credit line that Ford is seeking, means the automaker will raise as much as $23 billion to carry it through next year’s union negotiations, up from the initial plan of $18 billion. Ford announced the sale in a statement late yesterday.

— Bloomberg News

RETAIL

Home Depot ‘Routinely’ Backdated Option Grants

ATLANTA — Home Depot Inc., the world’s largest home-improvement retailer, said it “routinely” backdated option grants to benefit employees for 19 years and had unrecorded expenses of about $200 million related to past practices. The company’s five-month internal probe, which found no evidence of “intentional wrongdoing” by company managers or its board, discovered several errors on how the company handled option grants dating back to 1981, Atlanta-based Home Depot said yesterday in a statement.

— Bloomberg News

TECHNOLOGY

Yahoo Announces Sweeping Changes

SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo Inc. is tackling its most difficult challenge since the dot-com bust with sweeping organizational changes aimed at cleaning up a mess of its own making. Yahoo believes it can get back on track by consolidating its operations into three groups focused on its audience, advertising network, and behind-the-scenes technology. The shake-up will reshuffle top management, entrusting Chief Financial Officer Susan Decker to fix the problems bedeviling Yahoo’s advertising system and opening a job for an executive who will be hired to guide efforts to make Yahoo’s Web site more useful and relevant.

— Associated Press

News Corp. Nears Agreement With Liberty Media

News Corp. is nearing an agreement with Liberty Media Holding Corp. Interactive to buy back Liberty’s $11 billion stake in the press and broadcast giant, people familiar with the situation said. In exchange Liberty would get News Corp.’s 39% stake in satellite-TV firm DirecTV Group as well as some cash and other assets. The agreement, which could be finalized in the next few weeks, would end a two-year-old standoff between the two companies over Liberty’s accumulation of a 19% voting interest in News Corp. in 2004.

— Dow Jones Newswires

PHARMACEUTICALS

Biovail Shares Up On Release Of Restructuring Details

TORONTO — Shares of Biovail Corp. were up sharply yesterday after the company gave details of a promised restructuring initiative, plus some unexpected treats like an increased dividend and better-than-expected earnings guidance. As reported, Biovail, Canada’s largest publicly traded pharmaceutical company, said it would triple its annual dividend payout to $1.50 a share, and declared a special dividend of 50 cents a share. It also vowed to retire its $400 million of long-term debt in April. On top of that, it decided to eliminate its American sales force.

— Dow Jones Newswires

NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


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