BUSINESS BRIEFS
JPMorgan may up Bear Stearns offer to $10 a share
Associated Press
NEW YORK — JPMorgan Chase & Co. was discussing a deal that would increase fivefold its offer for Bear Stearns Cos. to $10 a share, The New York Times reported today.
The talks yesterday were an attempt to satisfy Bear Stearns stockholders upset over JPMorgan's offer of $2 a share for the struggling investment bank, the newspaper said on its Web site, citing people involved in the negotiations.
The Federal Reserve, which would need to approve any change in the agreement, was balking at the new price, the Times said. Such opposition could postpone the new agreement or derail it entirely.
METRO ONE'S EXIT AFFECTS HONOLULU
PORTLAND, Ore. — Metro One Telecommunications Inc. will exit the wholesale directory assistance business by May 5, resulting in the closing of call centers in Honolulu and other cities, and the elimination of about 600 positions.
The Portland-based company said it will close or sell call centers, where it handled incoming information calls for telecommunications companies in Honolulu; Minneapolis; Charlotte, N.C.; and Orlando, Fla., in addition to its recently closed call centers in Long Island, N.Y., and Portland. It also will reduce corporate staff at its Portland headquarters.
About 600 call center and related positions will be eliminated, and staff will be provided severance packages, Metro One said in a statement dated Friday.
VERIZON ACCUSED OF ABUSING DATA
The battle between phone and cable companies is getting uglier.
Three cable giants are accusing Verizon of illegally using proprietary information it obtains as a wholesale telecom provider to retain customers who had planned to switch to the cable providers for their phone service.
Since last June, Verizon has deployed the tactic to hold on to "thousands" of subscribers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, as well as parts of the Midwest, South, Texas and California, allege Comcast, Time Warner and Bright House. In a recent Federal Communications Commission filing, the companies asked the agency to crack down on the practice.
Verizon says it's doing nothing illegal and its marketing is good for consumers.
HIGH-DEF VIDEO PHONE IN WORKS
NEW YORK — Will the HDTV set be the new picturephone?
Quanta Computer Inc., a leading contract maker of laptop computers, and OoVoo, a maker of video chat software, are announcing plans today to take high-definition videoconferencing to the living room with a gadget that plugs into the HDTV and connects it to the Internet.
Users of the Quanta Video Messenger will be able to hold chats from the comfort of their living rooms with others with the device as well as anyone who is running OoVoo's software on a PC.
It's expected to be available later this year for a price that's affordable for consumers, said OoVoo Chief Executive Philippe Schwarz. A prototype of the gadget, recently displayed at OoVoo's New York headquarters, was the size of a hardback book and had connectors for a high-definition webcam and audio. It was unclear whether the final product will ship with a webcam and mike.
TOYOTA MAY BUILD NEW ENGINE PLANT
Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's largest automaker, might build a new engine factory in the country, as it aims to improve the efficiency of its production system, a spokesman announced yesterday.
Toyota will spend as much as $301 million on a new plant, which will make engines to be used in small cars, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Saturday. The plant, to be located in Miyagi prefecture, might start production in 2010 with an annual capacity of about 200,000 units, Toyota said.
