BUSINESS BRIEFS
Bid for Lions Gate may draw Canada scrutiny
Associated Press
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NEW YORK — Activist shareholder Carl Icahn raised the stakes in his yearlong dispute with Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. yesterday, launching an all-out bid to take over the movie studio following disagreements over its spending.
The hostile bid comes a week after Lions Gate rejected Icahn's offer to buy a larger minority stake and rewrote its bylaws to make such a takeover attempt more difficult in the future.
The new offer for all outstanding shares also raised the specter of Canadian government involvement because Icahn, an American, could own the Vancouver-based company and cause friction with the country's cultural policies.
DEMAND COULD SPEED UP 777, 747 JET PRODUCTION
NEW YORK — Boeing Co. will speed up production plans for its 777 and 747 models in anticipation of greater demand from commercial airlines.
Both are wide-body planes capable of carrying more than 300 passengers and flying longer routes. Several Asian airlines have ordered the planes, which are also more fuel-efficient than other aircraft models.
Asian and Latin American carriers have led the way for a surprisingly strong recovery from the travel slump caused by the recession, while improvement at U.S. carriers has lagged.
EC HOPES LOANS WILL EASE GREEK FINANCIAL TURMOIL
BRUSSELS — The European Commission urged Germany and other eurozone governments yesterday to put up a package of government-to-government loans to ease Greece's financial plight and end weeks of financial turmoil and speculation.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said European aid is necessary because "we cannot prolong any further the current situation."
He spoke of "coordinated bilateral loans" that would not have to be paid out immediately.
COURT RULES FED MUST REVEAL WHO GOT LOANS
NEW YORK — The Federal Reserve must reveal documents identifying financial companies that received Fed loans to survive the financial crisis, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday.
A panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said in two separate opinions that such information isn't automatically exempt from requests under the Freedom of Information Act.
REGULATORS CLOSE 3 BANKS IN UTAH, OHIO, GEORGIA
Regulators have shut down banks in Utah, Ohio and Georgia, boosting to 33 the number of bank failures in the U.S. so far this year.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. yesterday took over Advanta Bank Corp. of in Draper, Utah, with $1.6 billion in assets and $1.5 billion in deposits; American National Bank of Parma, Ohio, with $70.3 million in assets and $66.8 million in deposits; and Century Security Bank of Duluth, Ga., with $96.5 million in assets and $94 million in deposits.
BRITISH AIRWAYS CREWS LAUNCH 3-DAY WALKOUT
LONDON — A three-day strike by British Airways cabin crew affecting thousands of travelers is going ahead Saturday after last-ditch talks between the airline's management and union leaders collapsed.
The walkout has forced BA to cancel thousands of flights, but it still hopes to operate around 65 percent of its international schedule over the period.