Industries

Retail LBOs are Back as Credit Freeze Abates, Buyout Firms Executives Say Private-equity firms looking to buy retail and consumer companies said they’re now able to finance deals and pay reasonable prices after the credit crisis and global recession triggered a buyout slump.

Apple Will Start Taking Orders for IPad Today at 5:30 a.m. California Time Apple Inc. will begin taking pre- orders for its iPad multimedia tablet computer today at 5:30 a.m. California time.

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Oil Falls After in New York U.S. Consumer Sentiment Unexpectedly Declines Crude oil declined for the first time in three days after a report showed that confidence among U.S. consumers unexpectedly dropped this month.

IEA Raises 2010 Crude Oil Demand Estimate on Developing Economies, China The International Energy Agency raised its forecast for global oil demand this year for a second month as fuel consumption in Asia rises more than expected.

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AIG Was Unprepared for Crisis, Had `No One in Charge,' Ex-Top Lawyer Says American International Group Inc. was unprepared for the financial crisis that forced the insurer to accept a $182.3 billion bailout from the U.S. government, the company’s former general counsel said.

Lehman Bankruptcy Report Points Way to Plaintiffs, Not Prison, Lawyers Say A 2,200-page bankruptcy report a year in the making may point the way for plaintiffs looking to sue former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. officials, lawyers said, rather than grand juries probing possible crimes.

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Pelosi Signals Aim to Pass Health-Care Bill Before Obama Leaves for Asia U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled that she will seek passage next week of legislation overhauling the health-care system after President Barack Obama delayed the start of his trip to Asia until March 21.

Amylin's Ohio Plant Had Inappropriate Quality Control, U.S. FDA Finds Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s plant that makes a proposed new version of the diabetes drug Byetta had inadequate quality control and training for employees, U.S. regulators said.

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Prudential CEO Strangfeld's Bonus Surges on Award Tied to Wells Fargo Deal Prudential Financial Inc., the second-biggest U.S. life insurer, said John Strangfeld’s bonus more than doubled last year, his second as chief executive officer, as the company sold a stake in a brokerage business for $4.5 billion.

AIG Was Unprepared for Crisis, Had `No One in Charge,' Ex-Top Lawyer Says American International Group Inc. was unprepared for the financial crisis that forced the insurer to accept a $182.3 billion bailout from the U.S. government, the company’s former general counsel said.

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FDIC Said to Plan Sale of $3 Billion in AmTrust Bank Loans After Seizure The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is preparing to sell $3 billion of loans from AmTrust Bank, the Cleveland-based lender seized by regulators in December, people involved in the sales said.

BAA May Sell Airport Property Assets to Scottish Widows, Reuters Says BAA Airports Ltd. is in exclusive talks with Scottish Widows Investment Partnership on a possible sale of property assets, Reuters said, citing unidentified people with knowledge of the negotiations.

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Apple Starts Taking Orders for IPad Tablet, Expanding Beyond IPod, IPhone Apple Inc. began taking pre-orders for its iPad multimedia tablet today, seeking to expand sales beyond the iPhone, iPod and Macintosh computer.

Microsoft Xbox Takes U.S. Console-Sales Lead After 2 Years, Surpassing Wii Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 beat Nintendo Co.’s Wii and Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3 last month to become the best-selling video-game console in the U.S. for the first time in more than two years, helped by the release of the “BioShock 2” shooting title.

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Toyota Says It's Upgrading Software That Records Data Following Accidents Toyota Motor Corp. said it is upgrading software that helps read information from devices used to record vehicle crash data, according to a statement on the automaker’s Web site.

Toyota Rebuts Lawmaker Towns's Comment About Withholding Rollover Records Toyota Motor Corp. rebutted a comment by the chairman of a U.S. House investigating committee that it “deliberately withheld” records it was legally required to produce in a lawsuit by a former in-house lawyer.

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