WorldCom, insurer reach accord over liability coverage
WorldCom Inc. has reached a settlement with its insurance provider over allegations that liability policies for the company and its officers and directors were obtained by fraud, according to a motion filed in bankruptcy court.
Under the proposed settlement, which was filed Friday and became available yesterday, National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh would reserve the right to rescind insurance coverage to any director, officer or employee of WorldCom who is convicted of a crime.
The insurer issued WorldCom a liability insurance policy for the current year, but declared it void days before WorldCom's July 21 bankruptcy filing, saying it "was procured by fraud."
In response, WorldCom said the company and some of its officers and directors are entitled to coverage under the policies.
German high court upholds ruling against Wal-Mart
Germany's highest court ruled yesterday that Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s attempts to sell staples such as milk and butter in the country below wholesale prices was damaging to competition, the latest development a long-running dispute between the U.S. discount shopping giant and regulators.
In a ruling welcomed by the Federal Cartel Office, the supreme court said that selling products below wholesale prices hurt competition by creating an unfair environment for midsize and smaller stores.
The case dates back to September 2000, when the Federal Cartel Office ordered Wal-Mart and two German rivals to call off their price war on groceries - selling items such as milk, butter, flour and cooking oil below cost on a regular basis. The cartel office feared the practice would drive smaller shops out of business.
Wal-Mart said it would abide by the decision.
Many use refinancing to increase loan amount
Many Americans, taking advantage of lower mortgage rates, took out even bigger loans when they refinanced their home mortgages, the Federal Reserve reported yesterday.
The Fed, in its quarterly loan officers survey, found that almost half of the 48 U.S. banks that responded to this question said that between 20 percent and 40 percent of customers that refinanced their home mortgages over the last six month engaged in "cash-out refinancing," meaning they increased their loan balances at the time of refinancing. The Fed surveyed 55 U.S. banks.
About 70 percent of banks said that the typical increase was between 5 percent and 15 percent of the original outstanding balance.
Adelphia reportedly offers 2 key posts to AT&T; men
Adelphia Communications Corp. has made offers to two departing executives of AT&T; Corp.'s cable division to serve as its chief executive and chief operating officer, a person familiar with the negotiations said yesterday.
William T. Schleyer, chief executive of AT&T; Broadband, has been offered the chief executive officer's post at Adelphia and Ron Cooper, the cable division's chief operating officer, has been offered the post of chief operating officer at Adelphia, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Both men are leaving because of the cable division's impending sale to Comcast Corp.
Microsoft to invest $400 million in India
Hoping to stave off a rise in the popularity of free, open-source software, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates yesterday announced a $400 million investment in India to expand the company's operations there and boost computer literacy.
The three-year initiative - part philanthropy, part business boost - would seek to entrench products of the world's dominant software company in schools as well as among India's stable of talented programmers.
Microsoft will invest about a quarter of the $400 million in its software development center in Hyderabad - the company's only such facility outside the United States.
This column was compiled from reports by Sun staff writers, the Associated Press and Bloomberg News.