Berkshire Hathaway to buy reinsurance unit
By Times staff and wires
Published December 29, 2007
NEW YORK - Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will buy a reinsurance unit from ING Groep NV of Amsterdam, the biggest Dutch financial services company, gaining access to assets that chairman Warren Buffett can invest. Berkshire will pay about 300-million euros ($440-million) for NRG NV, which hasn't taken on new business since 1993, Raymond Vermeulen, an ING spokesman, said Friday. Berkshire, based in Omaha, Neb., will assume tobacco and asbestos liabilities along with 575-million euros of Treasury bonds, he said.
Match.com adds Little Black Book
DALLAS - Match.com, the online dating site owned by Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp, added an online dating program for users of social-networking site Facebook Inc. The application, called Little Black Book, matches members based on information in their Facebook profiles, Match.com said Friday. Users need to pay a 99-cent fee to communicate with each potential date. Started in 1995, Match.com of Dallas has more than 15-million users in 35 countries, according to its Web site.
Bankruptcies may spread in 2008
SAN FRANCISCO - Market analysts warn that more U.S. businesses are likely to hang "going bankrupt" signs on their doors next year as the twinned blows of slower economic growth and pricey commodities force the weakest companies to seek refuge from creditors. In a twist from this year's trends, the pain is likely to spread from mortgage lenders, home builders and consumer-oriented firms - all areas that contributed to a 40 percent jump in bankruptcy filings in 2007 and are expected to play a role in 2008's misery. Next year, industries at risk for the biggest increases in Chapter 11 filings include electronics makers, energy miners like coal companies and agriculture firms, according to Global Insight.
Wal-Mart dropping movie downloads
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has closed an online movie download service it launched less than a year ago. The retreat for Wal-Mart, which accounts for about 40 percent of all DVD sales, follows the company's 2005 decision to abandoned efforts to build an online DVD rental service. The world's largest retailer instead turned its rental service over to Netflix Inc. Wal-Mart still operates a music download service and continues to sell CDs and DVDs at its retail stores and over the Internet for shipping by mail.
Raymond James Trust goes national
ST. PETERSBURG - Raymond James Trust Co. of St. Petersburg said it has received regulatory approval to convert from a state-charted to a national trust company. The federal charter will make it easier for the company to operate in multiple states. A second state-chartered company, Raymond James Trust Co. West, will be merged into the main company in 2008. The two companies manage a combined $1.6-billion in assets.