LEGAL
Friday, December 22, 2006; Page D02
LEGAL
Time Warner Agrees to Settle
Time Warner agreed to settle a shareholder lawsuit against its AOL unit over "round-trip transactions" with Homestore. Terms will be disclosed later, said Keith Cocozza, a spokesman for Time Warner.
Investors accused Homestore, which ran the largest Internet home-listing site, of misleading them by reporting revenue from advertising sales to Dulles-based AOL and others that didn't bring in any money. Homestore and auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers have already settled.
USG Finishes Asbestos Payments
USG, the world's largest maker of gypsum wallboard, said it paid $3.05 billion to an asbestos trust, the final installment under a previously announced agreement. The company, which emerged from bankruptcy protection June 20, said asbestos personal-injury claims have been permanently resolved and creditors are being paid in full with interest.
ECONOMY
GDP Growth Revised Down
Economic growth slowed to a 2 percent annual rate in the July-to-September quarter, the Commerce Department said. That was slightly worse than the 2.2 percent annual rate the government estimated a month ago, yet better than the 1.6 percent rate initially calculated.
Investment in home building declined at an 18.7 percent rate and was the largest cut in 15 years. That shaved 1.2 percentage points off third-quarter growth.
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Raytheon Selling Unit
Defense contractor Raytheon plans to sell its aircraft business for $3.3 billion to Hawker Beechcraft, a new company formed by an affiliate of Goldman Sachs and Onex Partners. The sale of Raytheon Aircraft is part of a strategy to focus on core government and defense business, Raytheon's chief executive, William H. Swanson, said.
Subject to regulatory approval, the firm expects the deal to close in the first half of next year.
INVESTING
Deutsche Bank Settles N.Y. Probe
Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $208 million to settle an investigation by New York State Attorney General Eliot L. Spitzer into improper mutual-fund trading linked to market timing. Investors will get $102 million, $86 million will go to fee reductions over five years and $20 million is for a civil penalty.
