HOUSING

HOUSING

Senate Reaches Deal on Aid Plan

Senate negotiators said they have struck a bipartisan deal that could save as many as 500,000 troubled borrowers from foreclosure, and they expect a key committee to approve the plan today.

The announcement caps weeks of talks between Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) and the panel's senior Republican, Richard C. Shelby (Ala.) and raises hopes that Congress will approve a bill to address the housing crisis that President Bush will sign.

The White House has threatened to veto the House version. But the Senate compromise addresses one of the administration's primary concerns: It would cover the cost of the rescue plan -- estimated at $1.7 billion over five years -- by temporarily diverting as much as $900 million a year that had been designated for low-income rental housing.

INVESTING

$12.8 Billion Bid for Pa. Toll Road

Pennsylvania officials said a $12.8 billion bid from a Citigroup subsidiary and a Spanish company won an auction to lease the state's only toll road in what would be the biggest agreement of its kind in the United States.

The offer from Abertis Infraestructuras of Barcelona and Citi Infrastructure Investors beat the nearest competitor by $700 million, officials said.

Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D) wants to lease the 537-mile turnpike for 75 years if the federal government rejects the state's application to put tolls on Interstate 80. Money from a turnpike lease would help the state close a $1.7 billion gap in transportation funding.

However, the state legislature must approve any deal, and one leader in the Democratic-controlled House said he was not impressed with the bid.

EXECUTIVES

Dell to Replace Finance Chief

Dell announced that Donald J. Carty, hired as chief financial officer a year and a half ago to help lead the computer maker's turnaround, will step down in June and be replaced by a longtime General Electric executive. Brian Gladden, chief executive of SABIC Innovative Plastics, formerly GE Plastics, will join Dell today and succeed Carty on June 13.

Dell spokesman David Frink said Carty, 61, was not pushed out and will remain on Dell's board. He said Carty indicated several months ago that he wanted to retire as chief financial officer.