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TELECOM
FCC Delays Free Wireless Vote
The Federal Communications Commission postponed next week's vote on whether to auction unused airwaves that would offer free wireless Internet connections.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin decided to pull his proposal from the June 12 meeting agenda to give the panel more time to review the idea and allow more comments from the public. Wireless carriers such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless say the plan might interfere with other networks.
Martin's plan calls for the FCC to sell 25 megahertz of airwaves and require the buyer to use some of that spectrum to provide a free broadband service.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
NYSE Warns Media General
Media General, a newspaper publisher and broadcaster based in Richmond, was warned by the New York Stock Exchange that it doesn't have enough independent directors on its audit committee.
NYSE Regulation told the company that the audit committee must have three independent members, Media General said in a regulatory filing. One independent director lost reelection in April when shareholders backed candidates nominated by dissident investor Harbinger Capital Partners.
Media General plans to elect an independent director to serve on the audit committee before the end of this month.
CREDIT
Borrowing Rises at Slower Pace
Consumers relied a lot less on their credit cards in April, with debt in that area rising at the slowest pace in nearly three years, the Federal Reserve said. Consumer borrowing increased at an annual rate of 4.2 percent in April, slower than the 6.2 percent increase in March.
The slowdown reflected the fact that borrowing in the category that includes credit cards rose at an annual rate of just 0.4 percent, the weakest performance since borrowing in this area actually declined at a 1.8 percent rate in May 2005.
The slowdown in growth in credit cards and other revolving debt was offset somewhat by a surge in borrowing for auto loans and other types of non-revolving credit, which jumped at an annual rate of 6.5 percent, up from the March rate of increase of 5.5 percent.
