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Netflix Blames Faulty Hardware
Netflix is blaming a faulty piece of computer hardware for a breakdown that delayed millions of shipments to the online DVD rental service's customers from Aug. 12 to Aug. 14.
"We've taken steps to fortify our shipping system with the acquisition of additional equipment and worked with our vendors to verify we're in good shape elsewhere," Mike Osier, Netflix's technology chief, wrote on the company's Web site.
The outage, which prevented Netflix's 55 shipping centers from processing rental requests, affected about one-third of the service's 8.4 million subscribers. Netflix is giving the affected customers a 15 percent credit on their next monthly bill.
WALL STREET
Coach Approves $1 Billion Buyback
High-end handbag and accessories maker Coach said that its board authorized a plan to buy back up to $1 billion of its common stock. The plan is to be completed by June 26, 2010, the company said.
The company also said it completed its current $1 billion repurchase program that was authorized in November 2007. The company acquired 31.8 million of its outstanding common shares stock under that program at an average cost of $31.42 each.
REAL ESTATE
Tribune Co. Unveils Auction Firm
Los Angeles Times Media Group, a Tribune Co. unit that owns the Los Angeles Times, said it started a business that will auction distressed real estate. The media company said Zetabid opened for business yesterday, with its first auction of bank-owned and builder-owned homes set for Sept. 27 and Sept. 28. Zetabid also will operate a Web site on which people can register to participate in auctions and view listings online.
The move comes as media companies are increasingly losing real estate classified advertising to online sites, and Tribune Co. is searching for ways to recapture lost revenue at its newspaper properties.
TREASURY BILLS
T-bill rates fell. The discount rate on three-month Treasury bills auctioned yesterday fell to 1.71 percent from 1.85 percent last week. Rates on six-month bills fell to 1.925 percent from 1.98 percent. The annualized return to investors is 1.741 percent for three-month bills, with a $10,000 bill selling for $9,956.30, and 1.971 percent for a six-month bill selling for $9,902.68. Separately, the Federal Reserve said the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, fell to 2.12 percent last week from 2.18 percent two weeks ago.
Compiled from reports by Washington Post staff writers, the Associated Press and Bloomberg News.
