Justice Department OKs mergers by NYSE, Nasdaq
The Justice Department on Wednesday approved big mergers planned by the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market, saying the new combinations were not likely to damage competition.
The deals await approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which oversees U.S. stock markets.
The separate mergers by the two biggest stock markets in the world, fierce competitors for investors, will reshape the securities markets.
The 213-year-old NYSE, with its floor auction system of human traders, plans to merge with all-electronic rival Archipelago Holdings Inc. in a $6 billion deal.
Nasdaq, an electronic trading system, is purchasing Instinet Group Inc.’s electronic network for $1.88 billion.
After lengthy investigations of both proposed mergers, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division “determined that neither transaction is likely to reduce competition substantially,” according to the department.
BRIGHTON
Prairie Center agreement nears
Stan Kroenke’s St. Louis development company is close to an agreement with the city of Brighton that will enable it to start on the next phase of construction at its Prairie Center Development.
The city’s agreement with THF Realty sets parameters for a comprehensive funding plan, master development agreement, pre-annexation agreement and intergovernmental agreement.
Total public improvements for the entire development are estimated at $651 million. It ultimately could accommodate 10 million square feet of retail, commercial and office space. Plans also include the development of 4,500 residences.
DENVER
Casinos’ revenues up $1 million in October
Colorado’s 46 mountain casinos posted revenue of $64 million in October, up 1.6 percent from $63 million the same month a year ago, according to figures released Wednesday.
Black Hawk’s 21 casinos reported adjusted gross proceeds – total wagers minus payouts – of $45.6 million, up from $45 million in October 2004. Cripple Creek’s 19 casinos logged adjusted gross proceeds of $12.8 million, down from $13.5 million. Central City’s six casinos posted revenue of $5.7 million, up from $4.6 million.
LOUISVILLE
Software firm reaches accord with Microsoft
Cable Television Laboratories Inc. reached an agreement with Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday to allow the software company and PC makers to install technology that would enable computers to play and record premium digital and high-definition cable content.
The Windows Media Center- based PCs will support a CableCARD5 module that will decipher cable signals and allow a home computer to act as a digital video recorder. The agreement is the result of more than two years of collaboration to develop specifications and test models. Computers equipped with this version of Windows Media Center will be on the market in time for the 2006 holiday shopping season.
WHEAT RIDGE
Accounting firms announce merger
Wheat Ridge accounting firm Wilson Downing and Associates and Pueblo accounting firm Grimsley White & Co. are merging and will operate under the name Wilson Downing Group LLC at the start of the year, the firms announced Wednesday.
DENVER
Shares of ACT taken off Nasdaq stock list
Shares of Denver-based ACT Teleconferencing Inc. will no longer be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
The provider of audio, video and Web-based conferencing products and services announced Wednesday that Nasdaq denied ACT’s request for continued listing.
BOULDER
Tech event geared to Native Americans
IBM Boulder and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration are hosting an event to promote technology in the Native American community tonight at the NOAA David Skaggs Building.
Called “An Evening of Technology,” the event is part of National American Indian Heritage Month. Students and their families will be allowed to attend sessions and activities to get better acquainted with science and the Internet.
VAIL
Vail Resorts meeting Dec. 14 at Snake River
Vail Resorts Inc. plans to host its annual shareholders meeting on Dec. 14 at its Snake River Lodge & Spa in Teton Village, Wyo., according to the company’s proxy statement filed Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The document also listed chief executive Adam Aron’s base salary as $749,346 in fiscal 2005, up 6 percent over the previous year. He was also given a $924,000 bonus.
WASHINGTON
Senate committee supports Bernanke
Ben Bernanke on Wednesday moved a step closer to becoming the next chairman of the Federal Reserve. The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, by voice vote, recommended his confirmation to the full Senate.
Considered one of the country’s leading economic thinkers, Bernanke is expected to get a positive vote in the Senate, but the timing of the vote was unclear.
CHICAGO
United flooded with attendant applications
United Airlines said it will no longer accept applications for 2,000 flight attendant positions, after receiving more than 16,700 online applications in the first three days. The positions will start in Chicago and Washington, D.C. The company is beginning to interview 5,100 candidates.
Separately, United said it has chosen Falls Church, Va.-based ENSCO Inc. as a meteorology vendor to replace in-house meteorologists in the first quarter of 2006.
NEW YORK
Sony recalls CDs with hidden software
Sony BMG Music Entertainment, the world’s second-largest record company, recalled compact discs with hidden copyright-protection software because of concerns about security risks the CDs may create on personal computers.
Customers can exchange any disc with the copyright protection software, called XCP, for a replacement copy without it, New York-based Sony BMG said on its website. Once installed on a computer, XCP software can enable the monitoring of a user’s activity and make the machine vulnerable to viruses.
