National business briefs
MGIC shares shed 11% on report of huge loss
Shares of MGIC Investment Corp. dropped 11 percent, after the Milwaukee-based mortgage insurance company said that it lost $1.47 billion in the fourth quarter, believed to be the largest quarterly loss by a public company in Wisconsin. MGIC, which has been battered by the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, said that $1.2 billion of the loss was a noncash reserve set up to pay expected claims in a line of business it has since abandoned. After results were announced, MGIC shares fell $1.57, to close at $12.61.
Sears to eliminate 200 HQ jobs to cut costs
Sears Holdings Corp., which began reorganizing last month in an effort to stem declining sales, will fire 200 workers at its Illinois headquarters to cut costs. The largest U.S. department-store company has posted declining sales at older stores in every quarter since Chairman Edward Lampert combined Sears Roebuck Co. and Kmart Holdings Corp. in 2005. Last month, Lampert ousted CEO Aylwin Lewis and restructured Sears. Shares gained $2.07, or 2.1 percent, to close at $101.14.
Coupons for TV converters will be in the mail
The U.S. government on Tuesday will begin mailing $40 coupons to help consumers pay for converters they’ll need to keep some older televisions working when signals switch to digital next year. Best Buy, RadioShack, Wal-Mart, Circuit City and others are ready to apply the coupons toward the $40-to-$70 cost of a converter box, a National Telecommunications and Information Administration official told U.S. House members Wednesday. Traditional analog TVs that use antennas will need converter boxes to keep working after Feb. 17, 2009.
Morgan Stanley to cut 1,000 mortgage jobs
Morgan Stanley said it that will cut 1,000 jobs, as the nation’s second-largest investment bank trims its residential mortgage operations amid the continued deterioration of the mortgage markets. The New York-based company said it will shutter its United Kingdom business that issues home loans, and will significantly scale back its mortgage business in the United States. Morgan Stanley shares edged up 52 cents, to $43.23.
Tribune to cut hundreds of newspaper jobs
Tribune Co. employees were notified that hundreds of jobs will be cut at the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and other publications — the first cutbacks since billionaire Sam Zell took the media company private last year. In separate memos, Tribune Publisher Scott Smith said 100 jobs would be cut, and his counterpart at the Times, David Hiller, said 100 to 150 jobs would be eliminated. Meanwhile, both newspapers reported a total of 400 to 500 cuts companywide, focusing on corporate staff, the two newspapers and the company’s seven other papers, including Newsday in New York, the Orlando Sentinel, Baltimore Sun and Hartford (Conn.) Courant.
Delphi at risk of losing investment capital
A plan by auto parts supplier Delphi Corp. to exit bankruptcy by the end of next month is in jeopardy as it struggles to get $6.1 billion in loans. If the company does not secure the exit financing by the end of March, equity investors led by hedge fund Appaloosa Management could abandon a deal to invest as much as $2.55 billion. The deal is crucial to Delphi’s ability to emerge from Chapter 11 protection.
Coors-Miller joint venture HQ not decided
The headquarters of the proposed joint venture between Molson Coors and SABMiller will not likely be in Denver or Milwaukee, where the two companies have strong ties, Molson Coors Vice Chairman Pete Coors said.
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