UPI NewsTrack Business May 10, 2008

Investment firm buys Sallie Mae stake

WASHINGTON, May 10 (UPI) -- Mutual fund manager Dodge & Cox has acquired a 10.5 percent stake in troubled student loan company Sallie Mae after the lender won relief from U.S. lawmakers.

San Francisco-based Dodge & Cox revealed it made the stock buy in a disclosure filing made with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission, according to a report in the Washington Post, which said the investment firm did not indicate it had any plans to pursue a takeover of Sallie Mae.

Dodge & Cox put down its money after Sallie Mae's share price had been battered by turmoil in the credit markets and cuts in student loan subsidies from the federal government.

The nation's largest student lender got some good news last week, however, when President Bush signed legislation allowing the U.S. Department of Education to pump cash into the firm by buying some of its loan portfolio. Analysts, however, were unsure if that move will ultimately enhance Sallie Mae's profitability.

BAA may hurry sale of Gatwick Airport

LONDON, May 10 (UPI) -- The debt-laden owner of London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports may have to accelerate the planned sale of Gatwick to complete a refinancing effort.

The Times of London reported Saturday that BAA, struggling to pull off a $19.5 billion debt refinancing, has succeeded in convincing its investors to pump an additional $779 million into the company, but that a proposed sale of Gatwick Airport - which could raise an additional $3.9 billion - might have to be hurried along.

The newspaper says Australian investment bank Macquarie has been advising BAA on the possible sale of its assets for several months, and that shares of Grupo Ferrovial, BAA's Spanish majority stakeholder, fell Friday on concerns the refinancing might not be accomplished.

BAA told the Times that it's still working on the details of the refinancing plans, stressing that it has yet to finish negotiating with its lending banks on the possible transference of a large portion of its debt into a new deal structure.

Office 2007 update available June 16

REDMOND, Wash., May 10 (UPI) -- Microsoft will roll out its Office 2007 Service Pack 1 via the Windows automatic update feature starting on or around June 16, company technicians say.

According to a message posted Thursday on the Office Sustained Engineering blog maintained by Microsoft software designers, the company is giving more than a month's notice to customers that it will employ Microsoft Update (MU) to automatically distribute the first package of updates and fixes for Office 2007.

Microsoft's move to give computer users ample notice of the service pack distribution is part of an effort to keep up with heavy demand for the updates, the engineers said.

"The availability will happen gradually and not everyone will see it at the same time," the blog post said. "This is necessary to ensure that our service infrastructure can meet the enormous demand for the service pack."

The Office 2007 service pack was first introduced as a manual download on the Office homepage, and his since been tapped "tens of millions of times," according to the blog post.

Beirut unrest hits local businesses

BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 10 (UPI) -- Lebanese business activity has ground to virtual halt thanks to the four days of violence that have swept through Beirut this week, local merchants say.

Many businesses in the capital were shuttered on Friday as gunmen opposed to the Western-backed Lebanese government battled for control of West Beirut, but merchants and traders nevertheless hoped to get back to business quickly, according to the Daily Star.

"I am optimistic that the situation will be back to normal very soon," Beirut Traders Association President Nadim Assi told the newspaper, which reported that while banks and businesses outside of West Beirut were open Friday, traffic was "very light."

Despite the violence between the government and fighters loyal to Shiite militant group Hezbollah, Lebanese business interests seem to believe the sectarian conflict won't last too long. The Daily Star said that all the bankers it interviewed reported no unusual demand for U.S. dollars, which could indicate a high level of confidence that the latest civil unrest won't have any long-term consequences for the country.

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