Delta mulls spending over $4 billion on jets

Delta Air Lines is considering buying as many as 20 wide-body jets from Airbus SAS or Boeing Co. with a list value of at least $4.3 billion, Bloomberg News reported. The order under study is for 10 to 20 Airbus A330s or Boeing 777s, Bloomberg said, citing anonymous sources. Deliveries would start within a few years. Delta already has both plane types in its fleet. Purchasing the jets would bridge Delta's wide-body needs until the end of the decade, when Airbus's more efficient A350 and Boeing's 787-10 Dreamliner will have been in service for several years and would have any kinks worked out, one source said.

Jobless claims ticked up, but not by much

Initial jobless claims ticked up last week, but still indicated an improving labor market as the four-week average hit its lowest point in five years. The number of people filing for the first time for unemployment benefits rose to 336,000 for the week ended Saturday, up 2,000 from the previous week's revised figure, the Labor Department said. The reading was better than analysts expected. The average number of initial claims in the latest four weeks, a less-volatile barometer, dropped by 7,500 to 339,750. The last time it was that low was in February 2008, not long after the start of the Great Recession.

Bank chairman backtracks on Iran statement

Standard Chartered Chairman John Peace apologized for claiming that the British bank's breaches of U.S. sanctions over Iran that led to a $667 million fine were unintentional. Peace, who told reporters at a March 5 news conference that the firm had no "willful" intention to dodge the rules, said in a statement that the earlier claim was "wrong." Under the settlement it reached with U.S. regulators last year, the bank entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice. As part of that deal, the U.S. charged the bank with conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a charge that will be dismissed after two years as long as the bank abides by the agreement.

Rajaratnam's brother now facing charges

After earning degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford University's business school, Rajarengan Rajaratnam pursued Wall Street riches, following in the footsteps of his oldest brother, hedge fund titan Raj Rajaratnam. On Thursday, federal prosecutors said that Rajarengan was also part of his brother's insider trading ring, announcing criminal charges nearly two years after Raj was convicted and sentenced to 11 years in prison. Rajarengan, 42, who goes by Rengan, now lives in Brazil. Federal authorities have not yet arrested him on these charges and are in the process of using extradition laws to return him to the United States.

Microsoft reveals government data requests

Microsoft Corp. disclosed for the first time the number of requests it had received from government law enforcement agencies for data on its hundreds of millions of customers around the world, joining the ranks of Google, Twitter and other Web businesses that publish so-called transparency reports. The report, which Microsoft said it planned to update every six months, showed that law enforcement agencies in five countries — Britain, France, Germany, Turkey and the United States — accounted for 69 percent of the 70,665 requests the company received last year.

Data show European economy slowing more

The European economy appears to be slowing further, private-sector data showed Thursday, raising the possibility that the recession will deepen even as the crisis in Cyprus undermines faith in the future of currency union. An index of eurozone purchasing managers by Markit Economics fell in March to 46.5 from 47.9 in February, with the rate of decline worsening for the second month in a row. The purchasing managers composite index has fallen in every month but one since September 2011. An index above 50.0 suggests economic expansion, while a level below that suggests contraction.

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