business

Yahoo losing its chief marketing officer

Yahoo Incorporated's chief marketing officer is leaving the company in two weeks, joining a management exodus that has unfolded as the Internet icon struggles to snap out of a financial funk. The company didn't give a reason for Cammie Dunaway's departure. Dunaway, who joined Yahoo in 2003, had been the Internet search engine company's head of customer experience, as well as chief marketing officer. Her last day on the job will be Nov. 2. Allen Olivo, Yahoo's vice president of global brand marketing, will take over Dunaway's duties until a permanent replacement is found.

Chairman leaving lender Northern Rock

Northern Rock PLC said that it was replacing its chairman, after two months of troubles during which the mortgage lender took emergency funding from the Bank of England and saw the first run on a British bank in nearly a century. Chairman Matt Ridley, who has carried much of the blame for Northern Rock's troubles, is resigning and will be succeeded by former Standard Chartered PLC Chairman Bryan Sanderson, the bank said in a prepared statement to the London Stock Exchange.

Trifecta: Vonage sued again over patents

Internet telephone company Vonage Holdings Corp. disclosed that it's the target of yet another patent lawsuit from a telephone company, in this case AT&T Inc. That makes AT&T the third major phone company to sue Vonage, which until recently was a leader in selling phone service that rides the customers' broadband connections. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Vonage said that AT&T filed the lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Madison, Wis. It said it has been in discussions with AT&T to resolve the dispute but can't guarantee that the case won't go to trial.

Citigroup raises enough cash to cover its SIVs

Citigroup Inc. confirmed that it has secured enough funding to cover the $80 billion in assets held in its structured investment vehicles -- at least until the end of the year. This means Citigroup won't have to sell the debt underlying the seven SIVs it manages at bargain-basement prices, which would translate to losses for the bank. SIVs are sponsored by banks that sell short-term debt -- such as unsecured commercial paper -- to investors such as hedge funds.