Toshiba to sell glasses-free 3-D TVsJapanese electronics maker Toshiba said Monday that it would be the first on the market with a TV that displayed images in 3-D without requiring viewers to use special glasses. The clunky and expensive glasses -- which viewers must wear to watch 3-D movies at theaters and 3-D images on TVs now on sale -- have been one big obstacle to a wider adoption of 3-D technology. Toshiba says its new 3-D liquid-crystal display TVs, which will go on sale in Japan in December, use a high-definition screen backlighted with LEDs, a special sheet placed on top of the screen and its cell-chip technology to display information from nine images created in real time from a single frame. The TVs will come in 20-inch and 12-inch models and sell in Japan for $2,880 and $1,440.
Firm seeks hostile takeover of GenzymeFrance's Sanofi-Aventis on Monday launched an $18.5 billion hostile takeover attempt for Genzyme Corp., escalating the battle after the U.S. biotech company's management twice rejected its offer. At $69 per share, it's the same as the friendly bid Paris-based Sanofi-Aventis offered for Genzyme privately in July and publicly in August. Genzyme, based in Cambridge, Mass., urged shareholders Monday to take no action, saying in a press release that its board would review the offer and advise shareholders within 10 business days.
Toyota reports progress on recall workToyota said that the rate of complaints about sudden acceleration had fallen 80 percent since April and that dealers have repaired 3.7 million of the 6 million vehicles in the United States covered by its two biggest recalls. Of 2.3 million vehicles recalled for potentially sticking accelerator pedals, more than 80 percent have been repaired, while 58 percent of 5.4 million vehicles recalled to fix a flaw that could cause the pedal to become stuck beneath the floor mat have been fixed, the company said.
Bernanke: Deficits eventually must be curbedThe economy could be hurt if Congress and the White House fail to come up with a plan to curb the nation's huge budget deficits in the coming years, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Monday in a speech in Rhode Island. He reiterated his belief that the government shouldn't raise taxes or slash spending now because the economic recovery is still too fragile. But failing to bring the deficits under control could endanger the economy later on, he said. The federal government is on track to produce its second-highest deficit ever -- $1.3 trillion -- for the budget year ended Sept. 30.
Boston's Hancock Tower sold for $930MBoston's tallest skyscraper is being sold to real estate tycoon and newspaper publisher Mortimer Zuckerman's company for $930 million, the firm said Monday. Boston Properties agreed to acquire the John Hancock Tower and Garage from a partnership between Normandy Real Estate Partners and Five Mile Capital Partners. The company is paying $289.5 million in cash and is assuming $640.5 million in debt in the deal.
Swiss propose tougher rules for banksA Swiss government committee proposed new rules requiring the country's two biggest banks to increase their capital reserves beyond international standards agreed to last month. Credit Suisse Group and UBS AG are "too big to fail," the panel said, but implicit government bailout guarantees should be replaced with stricter capital requirements to prevent bankruptcy in the first place. Its proposals, which are backed by the Swiss National Bank and the country's financial regulator FINMA, would require both banks to hold reserves of 10 percent in common equity and 19 percent in total capital by 2019.
Costolo to replace Williams as Twitter CEOEvan Williams, co-founder and chief executive of Twitter, is stepping down to lead product strategy at the company, Twitter announced Monday in a blog post. Dick Costolo, the chief operating officer hired a year ago, will succeed Williams as CEO. In the two years Williams has been chief executive, Twitter has grown to 300 employees from 20; the service's registered users have ballooned to 160 million from 3 million; and the company has started to generate revenue.
FROM NEWS SERVICES