Zillow IPO raises $69M; trading starts todayZillow Inc., the online real estate information service, raised $69.2 million in its initial public offering, pricing its shares above an increased range. The Seattle-based company sold 3.46 million shares at $20 each after planning to offer them for $16 to $18, the company said. Zillow's IPO raised 43 percent more than it originally sought with the range of $12 to $14 it set earlier this month. The stock will trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market starting Wednesday under the symbol Z.
American Airlines to buy some Airbus planesAmerican Airlines plans to split a multibillion-dollar order for new narrow-body jets between Airbus SAS and Boeing Co. as the third-largest U.S. carrier refreshes its fleet, Bloomberg News reported. Executives will recommend that step to the board of parent AMR Corp. as directors prepare for a board meeting that continues Wednesday, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources. Dividing the order for at least 200 planes would preserve American's Boeing ties while giving Airbus a foothold at an all-Boeing U.S. airline.
Baidu makes deal with record companiesBaidu Inc., owner of China's most popular Internet-search engine, agreed to pay record labels to offer songs by artists including Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Frank Sinatra, ending a six-year dispute over piracy. Sony Corp., Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group Corp. will receive undisclosed fees for allowing their content to be downloaded for free to users of Baidu's Ting and MP3 services, the Chinese search-engine operator said. The four companies will end all outstanding litigation, according to the statement.
More layoffs at defense contractor LockheedLockheed Martin is offering a voluntary layoff program for about 6,500 U.S.-based employees, the latest in a string of recent moves to cut jobs. The initiative offers a severance package to all U.S.-based, salaried employees who report to Lockheed's corporate headquarters or internal business services organization. About 2,000 of the eligible employees are based in the Washington, D.C. area, 1,300 are based in Florida offices and more than 700 are in Denver, according to a company spokeswoman. A Fort Worth site has about 500 eligible employees, while a Valley Forge, Pa., office has about 300.
Housing starts, earnings push oil prices upCrude oil rose as U.S. housing starts surged and better-than-estimated earnings sent equities higher, bolstering optimism that the economy of the world's biggest oil-consuming country will grow. "Any sign of a recovery in the housing market is good for the economic outlook and the oil market," said Chris Barber, a senior analyst at Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Crude for August delivery rose $1.57 to $97.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since July 13. Futures have risen 27 percent in the past year.
Google buys time for digital book settlementGoogle Inc. and a group of publishers and authors got more time to negotiate a possible settlement of a lawsuit over the search-engine company's digital reproduction of books. "We are not there yet," Michael Boni, a lawyer for the authors, told U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin in Manhattan. Google was sued in 2005 by authors and publishers who said the company was infringing their copyrights on a massive scale by digitizing books and allowing "snippets" of them to be seen online. Chin objected to an earlier, $125 million settlement, saying it would be unfair to authors.
FROM NEWS SERVICES
