Business Digest || Judge to weigh plans in Trib bankruptcy

Judge to weigh plans in Trib bankruptcy

A two-week hearing begins today to determine the fate of Tribune Co. more than two years after an ill-advised $8.2 billion buyout drove one of the oldest U.S. media companies into bankruptcy protection.

The proceedings follow four years of tumult and intrigue at Tribune Co. The company has been through the disgrace of a bankruptcy case that has lasted far longer than planned, a CEO departure triggered by complaints about management’s raunchiness and the whiff of a financial scandal fanned by a court-appointed examiner’s conclusion that parts of the 2007 buyout had bordered on fraud.

The hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., will affect the ownership of the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, The Sun of Baltimore, other daily newspapers and 23 television stations. The TV stations include Chicago-based WGN.

New games expand ‘Pokemon’ empire

new york

The vast “Pokemon” empire is about to get bigger with Sunday’s launch of two new video games for the handheld Nintendo DS. Called “Pokemon Black Version” and “Pokemon White Version,” they sell for $35 each.

The “Pokemon” video games center on catching, battling and trading the hundreds of colorful characters that go by the same name. The two new games are slightly different so that players can buy one and trade Pokemon characters with others to strive toward collecting them all. The new games add more than 150 creatures to bring the total to more than 640.

Official: GCC mulls ‘stability’ fund

cairo

Gulf Arab officials are considering setting up a fund that would help Bahrain and Oman deal with some of the economic issues that have helped stoke unrest in those two nations, an official with the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council said Sunday.

GCC finance ministers had met a day earlier in the Saudi Arabian capital and expectations were that they would announce what officials, ahead of that gathering, had described as a Gulf “Marshall Plan” to help Manama and Muscat. The plan called for a hefty financial contribution by the four wealthier GCC member states that would target key economic issues such as a housing shortage and unemployment.

Court defers ruling

dhaka, bangladesh

Bangladesh’s High Court has delayed its ruling on the legality of a government order dismissing Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as head of the microfinance bank he founded, an official said Sunday. Attorney General Mahbub-e-Alam said the court is likely to rule today.

Lawyers for Yunus made more arguments Sunday and presented documents arguing that his dismissal is illegal, Alam said. The government is to respond today.

Bangladesh’s central bank ordered Yunus out of Grameen Bank last Wednesday, saying he violated the country’s retirement laws.

Associated Press

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Aqua America, .62, 22.58 —.26

Avalon Holdings,2.810.00

Clear Channel, .76 55.75 —.20

Cortland Bancorp, 6.20—.05

Farmers Nat., .12, 4.50 0.00

First Energy, 2.20, 37.01—.10

FirstMerit Corp., .64,16.67 .04

First Niles Financial, .32,7.000.00

First Place Fin., 2.55—.32

FNB Corp., .48,10.11—.10

General Motors,32.39—64

General Electric, .56,20.37—.38

Motors Liquidation, .06.01

Huntington Bank, .04, 6.65—.65

JP Morgan Chase, .20,45.52—.56

Key Corp, .04,9.26.08

LaFarge, 15.09 —.40

Macy’s, .20, 23.36—.28

Parker Hannifin, 1.28, 87.33—2.22

PNC, .40,60.950.00

RTI Intl. Metals,29.03—.10

Rural/Metro, 14.89 —.01

Simon Prop. Grp.,3.20,106.65—.73

Stoneridge 15.89 .08

United Community Fin. 1.45—.03

Selected prices at 4 p.m. Friday. Provided by Stifel Nicolaus. Not to be construed as an offer or recommendation to buy or sell any security.