IN BRIEF
Golden Gaming to end deal to manage casino
Golden Gaming has given notice to the operators of the Hard Rock Hotel of its intent to terminate the casino management agreement for the niche property.
The move comes as the property's owners, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Morgans Hotel Group, are scheduled to go before state gaming regulators on Wednesday to seek a gambling license.
Golden Gaming wants to concentrate on its core business of operating slot routes, taverns mostly under the PT's brand and a handful of hotel-casinos in Pahrump and Colorado.
Golden Gaming, which has managed the casino since Feb. 2, is finishing the first year of a two-year management agreement paying a base rent of $20.7 million per year, plus reimbursements for certain expenses.
Golden Gaming receives a monthly management fee of $3.3 million plus a portion of gaming revenue.
The Navegante Group is seeking approval Wednesday from gaming regulators to replace Golden Gaming if Morgans' licensing process is delayed.
Jail release expected for accused skimmer
Matt Marlon, 64, who is accused of equity skimming, was expected to be released from jail on $100,000 bond late Friday, defense attorney Dominic Gentile said.
The prosecution asked for a $250,000 bond.
Following an investigation by the Secretary of State's office, Marlon was arrested at 5:30 p.m. New Year's Eve on 23 counts of offering a false document for recording, theft by false pretenses from victims older than 60 and forgery.
Marlon is accused of buying homes from homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure and promising to pay off the mortgage loan. The prosecution, however, accuses Marlon of renting houses pending foreclosure and making no payments.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 18.
WASHINGTON
Fed to make more cash available to banks
The Federal Reserve announced Friday that it is increasing the amount of money available to banks through the new auction process it created to ease the nation's severe credit squeeze. The Fed again pledged to continue the auctions "for as long as necessary."
The Fed said that it will increase the amount offered at each of the next two auctions from $20 billion to $30 billion, a 50 percent jump. Those two auctions will be Jan. 14 and Jan. 28.
The Fed announcement suggested that the auction process it began last month has been successful in providing a source of loans for cash-strapped banks.
WASHINGTON
Sallie Mae will make fewer student loans
Shares of Sallie Mae fell 13 percent on Friday, hitting a 52-week low, as investors reacted to the company's disclosure that it would cut back on its core business of making student loans.
Sallie Mae, formally known as SLM Corp., said in a regulatory filing Thursday that it planned to "be more selective" in making student loans, both those backed by the federal government and the higher-rate private loans. The company reaped a bonanza in recent years from the boom in student lending, with some 10 million customers, and around $25 billion in private student loans and $128 billion in government-backed loans outstanding.
Sallie Mae shares fell $2.49, or 13 percent, Friday to close at $16.67 on the New York Stock Exchange.
NEW YORK
Job growth news sends oil prices down
Oil futures retreated further from their record levels above $100 a barrel Friday after the government reported lower-than-expected job growth in December, adding to fears of a recession that could crimp demand for oil.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery fell $1.27 to settle at $97.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday.
BOSTON
Talbots to close stores for mens, kids clothes
Talbots will close its 78 children's and men's apparel stores to focus on its core middle-aged female customer.
Friday's announcement of the closures, affecting 800 employees, came as Talbots also warned that fiscal fourth-quarter sales have so far fallen below expectations at its 1,157 Talbots stores, and the 271 J. Jill locations it bought in a 2006 acquisition.
NEW YORK
Treasury prices higher after jobs report
Treasury prices rose Friday after a report that employers created far fewer jobs than expected in December stoked recession worries.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note advanced 0.34 points to close at 103.22 with a yield of 3.86 percent, down from 3.89 percent late Thursday.
