IN BRIEF
NEW YORK
Affiliated Computer bought by Xerox Corp.
Xerox Corp. said Monday it will buy Affiliated Computer Services Inc. for about $6.4 billion in cash and stock, joining the expensive race among technology companies to broaden their offerings.
Xerox said the deal will create a $22 billion business that combines Xerox's copiers, printers and document management services with the "business process outsourcing" of Dallas-based ACS.
Outsourcers like ACS take on tasks for other companies, such as helping to manage payroll or run health care plans.
Xerox shares fell $1.29, or 14.38 percent, Monday to close at $7.68 on the New York Stock Exchange.
NEW YORK
Abbott pays $6 billion for Solvay business
Abbott Laboratories on Monday said it would pay $6.6 billion for the pharmaceutical business of Belgian chemicals maker Solvay in a move to further expand internationally and add to its product portfolio.
The deal is the latest in a string of drug mergers and acquisitions, and one of three announcements Monday that involved the fast-growing vaccines business.
By buying Brussels-based Solvay, Abbott gains access to emerging markets in Eastern Europe and Asia along with new therapeutic areas, including hormone therapies and vaccines.
National gasoline price below $2.50 per gallon
The average retail price for gasoline dipped below $2.50 a gallon for the first time in two months Monday as swelling oil supplies and slumping demand overshadowed even a fire at a major U.S. refinery.
Friday's fire at a Tesoro refinery in Los Angeles, which processes roughly 100,000 barrels of crude oil a day into gasoline, jet fuel and other products, will likely lead to some higher pump prices in California, but the effect is muted elsewhere, said analyst and trader Stephen Schork.
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline nationwide was $2.499, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Monday. That's $1.13 below what drivers were paying at this time last year.
WASHINGTON
World Bank president makes push for Treasury
The president of the World Bank said Monday he opposes giving more authority to the U.S. Federal Reserve, arguing instead that the Treasury Department is better equipped to manage financial crises.
Robert Zoellick also suggested in a speech that the dollar's role as the world's reserve currency may be diminishing and the United States should recognize this.
Zoellick, a former high-ranking U.S. government official and investment banker, said Treasury as a part of the executive branch of government would be subject to greater oversight by Congress and the American public if given additional authority.
WASHINGTON
FDIC may require banks to prepay fees
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. may order banks to prepay about $36 billion in premiums to shore up the shrinking deposit insurance fund.
The FDIC board likely will call for "prepaid" bank insurance premiums at its meeting today, three industry executives and a government official said. The banking industry prefers that option over a special emergency fee -- which would be the second this year. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has yet to be made public.
It would be the first time the FDIC has required prepaid insurance fees. Under the plan, banks would have to pay in advance their insurance premiums for 2010-2012, bringing in about $12 billion for each of the three years, two of the officials said.
TRENTON, N.J.
Johnson & Johnson buys stake in Crucell
Health care giant Johnson & Johnson is jumping into the increasingly hot vaccine business by taking an 18 percent stake in Dutch biotechnology company Crucell NV and focusing more on preventive medicine.
Under the deal the companies announced Monday, Johnson & Johnson is spending $440 million for new shares of Crucell in a deal focused initially on developing a universal vaccine or treatment against influenza from Crucell's genetically engineered antibody technology.
A universal flu vaccine -- one that would work against all or most strains rather than having to be reformulated every flu season -- has been an elusive goal some other pharmaceutical companies have abandoned.
HOUSTON
Ex-Enron Internet exec sentenced to prison
The former chief executive of Enron Corp.'s failed Internet business was sentenced Monday to 16 months in prison for lying about the capabilities of the once-mighty energy giant's broadband network in order to help pump up the company's stock price.
The former broadband unit CEO also agreed to pay $8.7 million in restitution.
Joseph Hirko apologized for his actions before being sentenced. He had previously pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors.
