In Brief

Signs Now owners acquire printing company Allegra

Terry and Ruth Whalen, owners of Signs Now Las Vegas, have bought local printing company Allegra Las Vegas for an undisclosed price.

The merger earlier this month brings all services under one roof at the Signs Now plant at 6290 S. Pecos Road, Suite 600.

Signs Now has operated locally for 16 years while Allegra has operated locally for 20 years.

Signs Now and Allegra are both members of Allegra Network LLC, a national network of marketing, print, graphics and sign communications franchises.

OMAHA, Neb.

Berkshire will buy Wesco shares it doesn't already own

Warren Buffett's company said Thursday it will offer to buy the roughly 1.4 million shares it doesn't already own of its subsidiary Wesco Financial Corp., and the news sent Wesco's stock soaring 12 percent.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. says it will offer a combination of cash and Class B Berkshire stock to acquire the remaining 19.9 percent of the Pasadena, Calif., company led by Buffett's partner and Berkshire's vice chairman, Charlie Munger.

The deal would be worth roughly $500 million based on Wesco's value at the end of the second quarter.

Wesco is a conglomerate that owns insurance businesses and an eclectic mix of operating companies, much like Berkshire Hathaway, but Wesco is smaller and less diverse.

Berkshire said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission it will discuss the deal with Wesco's independent directors. Terms were not disclosed, but Berkshire said it would be willing to pay an amount equal to the book value of Wesco's stock.

SEATTLE

Hewlett-Packard tops Dell's buyout offer for 3Par Inc.

Hewlett-Packard Co. has again raised its bid for 3Par Inc. above an offer from rival Dell Inc., suggesting that the little-known data storage maker could be worth more with a PC company's marketing muscle behind it.

The latest offer from HP for $27 per share in cash, or about $1.69 billion, is nearly three times what 3Par had been trading at before Dell made the first bid last week.

Earlier on Thursday, Dell said 3Par had accepted its second offer of $24.30 per share in cash, or $1.52 billion. Dell made its first offer, $18 per share, for 3Par on Aug. 16, and HP responded Monday with a bid of $24 per share.

HP and Dell, two of the world's largest personal computer makers, are looking at 3Par as a way to build up their "cloud computing" businesses, which involve delivering software, data storage and other services to customers over the Internet. Either company would buy 3Par in part to cut the costs of data storage.

Before the bidding began, 3Par had been trading at about $10 per share. Some analysts described even Dell's initial offer price, at two-thirds of HP's latest bid, as too steep.

DALLAS

Officials seek record penalty against American Airlines

Federal officials are seeking a record penalty of $24.2 million against American Airlines over maintenance lapses that caused thousands of canceled flights in 2008.

American said the civil penalty was unwarranted and it would appeal.

The dispute dates to 2008, when American had to cancel more than 3,000 flights -- inconveniencing 350,000 passengers -- until wiring could be fixed to the satisfaction of the Federal Aviation Administration.

The FAA said Thursday that the improper harnessing of wires on American's McDonnell Douglas MD-80-series jets -- about half its fleet at the time -- could have led to fires and even fuel-tank explosions. It said American flew more than 14,000 flights with planes that didn't meet the wiring requirements.

NEW YORK

Natural gas prices slump to low after supply news

Natural gas prices on Thursday slumped to a record low for the year after the government reported a rise in U.S. supplies.

The contract for September delivery gave up 5.4 cents to settle at $3.817 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the day, it hit a 2010 low of $3.794.

The price of natural gas, which is used to produce electricity, tends to drop this time of year as the weather begins to cool and people turn off their air conditioners. Analysts said natural gas contracts should continue to fall over the next few months, and that should eventually push down energy costs for homes and businesses.

NEW YORK

Research in Motion asks companies to join India talks

Research In Motion Ltd., which is facing a service shutdown in India next week over demands for access to its users' e-mails, said Thursday it is seeking to involve other technology companies in its talks with government officials.

RIM, which is based in Waterloo, Canada, said it has offered to lead an "industry forum" on the use of encrypted communications, on which law enforcement can't easily eavesdrop.

India has set a Tuesday deadline for RIM to give access to the e-mails, or the service would be shut down in the country. There are about 1 million BlackBerry users in India, and travelers would probably be affected as well.

RIM is battling similar concerns in other countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

HIGHLAND PARK, Mich.

Historic Ford plant could be opened for tourist visits

A historic Ford Motor Co. plant that churned out millions of Model Ts could be opened up for tours and host a visitors center for Detroit-area auto tourism under plans by a community development group.

The Woodward Avenue Action Association hopes to buy and renovate part of the complex in the Detroit enclave of Highland Park, which was designed by noted architect Albert Kahn.

It was home to the moving assembly line that revolutionized the auto industry, as well as the $5 average daily minimum wage credited with helping turn the working class into the middle class.

Heather Carmona, the association's executive director, said Thursday that the plant's significance in the nation's 20th-century manufacturing might is more relevant today as the U.S. auto industry and the Detroit area work to remake themselves following years of struggles.

TOKYO

Sony working on 3-D TVs that don't require special glasses

Sony Corp. is working on 3-D televisions that don't need special glasses, joining a race with rival Toshiba Corp., but sees cost and technological hurdles to overcome before they can go on sale.

Toshiba said earlier this week it is working on glasses-free 3-D TVs, although no decision had been made on when they will go on sale.

Mainstream 3-D TVs now on sale, such as those from Panasonic Corp. and Sony Corp., require glasses. But there are already screens that don't require glasses, mainly intended for store displays. They require the viewer to stand in specific spots for the 3-D effect to emerge, and the image quality is much lower than that of screens using glasses.

"Seeing 3-D without glasses is more convenient," Sony Senior Vice President Yoshihisa Ishida said Thursday at Tokyo headquarters. "We must take account of pricing before we can think about when to start offering them."