In Brief

INDIANAPOLIS

Workers paying larger portion of health insurance premiums

Workers are paying a larger portion of their health insurance costs as businesses shift more of the burden to their employees to help ride out the economic downturn, an annual study shows.

The average employee contribution toward premiums for family coverage climbed 14 percent this year to nearly $4,000, according to a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust released Thursday. Contributions for single coverage grew 15 percent. But total premiums -- the amount split by the employer and employee -- rose a modest 3 percent for family coverage and 5 percent for single employees this year.

Companies that offer benefits still pay at least 70 percent of the total premium, on average, for their workers. But this year, companies passed most of the premium increases on to employees instead of absorbing them as they usually do, something researchers had not seen before, Kaiser CEO Drew Altman said.

WASHINGTON

Fed chief says regulators must be willing to let biggest fail

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a panel investigating the financial crisis that regulators must be ready to shutter the largest institutions if they threaten to bring down the financial system.

"If the crisis has a single lesson, it is that the too-big-to-fail problem must be solved," Bernanke said Thursday while testifying before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.

Bernanke also said it was impossible for the Fed to rescue Lehman Bros. from bankruptcy in 2008 because the Wall Street firm lacked sufficient collateral to secure a loan. Lehman's former chief executive told the panel a day earlier that the firm could have been saved, but regulators refused to provide help.

The Fed chief presented his analysis of the crisis and views on potential systemwide risks as the panel approaches the end of its yearlong investigation into the Wall Street meltdown.

SEATTLE

Dell cedes to Hewlett-Packard in bidding contest over 3Par

Dell Inc. is walking away from a bidding contest with rival Hewlett-Packard Co. for data-storage maker 3Par Inc.

Dell said Thursday it won't match HP's offer to pay $33 per share for 3Par, or about $2.07 billion. Dell's decision came barely an hour after 3Par announced it had received Dell's revised offer of $32 per share and then the even stronger bid from HP.

In a statement, 3Par said Dell's revised offer contained new terms that it found unacceptable, including a multiyear reseller agreement with Dell that would remain in effect even if 3Par were to be bought by another company.

The board of 3Par approved HP's offer, which is 83 percent above Dell's first offer and more than three times what 3Par stock was trading at then. The deal is expected to close by year's end.

DETROIT

General Motors plans to start trading shares again on Nov. 18

General Motors plans to start trading shares again on Nov. 18, timing that allows the company one more quarter of earnings to build its case to investors, a firm that researches initial public offerings said Thursday.

Scott Sweet, the managing partner of IPO Boutique, said GM plans to price the shares on Nov. 17 and begin selling them the next day. He said the automaker wants to start a two-week road show to drum up investor interest on Nov. 3, the day after the midterm congressional elections.

It's unclear if the IPO dates have been set. Two people with knowledge of the process say the automaker's board hasn't approved a date for the IPO but is expected to meet next week to discuss the issue. GM is in a "quiet period" before an IPO, so no one is authorized to discuss the process publicly.

NEW YORK

Facebook security feature lets users log out remotely

Facebook is rolling out a new security feature that lets users log out of their accounts remotely from another computer.

To do this, go to "account settings" on your Facebook page and click on "change" next to "account security." There, you'll see where else your Facebook account is logged in, including the type of device and the city it's in or near. To log out of any of them, click "end activity."

Facebook is making this available over the next couple of weeks. It will be accessible on computers, but not mobile devices.

The feature is similar to what Google Inc.'s Gmail offers to its users, and Facebook says it's designed to help users keep their logins secure.

Carrot and slick: New ads pitch veggie as daring, fun

Baby carrot farmers are launching a campaign that pitches the little, orange, crunchy snacks as daring, fun and naughty -- just like junk food.

A group of 50 producers hopes the "Eat 'Em Like Junk Food" effort starting next week will double the $1 billion market in two or three years.

The goal is to get people to think of baby carrots as a brand they can get excited about -- not just a plain, old vegetable. A website, www.babycarrots.com, features metal music and deep male voices chanting "Baby. Carrots. Extreme." On social networking site Twitter, the campaign's account suggests people eat them "like there's no tomorrow (maybe there won't be ...)"

The plan begins in Cincinnati and Syracuse, N.Y., and will take at least a year to go national.