The financing arm of General Motor's Corp. had until midnight last night to clear a final hurdle in its quest to become a bank holding company, even though it already received the Federal Reserve's stamp of approval earlier this week. The effort to raise $30 billion in equity from bondholders was helped along late Wednesday by the Fed's decision making the ailing auto and home loan provider eligible to access part of the government's $700 billion bank rescue fund. GMAC wouldn't say late yesterday how close the company was to completing the exchange. Yet both actions -- completion of the debt exchange and the Fed's acceptance of GMAC as a bank holding company -- were contingent on each other. The Federal Reserve apparently needed to see that the bondholders were willing to inject more capital into GMAC, while GMAC bondholders needed reassurance that the Fed would approve GMAC's application to qualify for federal aid.

Wal-Mart yesterday confirmed one of the worst kept secrets in technology: It will begin selling Apple's iPhone tomorrow. But the retail giant officially knocked down one other rumor that had been making the rounds: It won't be selling a special 4 gigabyte version of the iconic phone for $99. Instead, the retail giant will offer the same two standard iPhone models that are already sold at Apple, AT&T and Best Buy stores. The phones will be available in some 2,500 Wal-Mart stores. That means they won't be available in every Wal-Mart store: All told, the chain has about 4,000 discount, supercenter and Sam's Club outlets. Rumors have been circulating since at least last month that Wal-Mart would soon sell the iPhone.

King Pharmaceuticals Inc. said yesterday that it would be allowed to buy Alpharma Inc. provided it sells some assets related to Alpharma's painkiller Kadian. King said the Federal Trade Commission has ended a required waiting period for King's buyout of Alpharma, and is provisionally accepting a consent order for public comment. After three months of public wrangling, Alpharma accepted a buyout offer worth $1.6 billion, or $37 per share, from King in November. King's tender offer for Bridgewater, N.J.-based Alpharma is expected to end at 10 a.m. Monday, and more than 92 percent of Alpharma shares have been tendered in favor of the deal.

General Motors Corp. is suing a bankrupt automotive supplier for immediate access to specialized parts and equipment, arguing that a delay would hamper the launch of its new Chevrolet Camaro, disrupt assembly operations and cause millions of dollars in damages it can ill afford. In a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware on Christmas Eve, GM accused Cadence Innovation LLC of Troy, Mich. of "holding hostage" the parts and tooling equipment it needs and breaching the terms of an agreement it signed with the automaker in August. GM said it wanted immediate access to parts and equipment so it could avoid a major disruption to its assembly operations.