Mark Cuban owns stake in Carmike Cinemas chain

Mark Cuban, former Mt. Lebanon resident and co-owner of the Landmark Theaters cinema chain, has acquired a 9.4 percent stake in Carmike Cinemas Inc., according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing yesterday. The billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team reported buying 1.2 million Carmike shares on the open market for roughly $2.8 million of his own funds. Carmike has six theaters in the Pittsburgh area.

Taxpayer service can track missing stimulus checks

If you are still waiting for your federal stimulus check, the Internal Revenue Service says thousands of checks are still going out through tomorrow. To find out where yours went, IRS spokesman Jesse Weller recommends calling the Taxpayer Assistance Service help line, toll-free at 1-877-777-4778.

Beatles violinist needs help as copyright nears end

Patrick Halling, an 84-year-old classically trained violinist, makes money every time The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" airs on the radio, but not for much longer. The song was released in 1966 and under European Union law will enter the public domain in 2016, meaning Mr. Halling's violin-led string background on the song will lose its copyright protection and royalties will end. A recommendation to change the law to match the time limit of the United States, where songwriters or their estates collect money for 95 years, will be debated in the European Parliament in early 2009.

FAA, Southwest negotiating on $10.2 million penalty

Southwest Airlines is still negotiating with the Federal Aviation Administration over alleged safety violations four months after regulators gave the airline a deadline to pay a $10.2 million penalty. Southwest hopes to reduce the penalty that the FAA proposed for operating thousands of flights with planes that had missed inspections for cracked fuselages. The airline says it doesn't deserve such a large penalty, partly because it reported the missed inspections to regulators and has improved safety procedures.

British clothing retailer files for bankruptcy

Edinburgh, Scotland-based clothing retailer USC filed for a form of bankruptcy protection yesterday . USC sells clothing brands such as Diesel, Lacoste and Ted Baker. In total, 356 British retail companies collapsed during the third quarter of 2008 -- 39 percent more than the same period last year -- according to The Insolvency Service.

Also in business ...

Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian has sold his remaining shares in Ford Motor Co., according to a spokeswoman for his investment company Tracinda Corp. ... Dow Chemical Co. lenders including Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley may press the chemicals maker to renegotiate the $15.4 billion takeover of Rohm & Haas Co. to avoid losses on a $13 billion loan to fund the deal.