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Business news briefs: Federated will acquire mutual fund assets
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Federated Investors said it will acquire $903 million in mutual fund assets from Trustmark National Bank for an undisclosed sum. The $903 million is in eight mutual funds operated by Trustmark and includes $571 million in money market funds.
Cranberry-based Westinghouse Electric Co. announced Thursday that it has signed a strategic alliance agreement with Curtiss-Wright Corp.'s Flow Control segment, located in Cheswick, to jointly pursue and develop business opportunities for the refurbishment of large motors for commercial nuclear power applications in North America and to collaborate on new technology development. The companies have several ongoing business agreements in support of nuclear plants around the world.
The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week to a seasonally adjusted 386,000. That's down from 392,000 the previous week, which was revised up. The four-week average, which smooths week-to-week fluctuations, was mostly unchanged at 386,750. "Jobless claims are still too high and show that employment growth is slowing and no progress is being made," said Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets.
The average U.S. rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage stayed this week at the lowest level on record. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average on the 30-year loan was 3.66 percent. The average rate on the 15-year mortgage, a popular refinancing option, slipped to 2.94 percent. That's down from 2.95 percent last week and matches the record-low 2.94 percent reached three weeks ago.
Calling it the next logical step in an evolution over nearly six decades, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. said Thursday that it will split into two publicly traded companies. One company will operate as a newspaper and book publisher, and the other will be an entertainment company that will include the 20th Century Fox movie studio, the Fox broadcast TV network and the Fox News cable channel. The deal is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. The entire process may take a year to finalize.
AOL Inc. has started a "Dutch auction" tender offer to buy back up to $400 million of its common stock. A Dutch auction offer allows shareholders to say how many shares they want to tender and at what price within a specified range. Based on that information, the company then determines the lowest price per share within the range that lets it buy the amount of shares that it wants. AOL stockholders will have the chance to tender some or all of their shares between $27 and $30 per share. The tender offer expires on Aug. 2 unless extended or ended earlier. AOL shares closed up 19 cents to $27.50.
First Published June 29, 2012 12:00 am
