February 9, 2008 — Dre pay

Rapper and music producer Dr. Dre wants to investigate Death Row Records to de termine how much the record company owes him for unpaid royal ties from sales of his re cords that accrued after the record label’s bank ruptcy filing.

Toll toll

Robert Toll, the CEO of homebuilder Toll Brothers, had his com pensation cut by more than half last fiscal year and received no bonus after the company’s shares fell 21 percent. Toll was paid $8.4 mil lion in the year ended Oct. 31, according to a regulatory filing yester day. In 2006, he got $19.2 million, including a $17.5 million bonus.

Out of film

Polaroid, the com pany that pioneered in stant photography, is exiting the film busi ness and closing plants in Massachusetts, Mex ico and the Netherlands and cutting 150 jobs by the end of the quarter, as it focuses on digital photography and flat- panel televisions.

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo Bank sued Cleveland over claims that the city threatens to interfere with its residential mortgage business. Cleveland sued 21 banks and mortgage companies, including Wells Fargo, in January claiming they created a public nuisance by funding and securitiz ing subprime mortgage loans for borrowers with weak credit.

Liberty-DirecTV

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin asked the agency to approve Lib erty Media’s purchase of a stake in DirecTV Group, with some con ditions. The FCC may vote on the transaction on or before Feb. 26, the date of its next scheduled meeting, Martin told reporters.

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Copyright 2008 Reuters. Click For Restrictions

Orders to U.S. factories posted a weaker-than-expected gain in April as declines in demand for cars, planes and boats offset strength in business investment.

The Commerce Department reported Monday that factory orders increased by 0.3 percent in April, the weakest showing in three months. It was less than half of the 0.8 percent increase that analysts had been expecting.

Still, economists were encouraged that orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft — a category considered a good proxy for business investment — was up a strong 2.1 percent in April following an even larger 4.6 percent rise in March.

The lower-than-expected overall reading reflected a 1.6 percent drop in orders for transportation equipment, an extremely volatile category that had soared by 13.6 percent the previous month.

Orders for motor vehicles and parts fell by 3.3 percent, reflecting continuing problems that domestic automakers are having with sagging demand in the face of soaring gasoline prices.

Orders for commercial aircraft plunged by 10.7 percent after having posted huge gains in the past two months.

Demand for ships and boats was down 23.4 percent, a reversal after a large 13.3 percent increase the previous month.

The 0.3 percent increase in orders followed a big 4.1 percent jump in March that had been powered by the strength in commercial airplane orders.

Even with the slower April showing, analysts believe that manufacturing is beginning to revive after a slowdown that reflected the weakness in the overall economy.

The gross domestic product, a measure of the economy’s total output, rose at a barely discernible 0.6 percent in the first three months of the year, reflecting continuing troubles in the nation’s housing industry.

However, many economists believe that figure will represent the low point for the slowdown. They are expecting gradually stronger numbers as the year progresses, although they caution that this outlook could prove too optimistic if the housing slump deepens further.

Orders for durable goods, items expected to last three or more years, rose by 0.8 percent, slightly better than the 0.6 percent increase initially reported.

One of the biggest declines for durable goods was a 31.5 percent plunge in construction machinery, reflecting continued troubles in home-building, where contractors are slashing building plans in the face of slumping demand.

Orders for non-durable goods edged down 0.2 percent in April as oil refineries continue to struggle with unexpected shutdowns.

PRINTED boarding passes could become obsolete after airlines agreed on an industry standard that will allow travellers to check in using a barcode sent to their mobile phones.

Passengers will register their phone number when buying a ticket and receive a barcode by text message, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents most commercial carriers.

Airport staff will scan the barcode from the phones.

Alternatively, passengers can receive the code by e-mail and print it out.

The IATA said the move would help the industry to phase out paper tickets by 2010 and save more than 250 million a year.