Business notebook
Due diligence: Boston Scientific Corp. might complete the due diligence to support its $25 billion offer for Guidant Corp. by the end of the week, CNBC's David Faber said. If the due diligence is completed as expected, Faber said, Guidant's board is likely to meet next week to consider Boston Scientific's bid.
Programming: The Washington Post Co. plans to start a radio station in the US capital to help bolster readership of its flagship newspaper. The Washington Post, the sixth-largest US newspaper, will start broadcasts in late March, the company said. The paper agreed to develop programming for broadcaster Bonneville International Corp., owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Vegas real estate: Boyd Gaming Corp. plans to tear down the Stardust casino to make way for a $4 billion hotel and casino complex on 63 acres on the Las Vegas Strip. The complex, Echelon Place, is set to open in 2010, company officials said. It will include four hotels with 5,300 guest rooms.
Animated: Pixar shares rose the most in almost two months amid speculation the computer-animation film studio may be purchased, possibly by distribution partner Walt Disney Co., Jefferies & Co. analyst Robert Routh said. Shares added $4.20, or 7.8 percent, to $58.16.
VW models: Volkswagen AG, which hasn't turned a profit in the United States since 2002, is considering selling a three-wheel car as it tries to lure back US buyers. Volkswagen intends to introduce the two-seat vehicle, which has one rear wheel, weighs 1,300 pounds, and goes 46 miles on a gallon of gas, as early as 2007. Separately, Volkswagen is set to disclose plans for Chrysler to build a Volkswagen minivan for sale in the United States, filling a hole in the German automaker's lineup since production of the 1960s-era Microbus was halted years ago.
It's a small increase: A basic ticket to Walt Disney World in Orlando rose 5.4 percent on Sunday. The price increase, the first at the park since the start of 2005, brings the cost of a one-day, one-park admission to $63 plus tax.
Sale completed: StockerYale Inc. said it completed the sale of a building in Salem, N.H., to 55 Heritage LLC for $4.7 million. The company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it agreed to lease roughly 32,000 square feet of the property for five years.
(Globe wire services)
