State Street had $12.4b in outflows in February

Investors pulled $12.4 billion from mutual funds run by State Street Corp. in February, the most from any US fund manager, said Financial Research Corp. Redemptions at Boston-based State Street Global Advisors, the largest money manager for institutions, rose to $21.3 billion in the first two months of the year, according to the research firm. State Street's SPDR Trust, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the performance of the Standard & Poor's 500 index, had $13.4 billion in outflows in February, according to Boston-based FRC. Vanguard Group Inc., the second-largest US mutual-fund company, led the industry with $7.8 billion in deposits last month. The $58 billion Vanguard Total Bond Market Index fund attracted $1.3 billion. Fidelity Investments, the largest mutual-fund company, had $1.85 billion in deposits into stock and bond funds in February. In January, investors pulled $9.9 billion from the Boston-based company's funds. (Bloomberg)

American Express Co. agreed to buy General Electric Co.'s corporate charge-card unit for $1.1 billion in cash to expand lending for business customers. The purchase will dilute earnings per share at American Express, the largest US credit-card lender, in the "early years" assuming cash is diverted from repurchasing stock, the company said. Chief executive Kenneth Chenault is seeking to add business clients as US consumers struggle to repay debt of all kinds. (Bloomberg)

Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products, part of the forest-products unit of closely held Koch Industries Inc., sued Clorox Co. for patent infringement over the packaging of Clorox and Armor All cleaning wipes. Clorox is infringing a patent for a container that lets a user quickly and easily feed a leading wipe, according to the suit filed March 25 in federal court in Atlanta, where Georgia-Pacific is based. A Clorox spokesman said the company is aware of the suit and hasn't yet reviewed it. (Bloomberg)

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down slightly this week. Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, said 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.85 percent this week, down from 5.87 percent last week, marking the second consecutive week they have been below 6 percent. Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, rose to 5.34 percent this week, up from 5.27 percent last week. Five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, rates rose to 5.67 percent, up from 5.56 percent last week. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages increased to 5.24 percent, up from 5.15 percent last week. (AP)

Google Inc.'s YouTube, the biggest video website, added a feature that lets users and advertisers track viewers, part of an effort to attract more ad spending. YouTube Insight shows users the geographic regions where their videos are the most popular and the days of the week they get the most views, YouTube said. The software is free to anyone with a YouTube account. Since buying YouTube for $1.65 billion in 2006, Google has tried to lure advertisers to the site. Last year, it started showing ads in the bottom portion of some videos, sharing the revenue with creators of the clips. (Bloomberg)

The Federal Communications Commission has given the nation's two satellite television providers a four-year reprieve on a February 2009 deadline for offering all local broadcast stations in high-definition format. The FCC issued a formal order, saying DirecTV Group Inc. and Dish Network Corp. don't need to carry high-def signals of all local TV stations in any market where they carry even one station that broadcasts in that format by February, when nearly all broadcasters will be required to switch to digital programming. The companies argued they just didn't have the technical capacity to carry all high-definition channels, which takes up more bandwidth than a standard signal. (AP)

Opening day at Heathrow Airport's grand Terminal 5 turned sour as severe baggage handling delays led to numerous flight cancellations, stranding many irate passengers. What was supposed to be a day of glory for British Airways, sole occupant of the mammoth new terminal, turned into a shambles as problems worsened. The airline was finally forced to restrict passengers at the terminal to hand-luggage only, leaving many with the choice of rebooking their flights or seeking refunds. (AP)