AirTran hostile offer for Midwest set to expire

THE NATION

AirTran Holdings Inc. said it had until Monday to decide whether to extend its hostile bid for Midwest Air Group should it fail by its deadline of midnight last night. The parent of low-cost carrier AirTran Airways has offered just under $380 million, based on current share prices, for Midwest, arguing that a merger would bolster its route network and create a more competitive airline. For months, Midwest has opposed the AirTran offer. But its resistance weakened when shareholders elected three board members nominated by AirTran. (Reuters)

Gannett Co. chief executive Craig Dubow said the largest US newspaper publisher isn't preparing for a sale, responding to reports that changes in management compensation may signal it's on the block. "A change in control of Gannett is not in the works or even anticipated," Dubow wrote in a memo to employees. He labeled the reports "unwarranted speculation." The company disclosed the memo. Gannett, the publisher of USA Today, amended several of its compensation plans, including those of Dubow and chief financial officer Gracia Martore, to accelerate payments if the company is sold. (Bloomberg)

Web search and Internet services company Google Inc. began selling expanded online storage, aimed at users with large picture, music, or video file collections. The annual prices established were $20 for 6 gigabytes of online storage, $75 for 25 GB, $250 for 100 GB, and $500 for 250 GB. Google said the storage can be used across several Google products, including photo site Picasa and the e-mail service Gmail. (AP)

Former Qwest Communications head Joe Nacchio put a federal court on notice that he intends to appeal a six-year sentence handed down for his insider trading conviction. The notice was submitted before Nacchio is expected to file a formal appeal of his conviction on 19 counts of illegally selling $52 million in stock in April and May 2001. US District Judge Edward Nottingham last month ordered Nacchio to prison for six years, to pay a $19 million fine, and to forfeit $52 million in assets. (AP)

The American Red Cross defended its use of the red cross emblem it shares with drug maker Johnson & Johnson, and said it will aggressively defend itself against a lawsuit by J&J. J&J, one of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies, filed suit this week in US District Court for the Southern District of New York, arguing it has owned the trademark for the symbol for more than 100 years and asking the court to prohibit sales of the items and return monetary gains. The Red Cross said it has been selling items such as first aid kits with the emblem since 1903 with no dispute from J&J. (Reuters)

HomeBanc Corp. punctuated the worst week in its history by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Atlanta-based mortgage lender made the filing late Thursday in Wilmington, Del., said Carol Knies, HomeBanc's vice president of investor relations. It came days after HomeBanc, which had been reorganizing operations amid stress in the housing market, said it would sell its mortgage operations and related assets of its HomeBanc Mortgage Corp. subsidiary to Countrywide Financial Corp. (Cox News Service)

Venezuela will urge the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to maintain existing oil production cuts and keep output levels unchanged, oil minister Rafael Ramirez said. "We believe that the oil cuts must be left in place, and we have carried them out," Ramirez said. Ramirez said Venezuela will make its proposal when the OPEC meets in late September. He also said Venezuela continues talks with foreign oil companies involved in extracting heavy crude in the Orinoco River basin that have been forced to cede majority control. President Hugo Chavez's government took over operational control of oil fields in the eastern Orinoco on May 1 and is now in the process of forming new joint ventures with companies including US-based Chevron Corp., Britain's BP PLC, France's Total SA, and Norway's Statoil ASA. (AP)