General Motors Corp.’s board may review a bid for a majority of its finance unit today as the automaker seeks preliminary agreement on a sale this month, Bloomberg reported. The leading offer for 51 percent of General Motors Acceptance Corp. comes from a group led by buyout firm Cerberus Capital Management LP. Go to Article […] Read more..

By WRITER - The New York Times

HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe’s biggest bank by market value, reported a 17 percent increase in 2005 profit, helped by consumer lending outside Britain. Net income rose to $15.08 billion from $12.92 billion a year earlier, the London-based lender said today in a Regulatory News Service statement. That beat the $14.51 billion median estimate of 11 […] Read more..

By WRITER - The New York Times

It’s too early to tell whether AT&T and BellSouth will hit any regulatory snags in their proposed $67 billion merger. Given the roster of high-powered antitrust lawyers they’re bringing into the deal, though, it’s clear they aren’t taking any chances. AT&T has turned to Washington, D.C.-based Arnold & Porter for antitrust advice. That’s the same […] Read more..

By DEALBOOK - The New York Times

BAA is on alert as speculation swirled in Madrid that a Spanish-led consortium could launch a 10 billion pound assault in the next week. The consortium is being spearheaded by Spanish construction giant Ferrovial, chaired by Spanish multi-millionaire Rafael de Pino. He is believed to be on the verge of receiving financial backing from Santander, […] Read more..

By WRITER - The New York Times

Two groups of private investment firms that have been weighing takeover offers for newspaper chain Knight Ridder appear to be fading as serious contenders for the San Jose, Calif.-based company. A group made up of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Blackstone Group and Providence Equity Partners and a second composed of Bain Capital, Hellman & […] Read more..

By WRITER - The New York Times

As NBC Universal unveils its $600 million deal for women’s Internet network iVillage, venture capitalist Paul Kedrosky crunches the numbers. His conclusion: “This is an unqualified good deal for NBC,” he writes, comparing the price tag to last year’s $580 million purchase of MySpace by News Corporation. [General Electric‘s] NBC unit isn’t paying anything like […] Read more..

By DEALBOOK - The New York Times