In brief: Mortgage task force forms to fight fraud
OLYMPIA – Ten state attorneys general and four federal agencies are forming a task force to combat mortgage fraud.
Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna issued a statement Monday saying targets of the enforcement effort include equity skimming, bogus foreclosure rescue, straw purchases and unethical lending.
McKenna’s statement says he and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller are leading the group, which includes the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Nevada, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Missouri and Ohio. Representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice, the federal Treasury, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Trade Commission also are joining.
Apple’s latest OS goes on sale Friday
CUPERTINO, Calif. – Apple Inc.’s latest operating system software, Snow Leopard, will go on sale Friday.
The Mac OS X version 10.6 software will debut at Apple’s retail stores and authorized resellers nationwide.
Snow Leopard’s release comes days before its promised September launch. It precedes by two months the launch of Microsoft Corp.’s next operating system, Windows 7. Among Snow Leopard’s improvements is built-in support for Microsoft’s Exchange Server software.
Reader’s Digest parent files for Chapter 11
Reader’s Digest Association Inc., publisher of the iconic general interest magazine that began gracing American homes in 1922 and reaches a worldwide audience of 130 million, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday as it faces falling print circulation and looming debt payments.
Known for its heartwarming stories about American life as other publications moved toward edgier fare, the company’s flagship Reader’s Digest magazine has seen its U.S. circulation drop from a peak of more than 17 million in the 1970s to just above 8 million last year.
Magnifying the publishing world’s woes is an advertising slump.
GM may sell Opel brand to Canadian company
DETROIT – General Motors’ new board may still sell its money-losing European Opel unit to a group led by Canadian auto parts maker Magna, but it needs guarantees that Opel’s technology won’t be used in Russia to compete against GM’s Chevrolet, according to a person briefed on the sale talks.
The board Friday balked at picking between bids for Adam Opel GbmH from a group led by Magna International Inc. that includes Russia’s state-owned Sberbank, and one from GM’s preferred bidder, Brussels-based investor RHJ International SA.
The GM board, according to industry analysts, has concerns about GM’s global small and midsize car underpinnings being used by Russian automaker OAO GAZ.