Texas suing Sony BMG over spyware

Austin, Texas The state of Texas filed suit against Sony BMG on Monday for hiding spyware in music CDs that, when played in a computer, can leave the system sluggish or vulnerable to outside viruses.

In recent months, the music company introduced the XCP technology on CDs by 52 artists – including Frank Sinatra, Pete Seeger and Cyndi Lauper – that was designed to deter piracy. The software stopped a CD from being copied more than three times.

Since bloggers discovered the hidden files, Sony BMG has been hit with a firestorm of criticism and in the last week has recalled millions of CDs and promised consumers either full reimbursement or replacement.

“Sony BMG deeply regrets any inconvenience to our customers and remains committed to providing an enjoyable and safe music experience,” the company said.

Sony already had been hit with class-action suits in California and New York, but Texas became the first state to sue under a new consumer protection law that went into effect Sept. 1.

Sprint Nextel buying Alamosa Holdings

Kansas City, Mo. Sprint Nextel Corp. said Monday it will acquire Alamosa Holdings Inc., its largest Sprint-branded wireless affiliate, for $3.4 billion.

Alamosa shareholders will receive $18.75 per share, a 15 percent premium from the stock’s Friday close of $16.26. The deal also includes the assumption of $900 million in debt.

Alamosa shares jumped on the news, gaining $2.09, or almost 13 percent, to close at $18.35 in trading Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market, close to the stock’s 52-week high of $18.41.

Sprint Nextel shares rose 23 cents to close at $25.17 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $21.57 to $27.20. Sprint Nextel is based in Reston, Va., but its operational headquarters are in Overland Park, Kan.

News of the Alamosa deal sparked speculation about its potential effect on Sprint Nextel’s ongoing fight with Nextel Partners Inc., its largest affiliate, which Sprint Nextel is scheduled to buy next year.

Holiday sales projections boosted

New York

The sales outlook looks brighter for the holiday season, a retail trade group says.

The National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade organization, raised its growth forecast Tuesday for the Christmas season to 6 percent from its September forecast of 5 percent.

“When we had made the forecast, Katrina had just hit,” said Rosalind Wells, economist for the Washington-based trade group. “Everything looked pretty gloomy.” But she said since then, she has seen strong economic indicators.

Wells cited stronger-than-expected retail sales in October and falling gasoline prices as the catalysts for upgrading the holiday forecast.

The NRF’s move marks the first time that the association has officially upgraded its forecast during the holiday season. Total retail sales for last year’s November-December period rose 6.7 percent, compared with the previous year. The figure excludes sales at automotive dealers, gas stations and restaurants.

Google donation to aid ‘World Digital Library’

San Francisco Google Inc. is giving $3 million to the U.S. Library of Congress to help set up a system for creating digital copies of rare documents from around the world – the latest step in Google’s crusade to expand the amount of information that can be indexed by its Internet-leading search engine.

With the donation announced Tuesday, Google becomes the first business to back the “World Digital Library,” a concept that began to take shape about five months ago.

The worldwide program is loosely modeled after the Library of Congress’ American Memory project launched 11 years ago.

Backed with $48 million in private donations and a $15 million infusion from the federal government, the American Memory site at http://loc.gov/memory now has more than 10 million items, including early maps of the United States as well as photos and letters from the Civil War.

S-R offering free business news e-mail alerts

The Spokesman-Review is now offering a free e-mail alert service for business news.

Breaking local news and the best of the national and regional wires, plus stock market information, are sent directly to your e-mail inbox, Monday through Friday afternoons.

The service is free and you don’t have to be a subscriber to the newspaper – just sign up by visiting www.SpokesmanReview.com, then clicking “get e-mail alerts” in the upper left corner of the page.

Mineta pledges millions for O’Hare makeover

Chicago U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta on Monday pledged $337 million in federal funds for a planned expansion at O’Hare International Airport that is aimed at reducing flight delays at one of the nation’s busiest airports.

Mineta said the money included a $300 million grant the city was seeking and another $37 million.

“American taxpayers are making a good investment,” said Mineta, who was at O’Hare to sign the grants during a ceremony Monday.

The $15 billion expansion project will add a new terminal and two runways, and redesign two other runways. The Federal Aviation Administration has said it will reduce delays by 68 percent if the work ends on schedule in 2013.