LOCAL, STATE
Yahoo’s request to move suit denied
A federal appeals court has rejected Yahoo’s bid to move a trademark lawsuit filed by American Airlines from Texas to Northern California.
Sunnyvale-based Yahoo wanted the case transferred because its sponsored search agreement says any disputes must be settled by courts in Northern California or another site picked by the company.
But a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled Wednesday that the contract clause didn’t apply to the trademark claim made by American.
American sued Yahoo last year in federal district court in Fort Worth — American’s hometown — charging that Yahoo’s search policies infringed on the airline’s trademarks.
American complained that when visitors to Yahoo’s Web site typed in trademark terms such as AAdvantage, the name of American’s frequent-flier program, the search engine directed them to competitors who pay Yahoo for the traffic.
American settled a similar lawsuit against Google last year.
NATION
Fixed, adjustable mortgage rates fall
Rates on 30-year-fixed mortgages declined this week, Freddie Mac said Thursday.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage slipped to 5.03 percent this week from 5.15 percent last week. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.13 percent.
This week’s average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.64 percent from 4.72 last week. Last year at this time, the 15-year rate averaged 5.60 percent.
Average rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages declined to 4.99 percent from 5.08 percent last week. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 4.80 percent from 4.86 percent last week.
GM doesn’t need $2B loan, for now
General Motors says its restructuring plan is starting to take hold, improving the automaker’s fortunes at least to the point that it won’t need a $2 billion government loan installment that it had requested for March.
Chief Financial Officer Ray Young said Thursday that GM formally told the Obama administration’s autos task force Wednesday that it wouldn’t need the money this month. But in an interview with The Associated Press, Young would not say when the struggling automaker would need more government money or whether it will reduce the size of its loan request.
“It seems like our companywide cost reduction efforts are moving well, as well as we’ve been able to defer spending that we previously anticipated in January and February,” Young said. “I think that’s a positive development.”
BofA CEO: Nationalization unneeded
Nationalization of banks would be a “nightmare” that would further undermine confidence in the nation’s financial system, Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said Thursday.
Lewis said a full-scale government takeover in which shareholders would be wiped out would “send shudders” through the investment community and is not necessary to stabilize the country’s banking system.
“It would also give the false impression that all banks are insolvent and investors would immediately start betting on which banks would be next, possibly creating a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Lewis told about 450 corporate leaders at a luncheon sponsored by Boston College’s Chief Executives’ Club of Boston.
He said government control of large banks would “politicize lending decisions” and damage the economy.
World
BMW: Downturn sinks profit by 90%
German carmaker BMW said Thursday its net profit fell 90 percent in 2008 as the global economic crisis cut into demand for its sports and luxury cars.
In an unscheduled preliminary earnings release, the Munich-based company said its net profit for the full year dropped to 330 million euros in 2008 from 3.1 billion euros in 2007.
Total revenues fell 5 percent to 53 billion euros from 56 billion euros in 2007.
BMW said earnings before interest and taxes, a measure of operating profit, fell 78 percent to 921 million euros, while the group’s total car production dropped 6.6 percent to 1.44 million cars.
The company, which is scheduled to release its full earnings report Wednesday, did not provide fourth quarter 2008 figures. It also didn’t provide an outlook for the full year.
