U.S. Treasury profits from sale of AIG shares
WASHINGTON >> The Treasury Department said Tuesday that it has sold all of its remaining shares of American International Group Inc., moving to wrap up the government’s biggest bailout of the 2008 financial crisis.
Treasury said it received $32.50 per share for its 234.2 million remaining shares, which represented a 16 percent ownership stake in the giant insurance company.
With this sale, Treasury said the government has received $22.7 billion more than the $182 billion bailout it provided to support AIG during the height of the financial crisis.
It was the largest government bailout package, including both loans and federal guarantees.
Microsoft boosts distribution of its tablet
NEW YORK » Microsoft says it’s increasing production of its Surface tablets and will sell them in more stores. Staples says it will carry them starting today.
Surface is the first tablet Microsoft is selling under its own brand, and the company has promoted it heavily since its late-October launch. Reviews have been mixed, and there have been few signs that the tablet is flying off the shelves.
Microsoft has been selling it online and through its own stores.
Microsoft says other stores in the U.S. and Australia will now carry Surface, and more countries will be added within months. Microsoft’s holiday stores will keep operating into the new year.
Yahoo makes changes to email service
SAN FRANCISCO » Yahoo is spiffing up and expanding its email service in an attempt to regain some of the ground lost to a Google alternative that lured away millions of users.
The changes unveiled Tuesday are meant to make Yahoo’s email faster and easier to use on the Web. To cater to the growing audience checking their email on smartphones and tablet computers, Yahoo also introduced mobile apps for the iPhone, iPad and devices powered by Microsoft Corp.’s recently released Windows 8 system.
The company, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., also updated its email app designed for Google Inc.’s Android operating system.
Solar company holds off on IPO pricing
New York » SolarCity Corp. delayed the pricing of its initial public offering until today, said two people with knowledge of the situation.
The people asked not to be identified because the process is private. The San Mateo, Calif.-based solar power provider led by billionaire Elon Musk is offering 10.1 million shares for $13 to $15 apiece, according to regulatory filings.
The IPO had been scheduled to price today. The midpoint of the offering range would value the company at about $1 billion, or about eight times sales in the 12 months through September. That compared with an average price-to-sales multiple as of yesterday of about 0.4 for publicly traded companies such as Real Goods Solar Inc. and First Solar Inc.
While Musk may be aiming to replicate the performance of his Tesla Motors Inc., which has more than doubled since its 2010 IPO, SolarCity is contending with a market that has pummeled public solar stocks and a pending U.S. government inquiry into its accounting practices that may raise costs.
SolarCity, which booked a $95 million net loss in the 12 months through September, is one of a handful of companies that lease solar panels to customers, install them on their property and charge them below-market rates for the electricity they generate.
Economic optimism highest since 2009
WASHINGTON » Americans’ economic mood is at its brightest in more than three years even as Washington echoes with warnings of a new recession if deficit negotiations fail, a Bloomberg National Poll shows.
While just 38 percent say the U.S. is on the right track, that’s 5 percentage points more than in the last poll in September and the best reading on that question since September 2009, when the U.S. was just emerging from recession. Fifty-five percent of respondents say the U.S. is on the wrong track.
"Things are improving," says David Jellison, 37, a systems administrator in Puyallup, Wash., who’s planning a family vacation to California. "People I know who were out of work are getting jobs. Everything seems to be picking up."
The poll reflects the growing optimism among Americans that contributed to President Barack Obama’s re-election victory.
Forty-eight percent of respondents say they approve of his handling of the economy as housing prices rise, household debt falls and employment grows, with 48 percent disapproving. That’s his best showing since September 2009, according to the poll of 1,000 adults conducted Dec. 7-10.
Asked about their outlook for 2013, 31 percent say they expect a better year financially compared with 23 percent who say they will be worse off; 44 percent say their personal fortunes will stay about the same.
Employers advertised more jobs in October
WASHINGTON » U.S. employers advertised more jobs in October than September, a hopeful sign that hiring would pick up in the coming months.
The Labor Department said Tuesday that job openings rose by 128,000 to 3.68 million. That’s the most since June.
The number of available jobs is slowly climbing back to the roughly 4 million that were advertised each month before the recession began in December 2007.
On the Move
Verizon Wireless has named Eric Reed as executive director of sales operations for Hawaii. He has 12 years of wireless industry experience, including as director of business sales for the Southern California region.
The Polynesian Cultural Center has named Lara Leimana Fonoimoana as its new Hawaii sales manager. She was previously a lead dancer in PCC’s “Ha: Breath of Life” show and a member of the promotional team. She also served as spokeswoman for the Department of Health’s obesity prevention program.
The National Court Reporters Association has announced that Melody Among has earned the nationally recognized Registered Professional Reporter certification. Among works as a court reporter and has demonstrated the ability to produce a high-quality verbatim record.
Hawaii State Federal Credit Union has granted more than $25,000 to the Department of Education teachers in 2012. The credit union offers the Investing in Education grant program annually in order to assist the DOE teachers to obtain electronics equipment, books, supplies, furniture and basic necessities for the classroom.