AUTOMOTIVE: Regulators probe Windstar fires

Washington —- Federal regulators are looking into 130 complaints that fires occurred in the engine compartments of Ford Windstar midsize vans from the 1995 to 2003 model years. A preliminary investigation shows that 65 of the complaints allege the speed control deactivation switch caused the fires, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Ford Motor Co. doesn't believe there is an elevated risk of fire in the vehicles and is cooperating with government's investigation, spokeswoman Jennifer Moore said Monday.

DEALS: Conde Nast to buy tech news site

New York —- Conde Nast Publications said Monday that it will acquire the technology news site Ars Technica for an undisclosed amount and combine it with the online operations of Wired magazine.

EA extends offer for Take-Two

Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. has for a third time extended the deadline for its $2 billion tender offer to buy smaller rival Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., but it did not raise the price as many analysts expected. Take-Two, meanwhile, confirmed it is in formal talks with an interested party —- most likely EA —- even as it again spurned the offer price as too low. Redwood City, Calif.-based EA said Monday it is extending the offer to June 16 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. The price remains $25.74 per share.

FINANCIAL: Interest rates rise in Treasury auction

Washington —- Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction to the highest levels in nearly three months. The Treasury Department auctioned $25 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.855 percent, up from 1.800 percent last week. Another $23 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 1.885 percent, up from 1.850 percent last week. Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, rose to 2.07 percent last week from 1.94 percent the previous week.

LEGAL: Ruling affirms muni bond system

Washington —- The multitrillion-dollar municipal bond market skirted a land mine Monday when the Supreme Court ruled that states could continue to give special tax breaks on the bonds that fund hospitals, roads, schools and other services. The justices ruled 7-2 in a case from Kentucky that states can exempt interest on their own bonds from taxation while taxing residents for interest on bonds issued by other states. In the $2.5 trillion municipal bond market, 41 states have systems similar to Kentucky's. Industry groups warned of possible turmoil in the municipal bond market if the existing setup were dismantled.

DeVry cooperates with federal probe

DeVry Inc., a provider of technical and college degrees, was accused of filing false statements to the government and will turn over documents on recruiter pay and performance to the Justice Department civil division. The department requested documents from DeVry this month after receiving allegations the company may have submitted false claims or statements to the U.S. Education Department, Illinois-based DeVry said in a statement Monday. The company doesn't know who made the allegations and believes it did nothing wrong, said Bill Strong, a company spokesman.

Wal-Mart settles with employee

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. settled a lawsuit by an employee who claimed she was harassed after disclosing the company's plan to destroy documents sought in a criminal case. Rita Miles, an assistant in Wal-Mart's labor relations department, claimed the company illegally retaliated after she told U.S. authorities about a plan to shred documents subpoenaed in the probe of former Vice Chairman Thomas Coughlin. Wal-Mart spokeswoman Daphne Moore said terms of the settlement with Miles are confidential and declined to comment further.

Mattel settles part of Bratz dispute

The maker of the Barbie doll, Mattel Inc., on Monday dropped its lawsuit against a former employee over the design of the rival Bratz dolls. In a motion posted online on the eve of jury selection, Mattel said it wanted claims and counterclaims against Carter Bryant to be dismissed with prejudice. "We have reached a settlement that includes dismissal of claims against Carter Bryant," said John Quinn, a lawyer representing Mattel. Mattel's copyright infringement lawsuit still seeks a piece of the Bratz franchise marketed by MGA Entertainment Inc. Jury selection in that case is scheduled to begin today in federal court in Riverside, Calif.

MANUFACTURING: 'Progress' reported on 787 Dreamliner

Boeing Co., whose new 787 Dreamliner is delayed at least 14 months, is "making progress" on getting the plane ready for its first flight by the end of this year, the program's manager said. "I don't expect any surprises," Pat Shanahan told reporters Monday in a briefing at the Everett, Wash., plant where the plane is being assembled. Initial deliveries of the long-haul, fuel-efficient jet, which has racked up record orders for a new model, have been pushed back to the third quarter of 2009 rather than this month as planned because of parts shortages and engineering difficulties.

REAL ESTATE: Maguire REIT ousts founder

Los Angeles —- Maguire Properties Inc. directors voted to oust company founder Robert F. Maguire III as the real estate investment trust's chief executive and chairman, officials announced Monday. Board members voted to name former Maguire executive Nelson Rising as its new CEO and to install board member Walter Weisman as chairman, company officials said in a news release.

REGULATORY: Feds investigate dairy cooperative

Washington —- Federal commodity regulators are investigating a price-manipulation scheme by the farmer-owned dairy cooperative that controls about a third of the nation's milk supply, according to a published report. Separately, the Justice Department is preparing to investigate a recently disclosed $1 million transfer to a former director of the Dairy Farmers of America, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The Kansas City-based dairy cooperative, the nation's largest, also faces antitrust lawsuits by farmers and retailers for allegedly conspiring to suppress prices it paid for raw milk in the Southeast, while raising prices to the region's retailers, according to the Journal.

AOL execs accused of inflating revenue

Eight former America Online Inc. executives, including Chief Financial Officer John Michael Kelly, were sued by U.S. regulators for allegedly helping overstate Internet advertising revenue by more than $1 billion from 2000 to 2002. Four of the executives agreed to pay more than $8 million to settle the Securities and Exchange Commission's civil suit filed Monday in Manhattan, the agency said in a statement. The regulator's claims are still pending against Kelly, 51, and three others.

TECHNOLOGY: Carty to leave CFO post at Dell

Dallas —- Dell Inc. said Monday that Donald Carty, hired as chief financial officer a year and a half ago to help lead the computer maker's turnaround, will resign in June and be replaced by a longtime General Electric Co. executive. Brian T. Gladden, chief executive of SABIC Innovative Plastics Holding BV, formerly called GE Plastics, will join Dell today and succeed Carty as CFO on June 13. Dell spokesman David Frink said Carty, 61, was not pushed out. Carty was CEO and chairman of American Airlines and its parent, AMR Corp., until being ousted in early 2003.

Comcast invests in file-sharing startup

Comcast Corp., which is under federal investigation for blocking some file-sharing traffic, is investing in a startup that delivers high-definition video using file-sharing techniques. Seattle-based GridNetworks on Monday said that Comcast would make an unspecified investment in the company and collaborate on developing so-called peer-to-peer file-sharing techniques that are "friendly" to Internet service providers. Comcast, the country's second-largest Internet service provider, hampers some file-sharing traffic in an attempt to keep the traffic from slowing down Web surfing by other subscribers.

Avaya to cut about 400 jobs

New Jersey-based Avaya Inc., the world's biggest maker of equipment for corporate phone networks, is eliminating about 400 jobs after being acquired for $8.2 billion last year. The company will cut jobs across the United States, spokesman Glen Brandow said Monday in a telephone interview.

Microsoft-Yahoo talk heats up again

Microsoft Corp., the software maker that scrapped a $47.5 billion bid for Yahoo Inc. this month, may forge a partnership with the Internet company on search advertising to challenge Google. Microsoft, which abandoned its takeover attempt May 3, said Sunday that it's exploring a transaction with Yahoo and may renew attempts to buy the entire company. The two could combine units that sell ads that run next to Internet search results, said Morningstar Inc. analyst Toan Tran. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is pressuring Yahoo to ally itself with Microsoft to compete with Google, which dominates the Internet search market. Icahn threatened last week to oust Yahoo's board if Chief Executive Jerry Yang failed to sell to Microsoft. "Carl Icahn is in this to make a quick buck, so whatever helps him make money he'll be happy with," Tran said. "What Carl Icahn definitely wants is an outright sale of Yahoo to Microsoft at some price higher than what it is now."

Google opens health records site

Google Inc. has opened a free Web site that manages patients' medical records online, part of a plan to boost user loyalty by adding new services. Patients can upload medical records from other organizations, enter their own data and search for information on health conditions, Marissa Mayer, a Google vice president, said Monday at the company's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. Google, owner of the most popular search engine, is forging partnerships with hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and medical-test providers so that people can store and manage their electronic files on a single Web site. The company will continue to sign up partners to ensure that users have the broadest possible access to medical information, Mayer said. "This really puts the users' records right in their hands," Mayer said. "We realize this is just the beginning."

UTILITIES / ENERGY: Oil stockpile bill signed into law

Washington —- President Bush on Monday signed a bill that forces his administration to temporarily stop acquiring oil for its emergency stockpile, even though an aide said the president considers it a bad idea that won't lower fuel costs. "The president is not going to stand in their way on this bill," said deputy press secretary Scott Stanzel of Congress' overwhelming vote. In a bipartisan rebuke, the Senate last week voted 97-to-1 and the House 385-to-25 for the legislation, margins suggesting that a veto could be easily overridden. Earlier, the president and White House officials had spoken out strongly against the measure.