Daily Briefing

AUCTION

South Africa begins ivory sale

South Africa began the sale of 51 metric tons of ivory, completing auctions sanctioned by the United Nations that skirt a ban on dealing in ivory until 2016. Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe have also been holding sales since Oct. 28, with a total of about 108 tons available. The four countries are allowed to hold the sales, the first in the region since 1999, because of their large elephant populations.

AUTOMOTIVE

Isuzu shares plunge 20.7%

Shares of Isuzu Motors Ltd. plunged more than 20 percent after the Japanese truck maker announced a larger-than-expected cut to full-year earnings estimates. The company more than halved its net profit forecast for the fiscal year through March to $409 million. It also slashed its revenue outlook by 11 percent to $16.9 billion and now expects operating profit to fall by 43 percent to $613 million. The shares closed down 20.7 percent at 161 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, far worse than the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average’s 6.5 percent decline.

Big Lamborghini dealer closes

The world’s largest dealer of Lamborghini has shut down. Lamborghini Orange County was renown for catering to the glamorous fans of the 12-cylinder, $600,000 sports cars. It sold about 10 percent of the 2,400 Lamborghinis made in the world each year. NBA stars Kobe Bryant and Dennis Rodman were among its customers. Lamborghini’s separate sales company in the United States says the dealer closed because of its own mistakes, not the economy.

Dana to cut more jobs, close plants

Dana Holding Corp. said it will close up to 10 plants and cut 2,000 more employees than originally planned as the auto parts maker’s net loss widened in the third quarter. Dana said its loss available to common stockholders widened to $279 million ($2.79 per share). Dana said the plant closures will take place in 2009 and 2010, while the 5,000 job cuts will be complete by the end of this year.

Chrysler plant offers buyouts

Chrysler is offering buyouts to all 2,600 employees at its northern Illinois assembly plant. Spokesman Ed Saenz says offers are going out to 2,400 union workers and 200 administrative staff in Belvidere. He declined to say if Chrysler had a target for the number of employees it hopes will take the “voluntary separation packages.”

AVIATION

Boeing delivered 5 jets in October

Boeing Co. delivered just five commercial airplanes in October, when the company’s commercial aircraft factories were closed amid a strike by union workers. The Chicago-based aerospace firm posted the figure on its Web site. Boeing delivered 12 airplanes in September and 36 per month in August and July. The eight-week strike by 27,000 workers in Washington state, Oregon and Kansas ended Saturday after the Machinists union ratified a new contract with the company.

AirTran expands to Columbus

Low-fare AirTran Airways is about to make its arrival in Columbus, Ohio. AirTran will offer nonstop service to Atlanta and to Fort Myers and Orlando in Florida. Introductory one-way fares are as low as $54 to Atlanta and $67 to Florida. The airline will help fill the gap left in Columbus when homegrown discount carrier Skybus Airlines folded earlier this year.

BANKING

Barclays buys Italian business

Britain’s Barclays bank bought the Italian residential mortgage business of Australia’s Macquarie bank. Barclays PLC, which raised $11.8 billion from Middle Eastern investors last month, is not disclosing the amount it paid Macquarie Group Limited for the business. The purchase increases the value of Barclays mortgage book by $1.4 billion —- or nearly 10 percent.

European, British banks cut rates

The European Central Bank cut its key interest rate by half a percentage point to 3.25 percent and the Bank of England made an even more aggressive reduction of 1.5 percentage point in an effort to ease the financial crisis and boost their flagging economies. The Bank of England’s cut to a 3 percent base rate —- the biggest trim in 27 years —- took markets by surprise, reflecting fears Britain is headed for a deep recession.

Thain may get $5.2M in takeover

Merrill Lynch & Co. Chief Executive Officer John Thain may receive as much as $5.22 million in compensation if a takeover by Bank of America Corp. is completed by Dec. 31. Nelson Chai, Merrill’s chief financial officer, may receive $1.17 million, Charlotte-based Bank of America said in a proxy filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 3. Bank of America last month named Thain to head Global Banking, Securities and Wealth Management at the combined companies.

ENERGY

Conoco, Saudis delay refinery

ConocoPhillips and the state-run Saudi Arabian Oil Co. say they’ve delayed plans to build a multibillion-dollar refinery in Saudi Arabia because of a slowing global economy. The two companies signed a $6 billion agreement in 2006 to build a 400,000 barrel-a-day oil refinery in the kingdom’s Red Sea city of Yanbu. The project is in the construction bidding process, and a round of bids was expected next month. Instead, the partners say the project will be rebid in the second quarter of 2009.

FARMING

Drought relief to Kentucky farmers

Kentucky farmers whose crops wilted under a prolonged drought that expanded northward from the Deep South can expect some help from the federal government. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will provide financial assistance to those farmers as well as loans for farms that suffered crop losses from high winds when the remnants of Hurricane Ike blew through the state in September. Gov. Steve Beshear said the drought has brought financial hardships to Kentucky.

FINANCIAL

Fidelity plans to cut jobs

Fidelity Investments, the world’s largest mutual-fund manager, plans to cut about 1,290 jobs this month and fire additional employees in the first quarter of next year. The initial dismissals will account for 2.9 percent of its 44,440 workers, Boston-based Fidelity said.

Aaron Furniture unit sold

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. purchased a furniture-leasing unit from Aaron Rents Inc. for $72 million to expand business with corporate customers. The acquisition by Berkshire’s Cort unit was completed today, according to a statement on Business Wire.

HOUSING

British house prices slide again

House prices in Britain fell at their fastest rate in five months in October, taking them back to levels they were at three years ago, the country’s biggest mortgage lender said. HBOS PLC unit Halifax said house prices declined by a 2.2 percent during October. The average British house price now stands at $267,673, around the level in October 2005.

RETAIL

AnnTaylor expects to break even

AnnTaylor Stores Corp., the U.S. clothing retailer that targets women ages 25 to 55, said third-quarter profit may be lower than it previously projected because of a “dramatic deterioration” in the financial markets and the economy. The chain said it would break even in the quarter, compared with a previous projection of per-share profit of 50 cents to 55 cents.

Mattel to cut 1,000 jobs

Toy maker Mattel Inc. says it is cutting some 1,000 positions worldwide in response to the economic downturn. The El Segundo, Calif.-based company says the positions amount to 3 percent of its worldwide work force and will reduce its professional and management staff by 8 percent. It says the cuts will come from a combination of layoffs, attrition and retirements.

TECHNOLOGY

Ex-Intel employee charged

A former Intel Corp. employee is charged with stealing trade secrets worth $1 billion from the chip maker while he worked for its rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts say 33-year-old Biswamohan Pani downloaded confidential documents from the chip maker’s California headquarters while he was on vacation and actually working for AMD.

AT&T adding Wi-Fi hot spots

AT&T Inc. said it will buy Wayport Inc., a privately held company that operates more than 10,000 Wi-Fi hot spots in McDonald’s restaurants and hotels, for $275 million in cash. AT&T Internet customers and iPhone owners already have free access to Wayport’s McDonald’s locations, but the deal will add free access at 2,800 locations, including Wyndham, Marriott Vacation Club and Four Seasons hotels.

TOURISM

Casino may miss requirements

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. says it is in jeopardy of missing certain financial covenant requirements and needs to raise more capital. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Las Vegas Sands said it does not expect to comply with its maximum leverage ratio covenant for the period ended Dec. 31 and potentially afterward. If it defaults, lenders would be able to exercise their rights under the agreements, including bringing financing maturity dates forward.