UPI NewsTrack Business

Aug 27, 12:49 PM

Current Headlines: U.S. stocks fall on existing-home sales NEW YORK, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes were lower Monday, after a realty group reported U.S. existing-home sales fell 0.2 percent, a fifth straight drop.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 20.81 points, or 0.16 percent, to 13,358.06 in late-morning trading. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 7.53 points, or 0.51 percent, to 1,471.84.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost 11.11 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,565.58.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index finished the day up 52.42 points, or 0.32 percent, at 16,301.39.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose 1/32, yielding 4.612 percent, while the 30-year bond was up 7/32, yielding 4.872 percent.

The U.S. dollar fell to 116.01 yen from 116.39 yen in New York late Friday. The euro rose to $1.3648 from $1.3667.

Gateway computer sold to Taiwan's Acer TAIPEI, Taiwan, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Acer Inc. said Monday it would buy U.S. computer maker Gateway Inc. for $710 million, making the Taiwanese company the world's No. 3 personal computer vendor.

The combined, multi-branded company will have more than $15 billion in revenues and shipments exceeding 20 million PCs a year, the companies said in a joint statement.

Acer will make a cash offer of $1.90 a share for all outstanding shares of Irvine, Calif.'s Gateway -- 57 percent more than Gateway's Friday closing price of $1.21.

Both boards unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close by December, the statement said.

The purchase pushes Acer past China's Lenovo Group Ltd. as the world's third largest PC vendor and positions the company, which owns Acerland, Taiwan's largest franchised computer retail chain, to compete more aggressively in the United States, Acer said.

Gateway's strong brand will strengthen Acer's U.S. presence, Chairman J.T. Wang said, adding the purchase completes Acer's global footprint.

Gateway ranked third in the United States in unit shipments in the second quarter of this year, with about 5.6 percent of the market, research firm IDC estimated.

Industry leaders Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc. had a combined 52 percent of the U.S. market in the same period.

Reports: Home Depot sells unit at discount ATLANTA, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Home Depot Inc. will sell its wholesale supply business to a U.S. private-equity group for some $2 billion less than the original price, reports said Monday.

The $8.5 billion deal, 18 percent less than the $10.3 billion agreed to in June when the buyout boom was at its peak, also includes Home Depot guaranteeing $1 billion of the debt the buyers will take on to complete the transaction, The Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported.

The world's largest home improvement store chain will retain a 12.5 percent stake in the HD Supply unit, whose business is tied closely to the struggling U.S. housing market, the Journal reported.

Home Depot's board approved the debt-heavy deal Sunday. The company planned to announce the transaction Monday.

Home Depot, of Atlanta, had no immediate comment.

Get paid $800 to put an ad on your car LOS ANGELES, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Thousands of U.S. motorists have signed up to have their cars and trucks wrapped in advertisements in exchange for a stipend of up to $800 a month.

The program, run by Los Angeles advertising agency FreeCar Media, wraps cars in vinyl strips promoting consumer items such as Jamba Juice and Verizon Wireless, The New York Times reported.

The vinyl material, whose largest maker is 3M Co., uses an adhesive similar to the one on its 3M's Post-It notes.

Far from hurting the paint job, the wrap preserves it, the Times said.

Venture capital firm ARD Ventures, which has studied the phenomenon of wrapped cars, estimated motorists and pedestrians see a single vehicle's advertising message as many as 70,000 times a day.

FreeCar Media, which also gives its brand ambassadors free cars, has hired about 7,000 motorists since 2000, the company said.

The motorists are instructed to park outside whenever possible, refrain from smoking, littering or swearing in their vehicle and attend a monthly influencer event where they hand out samples or coupons, the Times said.

They also must send reports, frequently with photographs, to show where their cars have been.