Biz Briefs

Oct 13, 07:20 AM

Current Headlines: SAN FRANCISCO | Oracle Corp. has offered $6.7 billion to buy BEA Systems Inc. in its latest bid to trump SAP AG and IBM Corp. in an increasingly intense business software battle.

Oracle unveiled its $17-per-share cash offer Friday, one day after BEA rejected it as inadequate, according to a letter BEA released a few hours after Oracle's revelation catapulted its stock to a new 52-week high.

BEA makes "middleware," products that help software applications run more smoothly on top of databases, while Oracle makes business management and database software.

Oracle's bid represented a 25 percent premium over BEA's closing stock price Thursday .

phone excise tax

many americans miss IRS refund

WASHINGTON | What if the government tried to give American taxpayers some of their money back, but the taxpayers didn't seem to want it?

That's what happened this year, as taxpayers collected only about half the $8 billion the IRS expected to pay them in its phone tax refund, the most far-reaching refund in the agency's history. The telephone excise tax was created in 1898 to fund the Spanish- American War. After losing several lawsuits disputing the legitimacy of the tax, the IRS created a program to refund the 3 percent tax paid on long-distance or bundled service from March 2003 to July 2006.

The tax agency estimated the one-time refund would affect 145 million to 165 million taxpayers.

But, as of August, the IRS had repaid just over half of the overcollected tax, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

economy

retail sales post strong gain

WASHINGTON | Retail sales posted a stronger-than-expected gain in September, easing fears about a possible recession, while a big surge in gasoline costs pushed wholesale inflation higher.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that retail sales increased 0.6 percent last month, double what had been expected, as a big increase in auto sales helped offset weak demand for clothing.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said wholesale inflation jumped by 1.1 percent in September, the biggest increase in seven months, as gasoline costs shot up by 8.4 percent, the biggest gain since March. However, outside of energy and food, core inflation remained well contained, rising by just 0.1 percent.

- From wire reports

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