Business news for Fri, 28 Mar 2008. 1236 news.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- BlackRock said late Friday the board of trustees of the BlackRock Closed-End Funds recently approved the reorganization of BlackRock Enhanced Equity Yield Fund and BlackRock Enhanced Equity Yield & Premium Fund into BlackRock Enhanced Capital & Income Fund . BlackRock Enhanced Capital & Income Fund will be the surviving fund. The reorganization is expected to be completed in the third quarter.

New CDC data show the number of people in the U.S. diagnosed with HIV in 2006 to be sharply higher than in previous years, reflecting the agency's improved surveillance system rather than a rise in the epidemic.

Microsoft has a just-for-Japan that bundles Vista and OneCare into a hot pink bundle. Plus, it's Japan Web site offers a cartoon XP vs. Vista prize fight you really have to check out.

In a Century Plaza Hotel ballroom earlier this week, 600 people gathered to hear Hollywood heavyweights tally the fallout from the writers strike.

SLICES OF LIFE: So I'm walking in midtown yesterday listening to "Lost Along the Way" by moe. on my iPod. And there lo and behold is the Bear Stearns building. It's gray and grim. There's this pervading gloom in the air. Then I hit JP Morgan's headquarters, the old Chase building and folks going in there are walkin' fast, looking down at their shoes. Not a happy time all around. Except. Except, I truck over to Fifth and suddenly, SMILES. Why everyone here one block away is all-aglow. Shopping and having a blast. What gives?

By Chris Bucholtz I feel bad for the folks in the CRM trenches at Microsoft. In a move we first got wind of last week, the name of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live has been changed to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, to bring it in line with other Microsoft branding nomenclature. This, of course, after Microsoft’s big Convergence [...]

S&P's Jim Yin discusses his outlook for game developers Electronic Arts, Take-Two, Activision, and THQ, as well as the sector as a whole

In a guest post, entertainment lawyer Chris Castle says the record label's notion of bundling monthly fees into ISP bills is a head scratcher.

The major averages give up early gains following a downturn in financials. J.C. Penney's profit warning weighs on retailers.

Troubled clothing retailer Wilsons Chief Executive Michael Searles is stepping down next week, without a successor ready to take his place.

Reuters - Stocks fell on Friday as a profit warning from J.C. Penney raised concerns about slowing consumer spending while persistent worries about credit-related problems throttled financial stocks.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Friday as a profit warning from J.C. Penney raised concerns about slowing consumer spending while persistent worries about credit-related problems throttled financial stocks.

Fewer people bought residential properties as investments last year, according to a National Association of Realtors report released Friday.

John Howard sold $2.6 million in shares of the outperforming apparel retailer.

Nationwide building society became the first big mortgage lender to forecast a drop in the UK housing market after its figures showed prices falling in March for the fifth month

'Liars' fill ballpark seats, Opening Day survey says

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Pall Corp. said late Friday its second-quarter net income rose to $48 million, or 39 cents a share, from $44.3 million, or 36 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding restructuring and other charges, adjusted earnings were 46 cents a share compared with 35 cents a share in the same quarter last year. Revenue in the latest quarter totaled $625.8 million, up from $544.9 million in the year-earlier period, said the life sciences and industrial company. Pall also said it restated its financial statements for the fiscal years 1999 through 2006 and for each of the fiscal quarters ended Oct. 31, 2006, Jan. 31, 2007, and April 30, 2007.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Bell Boeing, a strategic alliance between Textron Inc.'s Bell Helicopter and Boeing Co. , said late Friday it received a $10.4 billion contract from the Department of Defense for 167 V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The five-year contract calls for 26 Osprey for the Air Force Special Operations Command and 141 Osprey for the U.S. Marine Corps.

Thornburg Mortgage announced Friday a 24-hour extension on the previous day's deadline for the company to raise $948 million in cash.

Financial and retail ETFs slid lower for the week on poor economic data.