Business news for Tue, 25 Dec 2007 & with word cash. 14 news.

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Berkshire Hathaway and Marmon Holdings announced Tuesday that Berkshire will purchase 60% of Marmon Holdings, a private company owned by trusts benefiting members of the Pritzker Family of Chicago. Berkshire will put up $4.5 bln for the stake and will acquire the remaining 40% through staged acquisitions over a five to six year period, to be based on future earnings. Marmon will make a substantial distribution of cash and assets to shareholders prior to the expected closing in the first quarter of 2008. The Marmon Group is an international association of more than 125 manufacturing and service businesses.

GOLDMAN Sachs Group Inc Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein claimed a US$67.9-million bonus, the biggest ever awarded to the CEO of a Wall Street firm, after delivering a record profit amid the subprime market collapse. Blankfein, 53, received US$26.8 million in cash and US$41.1 million in restricted stock and options, the New York-based firm said in a December 21 regulatory filing, Bloomberg News reported. His payout rose 26 percent from 2006 while mortgage-related losses drove Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack and Bear Stearns Cos chief James "Jimmy" Cayne to forgo year-end awards. Goldman, the largest US securities firm, shattered Wall Street earnings records for the fourth-consecutive year even as banks and brokerages including Citigroup Inc and Merrill Lynch & Co were forced to take at least US$96 billion worth of writedowns. Blankfein's bonus amounts to about two days' profit at his company during the 12 months to November 30. "This year has really

BLUE chips led the market in Shanghai to end slightly lower yesterday and ended the longest winning streak in two months, although more than two thirds of stocks advanced. As the market was still under overvaluation pressure, cautious investors chose to cash out their gains from previous sessions, analysts said. The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares and hard currency B chips, shed 33.08 points, or 0.63 percent, to close at 5,201.18. The key index had risen for four consecutive sessions as of Monday. The A share index lost 0.64 percent against a 0.07 percent gain for the B share gauge. "Gains by the blue chips in previous sessions have cast a big pressure on the overall market, which still has high valuation concerns," said Wan Bing, an analyst with Guangfa Securities. Real estate, banks and security brokers were among the worst performing sectors yesterday. Shanghai Industrial Development Co dropped 3.93 percent to 40.33 yuan. Poly

COPPER futures declined in Shanghai, as some investors deemed a rally as overdone, even as they remained positive on the outlook for Chinese demand. "It's just a market correction after four straight days of strong gains, nothing has changed on the fundamental front," Yuan Fang, a trader at Shanghai East Asia Futures Co, said by phone yesterday. Copper for March delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 490 yuan, or 0.8 percent, to close at 57,970 yuan (US$7,908) a metric ton. Copper gained by the exchange's trading limits on Monday and last Friday, Bloomberg News said. The metal for immediate delivery in Changjiang, Shanghai's biggest cash market, fell as much as 2.8 percent to 61,100 yuan a ton yesterday. "The outlook for demand is good because some processors will start stockpiling soon for the Lunar New Year," said Yuan. China's Lunar New Year starts February 6 and will last for a week. China, the world's biggest user of copper, imported

HARRAH'S Entertainment Inc has received final regulatory approval needed to complete the largest casino buyout ever, a year after Apollo Management LP and TPG Inc agreed to the US$17.1 billion purchase. The National Indian Gaming Commission approved the acquisition, removing the last regulatory hurdle to the purchase, Las Vegas-based Harrah's said in a statement. The transaction will be completed in early 2008, the company said. Harrah's, the world's largest casino company, received permission from Illinois, Nevada, Indiana and six other regulators in the states where it operates. The buyout firms agreed in December 2006 to acquire Harrah's for US$90 a share, attracted by its real-estate holdings and ability to generate cash, according to Bloomberg News. Indian approval was needed because Harrah's runs tribal casinos. Founded in 1937 in Reno, Nevada, Harrah's owns the Bally's, Caesars and Flamingo casinos in Las Vegas as part of its holdings, most of which are in the United

The financial world might be awash with fears of an economic slowdown, but consumer confidence is still high, according to a new survey. A total of 55% of voters said that they remain optimistic about their personal financial situation in a Guardian poll by ICM.

Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain yesterday made his first significant move to address the firm's ongoing subprime woes by accepting a $6.2 billion cash infusion and selling a majority stake in its middle-market lending arm to GE Capital. The bid for...

Merrill Lynch announced three deals Monday which will allow the beleaguered bank to raise much needed cash as its new CEO John Thain tries to save the company from the huge losses it incurred after the mortgage market meltdown.

Outside investors inject cash into Merrill, and holiday sales hopes rise. The Dow gains 98. Stocks rose sharply Monday, boosted by news that another Wall Street firm was getting a multibillion-dollar capital injection and hopes of a stronger-than-expected holiday season for retailers. The Dow Jones industrial average rose nearly 100 points.

Wall Street advanced sharply Monday, boosted by news that Merrill Lynch & Co. will receive an investment of up to $6.2 billion from two investment groups. The Dow Jones industrial average rose nearly 100 points. Trading volume was light in Monday's abbreviated session -- a typical occurrence a day ahead of Christmas. Still, with only five trading days remaining in 2007, investors were perhaps looking for any opportunity to tidy up their positions after a year that brought the return of volatility after several years of unusual calm. Merrill Lynch provided the only significant news of the day. The investment firm said it was receiving a widely expected cash infusion from Singapore's government-controlled investment fund, Temasek Holdings, and U.S.-based Davis Selected Advisers. The proceeds were expected to cushion Merrill's mortgage-related writedowns for the fourth quarter. The nation's largest brokerage also said it would sell most of its commercial finance unit to GE Capital. Terms of the deal weren't made public.

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- W&T Offshore Inc. agreed to acquire the interest it doesn't own in Ship Shoal 349 field, located offshore Louisiana and covering two federal lease blocks, for $116 million from Apache Corp. W&T and Apache, both Houston energy companies, expect to close the deal by April 30. W&T said in a Monday statement that it would finance the deal from cash on hand.

WALL Street advanced yesterday, boosted by news that Merrill Lynch & Co will receive an investment of up to US$6.2 billion from two investment groups. Trading volume was light in yesterday's abbreviated session -- a pro forma occurrence a day ahead of Christmas when most stock markets around the world are closed. Still, with only five trading days remaining in 2007, investors will perhaps be looking for any opportunity to tidy up their positions after a year that that brought the return of volatility after several years of unusual calm. Merrill Lynch provided the only significant news of the day. The investment firm said it was receiving a widely expected cash infusion from Singapore's government-controlled investment fund, Temasek Holdings, and US-based Davis Selected Advisers. The proceeds were expected to cushion Merrill's mortgage-related writedowns for the fourth quarter. Merrill also said it would sell most of its commercial finance unit to GE Capital. Terms of the deal

NEW YORK, Dec. 24 -- Merrill Lynch, facing steep losses from mortgage-related investments, said Monday that it would receive a cash infusion of up to $6.2 billion from Singapore's Temasek Holdings and U.S. money manager Davis Selected Advisors.

Harrah's moved closer to being bought out for $17.7 billion, in what would be the largest casino takeover ever.