Business news for Fri, 28 Mar 2008 & with word billion. 75 news.

Bush's projected budget gap of $410 billion for 2008 could widen to $500 billion or more, according to new estimates, as tax collections decline.

EU regulators opened an investigation into Nokia's $8.1 billion deal for digital-mapping company Navteq.

(AP) — Industrial conglomerate Textron Inc. said Friday that one of its units received a $10.4-billion, five-year contract from the U.S. Department of Defense for 167 Osprey aircraft. Bell Boeing, an alliance Textron's Bell Helicopter unit has with Boeing Co., received the contract. The ...

Clear Channel deferred its first-quarter dividend at the request of suitors Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital in light of its imperiled $19.4 billion buyout deal. Earlier Friday, the radio giant said the deal may not close.

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.

Clear Channel Communications says bankers involved in its $19.5-billion US takeover are still dragging their feet, which does not bode well for an even larger buyout of Canada's BCE.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- France's Credit Agricole and Banco Popolare of Italy are holding exclusive talks to discuss the possibility of setting up a joint venture between their Italian consumer credit subsidiaries, Agos and Ducato, according to the banks Friday. The exclusive negotiation period is slated to end April 30. The joint venture, if realized, would have a share of about 14% of the Italian market with 13 billion euros ($20.54 billion) in outstanding loans as of 2007, the banks said. The deal is also expected to result in synergies estimated at 50 million euros a year before taxes.

The insurance giant accuses former chief 'Hank' Greenberg and 6 others of misappropriating $20 billion of AIG shares.

The Federal Reserve announced Friday it will auction another $100 billion in April to cash-strapped banks as it continues to combat the effects of a credit crisis.

Radio broadcaster Clear Channel Communications said on Friday its pending $20 billion buyout may collapse, as the banks had failed to provide funding for the deal under previously agreed terms. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Clear Channel said it had agreed with buyout firms THL Partners and Bain Capital that all closing [...]

Electronic Arts today pushed back the deadline for its $2 billion proposal to buy Take-Two Interactive Software, but said its bid was contingent on Take-Two dropping the poison pill plan it adopted this week to stave off the purchase.

BOSTON (Reuters) - Massachusetts' top securities regulator said on Friday that his office was demanding information from three large investment houses as he deepens a probe into the $330 billion auction-rate securities market.

Barack Obama called for tighter regulation of lenders as he spoke of pumping $30 billion into the economy to shield homeowners.

The Federal Reserve announced Friday it will auction another $100 billion in April to cash-strapped banks as it continues to combat the effects of a credit crisis. The central bank said it would make $50 billion available at each of two auctions, on April 7...

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday termed as "hoax" the government's Rs 60,000 crore (Rs 600 billion) farm loan waiver package, saying the move was just to make political capital as in effect it will put the major burden on future governments.

Maruti Suzuki's next offering, the A-Star, a premium hatchback car, will be the first vehicle to be exported from the company's car terminal at Mundra Port, which is expected to be operational by December 2008. A joint venture between Maruti Suzuki and Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone (MPSEZ), the terminal is being set up with an investment of Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion).

Valued at Euro 35 billion, Nokia is the world's fifth most valuable brand, after Coca Cola, Microsoft, IBM and General Electric. With annual turnover at 3.6 billion euro, India contributed nearly seven per cent to Nokia's total global revenues of 51 billion euro in 2007. Nokia has invested $ 210 million for setting up a manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu and the Indian facility is 1 of the best among 9 Nokia factories. It has estimated 100mn new phone subscribers in India.

AP - The Federal Reserve announced Friday it will auction another $100 billion in April to cash-strapped banks as it continues to combat the effects of a credit crisis.

European Union regulators said Friday they are extending an antitust probe into Nokia Corp.'s proposed $8.1 billion acquisition of U.S.-based digital mapmaker Navteq Corp. The European Commission said an initial investigation found a combination of the...

The Federal Reserve will auction another $100 billion in April to cash-strapped banks as it continues to combat the effects of ...