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Comcast hikes its rates
Comcast customers will pay more for a variety of services under a new rate plan to go into effect next month. The increases cover cable, Internet, equipment rental, installation and service charges and are the result of the higher cost of doing business, the company said in a letter mailed to customers.
Among the changes, the company’s limited basis cable service will increase to $16.05 a month from $14.05. Expanded basic cable service will rise to $45.35 from $43.65 a month and standard cable service will go up to $61.40 from $57.70 a month.
The company said it will lower some costs for services and rentals and not raise prices on others such as high-speed Internet packaged with another service.
AIG gets $38 billion more
The Federal Reserve has agreed to provide insurance giant American International Group with a loan of up to $37.8 billion, on top of one made to the troubled company last month.
Under the new program, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will borrow up to $37.8 billion in investment-grade, fixed income securities from AIG in return for cash collateral. These securities were previously lent by AIG’s insurance company subsidiaries to third parties.
Last month, the Fed provided an $85 billion loan to the company, which was on the brink of bankruptcy.
Peso under pressure
Mexico’s central bank said Wednesday it was auctioning off $2.5 billion in reserves to prop up the struggling peso, the strongest sign yet that the U.S. economic meltdown was hitting its southern neighbor hard.
The bank said it will also auction off $400 million a day starting today if the peso continues to fall more than 2 percent in value from the day before.
The announcement came hours after the peso dropped to a record low of 14 against the U.S. dollar.
$3 billion scam charged
Minnesota businessman Tom Petters was ordered to remain behind bars on Wednesday, with a judge deciding there was too great a risk the founder of Petters Group Worldwide would flee charges he defrauded investors of up to $3 billion over the last 14 years.
According to court documents, Petters had personal assets of over $1 billion at the end of last year. Prosecutors have said they don’t know where all the assets are.
Walgreen pulls back bid
Walgreen has withdrawn its $2.8 billion bid to acquire Longs Drug Stores.
Longs had already accepted CVS Caremark Corp.’s lower bid of $71.50 per share, or $2.7 billion, which has been approved by regulators.
Some Longs shareholders have criticized the CVS deal, saying it may undervalue Longs’ real estate.