At T Corp

AT&T Corp. completed its purchase of MediaOne Group Inc. for about $44 billion, becoming the largest U.S. cable television provider serving more than 40% of pay-TV customers. The acquisition was completed for about $23 billion in cash and 606 million shares worth $20.3 billion, based on AT&T's closing share price Wednesday, the company said. That's far lower than the $58-billion value when the deal was announced in April 1999.

KABUL, Afghanistan - In many ways, the two young soldiers were not so different from each other. Each was tough-minded and physically powerful. Each worked hard to win a place in an elite military unit, and spoke with pride of serving his country. They were 25 years old, these two: one newly married, the other planning a wedding this year. Their upbringings were as disparate as their homelands were distant, but religious faith was entwined with the family lives of both.

AT&T Corp. intends to cut jobs at its money-losing computer unit in a restructuring that may eliminate as many as 10,000 positions, leading to a $1.2-billion charge in the third quarter, analysts and a published report said. The job cuts would amount to more than 20% of the work force at Global Information Solutions Inc., the unit based in Dayton, Ohio. The ailing computer unit, formerly NCR Corp., has been bleeding money since AT&T bought it for $7.4 billion in 1990.

Fallout from the British phone-hacking scandal continues to rattle News Corp., even as strong performances from the media giant's cable television and film groups helped it post a 47% jump in net income in its third quarter. News Corp. on Wednesday reported net income of $937 million for the quarter ended March 31, compared with $639 million a year earlier. Revenue increased to $8.4 billion, up 2% from a year earlier. Before discussing the New York company's financial results with Wall Street investors, Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey offered a spirited defense of his boss, Rupert Murdoch.

L.A. Cellular formally becomes part of AT&T Wireless today in a move that allows the latter to immediately begin selling AT&T service plans, including its popular national plan that eliminates roaming and long-distance charges for heavy users. "For the most part, a lot of L.A. Cellular will disappear on Monday," said an official close to AT&T who asked not to be identified.

Millions of Californians will start paying several dollars a month more for land-line phone service after AT&T's second price increase for custom-calling features since the state lifted rate caps last year. The nation's biggest phone carrier this week boosted the cost of caller ID, call waiting and a host of other features for a la carte phone service.

The biggest U.S. initial public offering ever--Lucent Technologies Inc.--is expected to come to market today an assured success. The 20% stake in the manufacturing arm of AT&T Corp. could rake in $3.45 billion from eager investors. The Lucent IPO is the biggest of a bunch of new offerings hitting the market soon. About 111 IPOs worth about $8.8 billion are slated to come to market this month, according to Securities Data Co. About $9.

AT&T Corp. agreed to market phone and multimedia services on Infoseek Corp.'s Web site in a three-year agreement that also includes forming an Internet service.

"American Idol" ended its eighth season last week. So what will fans do with all this newfound free time? Why, delve into another "Idol" voting controversy, of course. Published reports have raised questions on whether AT&T, a program sponsor, may have violated "Idol" voting rules at two pre-finale parties thrown for Kris Allen, the Arkansas crooner crowned winner last Wednesday.

AT&T to Set Up Subsidiary: The wholly owned subsidiary will manufacture high-technology telecommunications equipment and computer hardware and software products, the official New China News Agency said. AT&T China will coordinate and manage the AT&T Corp. business activities there.

Already the largest cable television provider in Los Angeles, Time Warner Cable Inc. now wants to become the dominant sports programmer in the region. On Oct. 1, the New York company will launch two regional sports networks: Time Warner Cable SportsNet and Spanish-language network Time Warner Cable Deportes. The cable operator has shelled out billions of dollars to snag the Los Angeles Lakers away from Fox Sports West and now has its eye on the Dodgers too. The company is tired of being held hostage by high-priced sports channels and has decided to stop fighting the competition and begin imitating it. The cable operator, which has about 2 million subscribers in Southern California, is taking steps to cut out the middle man. That middleman is News Corp., parent of local cable channels Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket and a formidable opponent.

Google Inc., with its free meals, high monthly pay and relaxed work environment, was rated by interns as the best place to work in a report released just ahead of the peak summer internship season. A software engineering intern at the search engine giant can expect an average monthly pay of $6,463, according to career website Glassdoor. Google interns, who voted the company as the most satisfying place to work, also reported additional perks such as face time with managers and opportunities to sit in on meetings.

CBS Corp.might be a titan of old media but its first-quarter earnings were boosted by gains in new media: the digital distribution of its television programming and the sale of e-books. The New York-based broadcasting company beat analyst estimates with 80% higher net earnings for the quarter ended March 31. The company earned $363 million, or 54 cents per diluted share, up from $202 million, or 29 cents per diluted share, compared with the year-earlier period. The substantially higher margin came from growth in operating income as well as lower weighted average shares as a result of the company's stock repurchase program.

LONDON - He's hobnobbed with every British prime minister of the last 30 years but says he wields no undue political influence. His scandal-loving tabloids strike fear into the hearts of decision-makers, but he denies ever using his newspapers to advance his commercial interests. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch cast himself as the very model of a modest, upright newspaperman Wednesday, insisting in a London courtroom that any suggestion to the contrary was based on lies and legends.

LONDON — Over 60 years, Rupert Murdoch built a media empire using his properties and their profits not just to break down the doors to the British establishment, but also to control it. So Tuesday's scathing declaration by a British parliamentary committee that Murdoch is "not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company" may mark the moment when the once-tamed establishment lost its fear of the country's most powerful...

Providence Equity Partners is selling its stake in online video service Hulu for about $200 million, according to people familiar with the situation. The move is expected to give at least two of Hulu's media company owners — News Corp. and Walt Disney Co. — a greater ownership stake in the rapidly growing online service. It also would make it easier for the partners to achieve a common strategy for the asset without having a restive investor in the mix. The 5-year-old service has more than 2 million paid subscribers to its Hulu Plus offering and about 38 million visitors a month to its free site, which offers catch-up episodes of such popular shows as "Glee," "Revenge" and "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.

AT&T Corp. got clearance from the Justice Department to buy IBM Corp.'s global communications network for $5 billion, with no conditions attached. AT&T says it could receive $2.5 billion in additional revenue in the first full year of operating the network.

AT&T Corp. said Tuesday that it would pay $340 million to settle claims related to the bankruptcy of At Home Corp., a now-defunct broadband business in which it acquired a controlling stake in 2000. The company said the payment would not have a material effect on its operating results. Cable company Comcast Corp. -- which bought AT&T's broadband operations in 2003 -- will reimburse AT&T for half of the settlement amount as set forth in its purchase agreement.

LONDON — By turns contrite and defiant, media magnate Rupert Murdoch on Thursday apologized for the phone-hacking scandal that has tarnished his company but then blamed subordinates for covering up the problem and police for failing to investigate it properly. "The buck stops with me," Murdoch said. "I failed. And I'm very sorry about that.... It's going to be a blot on my reputation for the rest of my life. " Had he known the extent of hacking by the News of the World tabloid, he would have "torn the place apart, and we wouldn't be here today," Murdoch testified on his second day before a British judicial inquiry on media ethics, which was spawned by the hacking scandal.

Troubled insurance giant American International Group Inc. filed a lawsuit against the former head of its aircraft leasing business, Steven Udvar-Hazy, contending the Los Angeles billionaire stole company secrets, wooed away customers and pilfered business deals after he started a competing firm in 2010. The New York insurance company and its Century City unit, International Lease Finance Corp., or ILFC, filed suit Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The 33-page complaint listed the defendants as Udvar-Hazy, his current company, Air Lease Corp., and 30 employees who left ILFC to work with him. AIG asserted in the lawsuit that the defendants collectively connected 16 flash drives to ILFC computers and downloaded nearly 13,000 ILFC files, which included price data concerning the value of aircraft fleets, past contracts, letters of intent and statements of work.