Cuc International

Time Warner Announces Interactive Ventures: The media giant said it is forming a home shopping service in conjunction with CUC International, the nation's largest telephone-based shopping operation, for its prototype cable network in Orlando, Fla. Time Warner Inc. also plans to offer video news on demand over the Orlando system, using the resources of Time Inc. publishing and New York 1 News, its 24-hour New York City news service.

Former Cendant Corp. Vice Chairman E. Kirk Shelton, who faces 12 to 15 years in prison, asked U.S. District Judge Alvin Thompson to impose a term of probation and community service for his accounting fraud conviction. Shelton deserves leniency because he is devoted to his family, works in the community and has a reputation for integrity, his lawyers said in court papers filed Tuesday in Hartford, Conn.

Former Cendant Corp. Vice Chairman E. Kirk Shelton, who faces 12 to 15 years in prison, asked U.S. District Judge Alvin Thompson to impose a term of probation and community service for his accounting fraud conviction. Shelton deserves leniency because he is devoted to his family, works in the community and has a reputation for integrity, his lawyers said in court papers filed Tuesday in Hartford, Conn.

A former Cendant Corp. vice president told jurors Monday that he regularly met with former executives Walter Forbes and E. Kirk Shelton to discuss "cheat sheets" and ways to use reserves to make up shortfalls in earnings. Cosmo Corigliano testified in the criminal trial of Shelton, 49, and Forbes, 61, former executives of Cendant's predecessor CUC International Inc. Corigliano said the meetings were frequent and informal and revolved around meeting analysts' expectations.

Educational software maker Knowledge Adventure became the latest boutique multimedia firm that may lose its independence with the disclosure Tuesday that CUC International, a marketing company, plans to buy the privately held firm by year-end. Glendale-based Knowledge Adventure will be purchased in a stock deal valued at between $50 million and $100 million, said Laura Hamilton, CUC International's vice president of investor relations.

Just three months ago, Bob Davidson was heaping high praise on CUC International, the Stamford, Conn.-based technology consumer services company that agreed to purchase his educational software business for $1.5 billion nearly a year ago. "We're happy campers," said Davidson, who founded Davidson & Associates in 1984 with his wife, Jan, a onetime English teacher.

A former company accountant who worked for former Cendant Corp. Chairman Walter Forbes and Vice Chairman E. Kirk Shelton told jurors Monday that merger funds were used to inflate income. Testifying at the executives' criminal fraud trial, accountant Casper Sabatino said Cendant predecessor CUC International Inc. set aside a "merger reserve" of $3.4 million to buy Welcome Wagon International, while only about $1.5 million was needed.

A former Cendant Corp. vice president told jurors Monday that he regularly met with former executives Walter Forbes and E. Kirk Shelton to discuss "cheat sheets" and ways to use reserves to make up shortfalls in earnings. Cosmo Corigliano testified in the criminal trial of Shelton, 49, and Forbes, 61, former executives of Cendant's predecessor CUC International Inc. Corigliano said the meetings were frequent and informal and revolved around meeting analysts' expectations.

Signaling both the rapid consolidation underway in the multimedia software business and the swift rise of electronic commerce, a major East Coast marketing company said Tuesday that it will acquire both Davidson & Associates, the Torrance-based educational software leader, and Sierra On-Line Inc., a Bellevue, Wash.-based interactive entertainment company, in a pair of stock swaps worth a combined $1.7 billion. CUC International Inc., a Stamford, Conn.

Stock Exchange gives readers a chance to listen in as staff writers James Peltz and Michael Hiltzik debate the merits of individual stocks. Cendant (CD) Mike: Now here's a company that offers us numerous lessons, among them that Wall Street has a very short memory. Jim: True. Only a few months ago Cendant crashed and burned, plummeting 46% in a single day. Mike: As well it should have. Jim: Yet today Wall Street acts as though it never happened.

A former company accountant who worked for former Cendant Corp. Chairman Walter Forbes and Vice Chairman E. Kirk Shelton told jurors Monday that merger funds were used to inflate income. Testifying at the executives' criminal fraud trial, accountant Casper Sabatino said Cendant predecessor CUC International Inc. set aside a "merger reserve" of $3.4 million to buy Welcome Wagon International, while only about $1.5 million was needed.

Stock Exchange gives readers a chance to listen in as staff writers James Peltz and Michael Hiltzik debate the merits of individual stocks. Cendant (CD) Mike: Now here's a company that offers us numerous lessons, among them that Wall Street has a very short memory. Jim: True. Only a few months ago Cendant crashed and burned, plummeting 46% in a single day. Mike: As well it should have. Jim: Yet today Wall Street acts as though it never happened.

Just three months ago, Bob Davidson was heaping high praise on CUC International, the Stamford, Conn.-based technology consumer services company that agreed to purchase his educational software business for $1.5 billion nearly a year ago. "We're happy campers," said Davidson, who founded Davidson & Associates in 1984 with his wife, Jan, a onetime English teacher.

Educational software maker Knowledge Adventure became the latest boutique multimedia firm that may lose its independence with the disclosure Tuesday that CUC International, a marketing company, plans to buy the privately held firm by year-end. Glendale-based Knowledge Adventure will be purchased in a stock deal valued at between $50 million and $100 million, said Laura Hamilton, CUC International's vice president of investor relations.

Signaling both the rapid consolidation underway in the multimedia software business and the swift rise of electronic commerce, a major East Coast marketing company said Tuesday that it will acquire both Davidson & Associates, the Torrance-based educational software leader, and Sierra On-Line Inc., a Bellevue, Wash.-based interactive entertainment company, in a pair of stock swaps worth a combined $1.7 billion. CUC International Inc., a Stamford, Conn.

Time Warner Announces Interactive Ventures: The media giant said it is forming a home shopping service in conjunction with CUC International, the nation's largest telephone-based shopping operation, for its prototype cable network in Orlando, Fla. Time Warner Inc. also plans to offer video news on demand over the Orlando system, using the resources of Time Inc. publishing and New York 1 News, its 24-hour New York City news service.

Stamford, Conn.-based CUC International Inc., seeking to extend its reach in global online commerce, said it agreed to acquire Paris-based classified advertising publisher Hebdo Mag International in a stock swap worth $440 million.

E. Kirk Shelton, a former vice chairman at Cendant Corp., testified at his criminal trial that he had no knowledge of fraudulent accounting at a predecessor company or of "cheat sheets" to track false financial results. Prosecutors allege that Shelton helped fabricate profit at CUC International Inc., which merged with HFS Inc. in 1997 to create Cendant, the world's largest hotel franchiser. Shares of New York-based Cendant rose 22 cents to $22.38 on the New York Stock Exchange.