Sample Credit Report

Brussels, Belgium - Credit- card transaction processor First Data Corp. won European Union regulatory permission Tuesday to be acquired by private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. for about $27 billion in cash.

The European Commission cleared the deal automatically after identifying no antitrust problems and receiving no complaints from rivals.

The deal comes amid a flurry of public-company buyouts orchestrated by private-equity groups. The First Data deal would rank behind a proposed $32 billion buyout of the Texas utility TXU Corp. by a group including KKR and Texas Pacific Group. If that deal is completed, it would be the largest private takeover of a public firm in U.S. corporate history.

First Data, based in Greenwood Village, was formed in June 1971. In 1980, American Express Information Services Corp.

Why Target is an Investment and Wal-Mart is a Trade

Georges Yared submits: Wal-Mart (WMT) took a few good steps these past couple of days to bolster both its crumbling image and shareholder confidence. The company indicated it would scale back its new store openings and concentrate on the sometimes shabby appearance of its existing stores. Also, the company would increase its share buyback program to instill greater investor confidence. Both good and timely moves.

By cutting back on new store openings this year and the following three, Wal-Mart will in essence save $1.5 billion per year on capital expenditures. It's a strategic move and one that will hopefully allow it to re-focus its corporate resources on trying to lift the all-critical metrics of same-store-sales. April same-store-sales was the worst in Wal-Mart's history. The share buyback will retire less than 3% of Wal-Mart's outstanding shares but give earnings per share a slight lift.

Dell laptop user losing real interest after hours on phone to fix ...

Dear Fixer: Last July, I ordered a Dell Inspiron laptop computer. I was assured by the saleswoman that there would be no interest charge unless I defaulted. When I received my statement, however, there was interest charged to my account.

This is only the beginning. After receiving my laptop, it had to be sent back because Dell did not install some upgrades on it. Then, shortly after receiving the correct one back, it ended up having technical problems. It got sent back again and I got a third computer, which then had a problem and they sent me a hard drive for it.

During this time, I had to send back the printer for repair under warranty. So I had these items for only a little over a month. I sent everything back to Dell in the beginning of September, even the ink cartridges.

Heritage Commission honors several for preserving history

In celebration of Heritage month, the Cleveland Heritage Commission hosted a Neighborhood Preservation program recently at the Martin and Sue King Railroad Heritage Museum. Guest speakers were Michelle Jones, special projects officer for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and Briar Jones, an architect from Starkville.
A presentation of awards was given out to various organizations and citizens for their outstanding service and contributions toward preserving Cleveland's history and the two guest speakers gave a brief presentation on the importance and economic benefits of historic preservation.
Winners were Nancy Seawright and James Albert Wiggins for their significant contributions to the preservation of local history, the Martin and Sue King Railroad Heritage Museum for appropriate new construction and for its significant contribution to the preservation of local history, the Delta Arts Alliance, Inc.