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Yahoo Inc. said Tuesday it filed a lawsuit against "Yahoo Lottery" spammers.

The Sunnyvale-based company said the spammers send out e-mail messages trying to make people believe they’ve won a lottery or prize offered by Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO).

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in New York City under the Federal Trademark Act, the Federal CAN-SPAM Act and related state laws.

Yahoo said it does not offer any such awards and has no affiliation or any connection with the spammers or their e-mail communications same day payday loans.

"This type of lottery scam is a hoax designed to trick unsuspecting e-mail users into revealing valuable personal data like passwords, credit card information, and social security numbers," the company said.

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A Federal Reserve economist said the central bank's auctions of cash loans to commercial banks have had a “strong effect'' on reducing their borrowing costs, while new lending programs for securities firms may be less potent.

In addition, investors have placed a higher risk of default among financial institutions because of concerns about rising mortgage defaults, slowing economic growth and volatile financial markets, Tao Wu, a senior researcher at the Dallas Fed bank, said in a paper released today. Still, such concerns have had “little effect'' on the companies' borrowing costs.

The economist joins Fed officials in defending the Term Auction Facility's $75 billion biweekly sales, which Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said may be expanded. Stanford University economist John Taylor wrote in a paper last month that there is “no empirical evidence'' the Fed's auctions have cut banks' borrowing costs.

The TAF “has a strong effect in reducing financial strains in the inter-bank money market, primarily through relieving financial institutions' liquidity concerns,'' Wu said, citing his analysis.

The TAF has lowered the spread between the one-month London interbank offered rate for dollars and the overnight indexed swap rate by at least 0.31 percentage point, and the three-month Libor-OIS difference by at least 0.44 point, Wu said fast cash loans. The OIS is a measure of what traders expect for the benchmark federal funds rate, which covers overnight loans between banks.

Taylor said he saw Wu's results and hasn't changed his conclusions. “We very much stand by our original findings that there's no robust impact'' from the TAF, Taylor said in a telephone interview.

`Contradict' Results

Wu said he took a different approach to analyzing data and acknowledged his results “contradict'' those of Taylor, who co-authored his study with San Francisco Fed economist John Williams.

The Term Securities Lending Facility, which provides as much as $200 billion in Treasuries in exchange for asset-backed securities, and the Primary Dealer Credit Facility, providing direct loans to Wall Street bond dealers, “are found to have had less discernible effects so far in relieving financial strains in the Libor market,'' Wu said.

`This is consistent with market observations of a weaker interest from primary dealers'' in those programs than commercial banks have shown in the TAF, he said.

Wu worked at the San Francisco Fed from 2001 to 2006 before joining the Dallas district bank, according to the Dallas Fed's Web site.

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Gov. Linda Lingle said she will ask a bankruptcy judge not to allow Aloha Airlines to shut down until she is satisfied the airline "exhausted all possible avenues for continuing its operations."

"We are deeply disappointed that Aloha Airlines has made the decision to cease operations of their interisland and transpacific passenger flights," Lingle said in a statement. "Our main concerns are threefold - first and foremost the 1,900 employees and their families, the need for continued air service for our residents and visitors, and protection of the state’s long-term fiscal and economic interests.

Lingle, a Republican, also said the state will ask the judge to make Aloha "provide sufficient time and proper notification to employees of the shutdown and that all additional steps be taken to protect the interests and rights of Aloha employees."

Federal law requires that most workers be given 60 days notice if their jobs are to end permanently under the closing of a plant or business.

Lingle said she will also ask to have Aloha’s financial information reviewed by the judge "to determine whether the shutdown is in fact necessary."

A hearing on the Aloha bankruptcy is scheduled for Monday afternoon in federal court in Honolulu guaranteed approval cash advance loans.

In the meantime, the state has assigned a special labor department team to help the 1,900 Aloha employees who could be almost immediately out of work.

Governor Lingle has also activated a Rapid Response Team to assist the approximately 1,900 employees that could lose their jobs as a result of Aloha Airlines’ decision to discontinue operations of its interisland and transpacific passenger service.

"Aloha Airlines employees, some of whom have multiple family members working for the company, have sacrificed a lot for the company through the years. They have been loyal and dedicated in providing quality service to their customers and they have been an important part of our community for generations. Their dedication to excellence has allowed Aloha to be recognized as one of the nation’s best airlines in on-time service. We fully understand the urgency Aloha’s decision has created for the employees and their families, and we will do everything we can to assist the employees during this very difficult time," Lingle said in a statement.

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The University of Hawaii has secured an additional $10 million for a biosafety laboratory in Kakaako.

The project in 2005 received $37.5 million, including a $25 million grant from the National Institutes of Health and $12.5 million from the state in matching funds.

UH had said previously that construction costs had increased the project's overall cost by about $10 million.

NIH, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, kicked in another $7.5 million, and UH is adding $2.5 million to complete the Pacific Regional Biosafety Laboratory.

The university applied for the additional funding from NIH overnight payday loans.

Construction of the three-story, 38,400-square-foot building initially was scheduled to begin in summer 2007 and be completed by the end of 2009, with the lab beginning operations the following year.

A new start date for construction has not been set.

The lab, which will be built next to the John A. Burns School of Medicine, will house researchers to study infectious diseases threatening Hawaii and the Pacific.

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Credit card services provider Alliance Data Systems Corp. said affiliates of Blackstone Group L.P. are in breach of their acquisition agreement and are not using their "best efforts" to complete the $6.4 billion deal.

Dallas-based Alliance Data (NYSE: ADS) said the affiliates, Aladdin Solutions Inc. and Aladdin Merger Sub Inc., must "cure the breach" and complete the agreement for the affiliates to buy Alliance Data.

The company said Blackstone's affiliates have prolonged negotiations with federal agencies and "have not satisfied their contractual obligations under the merger agreement to use reasonable best efforts to obtain the requisite regulatory approvals to complete the transaction."

Alliance Data said Blackstone has developed a case of "buyer's remorse" and is attempting to "run out the clock" on the deal. Under the terms of their initial agreement, the deal will be terminated if the companies don't complete it by April 17.

Alliance Data said it has attempted to facilitate the deal by reducing the price of the transaction and agreeing to provide $465 million in credit support to satisfy banking regulators. It said Blackstone rejected the proposal and suggested that Alliance Data provide additional concessions and subsidies easy fast cash. The company did not provide details on those concessions.

Alliance Data said it continues to work to complete the deal.

A Blackstone spokesman told Reuters said the firm has complied fully with all of its obligations under the merger agreement and any claims to the contrary were "absurd."

On May 17, 2007, New York-based Blackstone agreed to buy Alliance Data for $81.75 a share, valuing the deal at about $6.4 billion. However, Blackstone in January backed away from the agreement, citing restrictive regulations by the Office of the Comptroller of Currency, which regulates the bank that issues Alliance Data's credit.

Alliance then sued Blackstone, but later dropped the lawsuit after Blackstone reassured the company that it would work to close the acquisition.

Blackstone is an international private equity group specializing in corporate private equity, real estate and financial advisory. Aladdin Solutions and Aladdin Merger Sub were formed by Blackstone especially for the acquisition.

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Confidence among American consumers slumped to the lowest level since 1992 and factory output failed to increase, indicating the damage from the housing contraction is pushing the economy toward a recession.

The Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment fell to 69.6 in February from 78.4 the previous month. The Federal Reserve said manufacturing production was unchanged in January after two months of gains, while a gauge of activity at New York factories contracted this month.

“We're seeing a clear pattern of sudden weakening in both consumer and business confidence, which frankly is the sign of a recession,'' said James O'Sullivan, a senior economist at UBS Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut, who had the closest forecast for consumer sentiment in a Bloomberg News survey.

U.S. government bonds rallied after the figures, sending two-year note yields to the lowest level since 2004, while the dollar dropped. The reports reinforced traders' anticipation that the Fed will need to cut interest rates by at least a half- point by the end of the March 18 meeting.

Best Buy Co., the largest U.S. consumer electronics chain, today cut its full-year earnings forecast. “Soft domestic customer traffic in January, coupled with our near-term outlook, now indicate that our fourth-quarter revenue will fall short of our planned targets,'' Chief Executive Officer Brad Anderson said in a statement.

Waterford Warning

Waterford Wedgwood Plc, the Dublin-based maker of Royal Doulton crystal and china, today forecast its sales will fall 4 percent this year, due to weaker consumer spending in the U.K. and the U.S.

The reading on consumer sentiment was the weakest since February 1992. Economists had forecast the measure would fall to 76, according to the median of 66 projections in a Bloomberg News survey.

The decline in confidence indicates that pledges of tax rebates and lower interest rates failed to ease Americans' concerns about falling home and stock prices and rising unemployment. President George W. Bush this week signed a $168 billion stimulus package, including tax rebates to more than 130 million households, after a deal with Democratic lawmakers.

“We're starting '08 with modest, if any, economic momentum,'' Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist at Trusco Capital Management in Richmond, Virginia, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

Two-year note yields dropped as low as 1.82 percent, and were at 1.91 percent at 4:02 p.m. in New York. Interest-rate futures show the chance of a three-quarter point Fed rate cut, to 2.25 percent, by March rose to 32 percent from 30 percent yesterday.

Dependent on Utilities

Total industrial output rose 0.1 percent for a second straight month, matching economists' forecasts, the Fed said today. Production was held up by unusually cold weather that spurred utility use. Manufacturing, which accounts for four fifths of industrial production, was unchanged from December after a 0.2 percent gain.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's general economic index fell to minus 11.7, the first negative reading since May 2005, from 9.0 in January, the bank said today. Readings below zero for the so-called Empire State index signal contraction.

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke yesterday told lawmakers that the central bank is ready to act “as needed'' to address risks to growth. His predecessor, Alan Greenspan, told an audience in Houston late yesterday that “we are clearly on the edge.''

`Clearly Struggling'

“Manufacturers are clearly struggling under the pressure of slower consumer demand and a much more cautious corporate sector,'' said Russell Price, senior economist at H&R Block Financial Advisors in Detroit paydayloans. “Exports are still a positive for the sector but clearly they are not enough to offset these other factors. The Fed still has more work to do.''

Production of construction supplies dropped 1.1 percent in January, today's Fed report showed. Residential building subtracted 1 percentage point from economic growth last year, the most since 1980.

Reports this year indicate the housing slump is continuing. Builders broke ground on 1.006 million homes at an annual rate in December, the fewest since 1991. The National Association of Realtors said last month sales of existing homes fell more than forecast in December, while prices of single-family homes posted the biggest annual drop probably since the Great Depression.

Capacity Use

Capacity utilization, which measures the proportion of plants in use, was unchanged in January at 81.5 percent, today's report showed. Capacity utilization was forecast to fall to 81.3 percent. The rate has averaged about 81 percent over the last 30 years. Higher rates raise the risk of bottlenecks in production that can push up prices.

Utility production rose 2.2 percent after falling 0.2 percent, the report showed. The average temperature in January was 30.5 degrees Fahrenheit, 0.3 degree below the mean for that month in the 20th century, according to the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina. The Northeast was hit by blizzard conditions at the end of the month.

Economic growth slowed to a 0.6 percent pace in the fourth quarter, and the economy lost jobs in January for the first time in more than four years. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News this month indicated even odds that the economy will enter a recession this year.

Citing a worsening outlook, the Fed lowered its benchmark interest rate by 1.25 percentage point during two meetings over nine days in January, the fastest rate reduction since the federal funds rate became the main policy tool around 1990.

Car Sales

Cars and light trucks sold at a 15.2 million annual pace in January, the worst showing since October 2005, industry figures showed. Economists for General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC said Jan. 15 that U.S. sales of cars and light trucks may fall for a third straight year in 2008.

“This is going to be a challenging year for the auto industry,'' said Paul Traub, a Chrysler economist, at a conference in Detroit last month.

Delinquency rates on U.S. auto loans in asset-backed securities rose in January to the highest levels in 10 years, Fitch Ratings said. Delinquencies for subprime auto loans reached 4.03 percent, a 43 percent increase from a year earlier, the Chicago-based ratings company said in a report yesterday.

Exporters Benefit

Exporters are helping to keep manufacturing from a deeper slump. General Electric Co. said fourth-quarter profit rose 15 percent on higher international sales of jet engines and power- plant turbines, drawing more than half its annual revenue from overseas for the first time.

GE Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt's push into global markets was led by a 30 percent jump in the GE Infrastructure group's sales, as developing countries built cities, hospitals and airports, and the dollar weakened.

“Every place we went there's a need for power, there's a need for planes, there's lots of capital being invested, and there's just no sign this global infrastructure boom is slowing at all,'' Immelt told a conference call Jan. 18.

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