Person-to-person
plastic payments to start
No cash on hand to pay the babysitter? Owe your mom $10? Soon you'll be able to send payments directly to their Visa card.
Visa Inc. on Wednesday said it is creating a service to allow individuals to use their own Visa or a bank account to send money to a personal Visa debit, credit or prepaid card. Users also may take cash to a participating bank to make a transfer.
Netflix wants rights
to Spacey series
Netflix Inc. is trying to buy the Internet streaming rights to a 26-episode drama starring Kevin Spacey before the series is shown on a television network.
If the deal is completed, it would mark a bold step in a new direction for Netflix's popular video-subscription service. Netflix currently boasts more than 20,000 titles in its streaming library, but most of them are previously aired TV series and older movies.
Elsewhere
•Bank of America Corp. was the second-biggest recipient of federal bailout programs in the financial crisis, according to a report issued Wednesday by a congressional panel. The U.S. government had total exposure of $336.1 billion to Bank of America through eight major programs, including the Troubled Asset Relief Program, according to the final report by the Congressional Oversight Panel. Citigroup Inc. had the largest exposure at $476.2 billion. Morgan Stanley had the third-largest exposure ($135 billion), followed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. ($129.6 billion) and Wells Fargo & Co. ($107.2 billion).
•The Transportation Security Administration is defending its privacy policy at airports and the safety of an advanced imaging machine that transmits low radiation doses. Testifying before skeptical House members on Wednesday, two TSA officials said imaging machines at airports have software that prevents images from being retained, stored or transmitted. They also insisted that a single screening from a "backscatter" machine produces radiation similar to a dose from approximately two minutes of flying on an airplane at 30,000 feet.
•Private-quity firm Blackstone Group LP is offering to sell its 50 percent interest in two Universal Studios theme parks back to NBC Universal Inc. Universal Orlando reported in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that NBC Universal has until June 12 to accept the offer. Universal Orlando's theme parks include Universal Studios Florida and Universal's Islands of Adventure, which houses The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
•Morton's Restaurant Group Inc. is considering a possible sale of the company. The steakhouse operator said Wednesday that it is exploring its strategic options and has the support of its two biggest stockholders, affiliates of Castle Harlan Inc. and Laurel Crown Partners LLC. Morton's owns and runs 77 Morton's steakhouses in 26 states, including one in Richmond.
•The dollar dropped below its lowest point in almost 16 years late Wednesday amid a nuclear crisis in Japan, debt woes in Europe, tension in the Middle East and weak economic reports at home. The dollar plunged to 76.53 Japanese yen late Wednesday, falling far below the April 1995 low of 79.75 yen. The dollar was worth 80.83 yen late Tuesday. A strong yen hurts the Asian country's exporters, potentially deepening any hit to the economy from the earthquake crisis.
•Bank of America Corp. on Wednesday appointed Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Limited, to its board. Reliance, the first Indian company to earn a spot in the Fortune 500, is a conglomerate with operations in different industries that include oil exploration, petrochemicals and retail stores. Ambani, 53, is not only one of India's most prominent businessmen, but also is known in the global business community as one of the world's wealthiest people. In 2011, he earned the ninth spot on Forbes' list of the world's richest people, with an estimated wealth of $27 billion.
From staff and wire reports
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