Business Briefs for Nov. 4

VIRGINIA

Carpooling test-run launched in N.Va.

Commuters who drive alone on some of the most congested highways in the Washington region could earn $2 a day by carpooling to work.

Commuter Connections, a network of transportation groups coordinated by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, launched a three-month pilot program recently.

The program is open to commuters who currently drive alone on the Capital Beltway between Bethesda and Tysons Corner or between the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and Interstate 270 and on Interstate 395 from the District across the 14th Street bridge into Northern Virginia.

THE NATION

Merck set to close on Schering-Plough deal

Merck & Co. was set to complete its $41 billion acquisition of Schering-Plough Corp. yesterday, creating the world's second-largest drugmaker, behind Pfizer Inc.

The companies expected the deal to close after the end of market trading.

The completion comes after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission approved the deal Thursday. Regulators in Europe and elsewhere, and shareholders of both companies, have approved it.

Orders to American factories rebound

Orders to U.S. factories rebounded in September, helped by strength in autos, heavy machinery and military aircraft.

The fifth increase in six months bolstered hopes that a revival in manufacturing will help support an economic recovery. The worry is that if consumer spending falters in coming months, orders will slump again.

The Commerce Department said that orders rose 0.9 percent in September, slightly better than the 0.8 percent gain that economists had expected. Demand increased for durable goods as well as nondurable goods, such as chemicals.

Smurfit shareholders seek reorganizing role

Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. shareholders renewed their fight for a court-approved role in reorganizing the bankrupt packaging maker, arguing that an improving economy may salvage their investments.

Senator Investment Group LP and Mariner Investment Group LLC said Smurfit is financially stronger than when it entered bankruptcy in January. The company generated enough cash in September to voluntarily repay $290 million of a $400 million loan it took out to help it survive bankruptcy.

In July, investors in the company's Class A preferred shares began betting that Smurfit will have enough value left over after it reorganizes to return something to equity owners.

Shareholders asked a U.S. bankruptcy judge to schedule a hearing next month on whether they can form a formal committee whose legal fees and other expenses would be paid by Smurfit-Stone.

The company operates containerboard mills in West Point and Hopewell, two container plants near Richmond International Airport and a plant in Martinsville.

Elsewhere

• David Friehling, who was Bernard Madoff's longtime auditor, pleaded guilty to securities fraud charges, saying he failed to do his job to verify the disgraced money manager's financial records but did not know Madoff was running history's biggest Ponzi scheme. Friehling, 49, entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Manhattan as part of a cooperation deal with prosecutors.

• AT&T Inc. sued rival Verizon Wireless, saying its advertising about network coverage is misleading. Verizon's ads use large areas of white space in maps of so-called 3G network coverage areas to indicate that AT&T customers are out of touch in vast parts of the U.S., according to the complaint. AT&T said customers can fully use their wireless devices outside of a 3G coverage area and undisputedly have coverage in areas depicted by the white or blank spaces.

• Continental Airlines Inc. may look again at combining with UAL Corp.'s United Airlines in the event that Delta Air Lines Inc.'s takeover of Northwest Airlines Corp. succeeds and results in higher earnings, Continental President Jeff Smisek said.

• Borders Group Inc. will offer free shipping this holiday season for out-of-stock merchandise. The guarantee runs until Dec. 16.

• Landry's Restaurants Inc., the nation's second-largest operator of seafood restaurants, which include Charley's Crab, Landry's Seafood House and The Chart House, said its board approved a $1.2 billion acquisition offer from a company owned by Chairman and CEO Tilman J. Fertitta.

• The delinquency rate on hotel loans surged last month, making hospitality the worst-performing type of commercial property amid slack demand, Barclays Capital said. Payments more than 30 days late on hotel mortgages bundled and sold as bonds soared to 7.81 percent.

• Apple Inc.'s Chinese partner sold fewer iPhones than analysts anticipated in the product's debut last week.

-- Staff and Wire Reports