Mortgage.com, an online mortgage banker and the latest Internet business to hit financial difficulties, on Tuesday said it would begin winding down its lending operations and lay off most of its employees.
The Sunrise, Florida-based operation (MDCM) said it could not pay back bank loans, and planned to sell the rights to its Internet address to raise money. It will lay off 518 of its 618 employees, about 84 percent.
The news sent shares of Mortgage.com plummeting, and it closed down 79 percent at about 9 cents on the Nasdaq Tuesday.
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Gateway settles government claim: Computer maker Gateway has agreed to pay the U.S. government $9 million to settle claims that the company failed to give the government required price reductions.
The General Services Administration had charged that South Dakota-based Gateway (GTW) did not give them discounts on products between May 1994 and March 1997. Gateway's settlement payment resolves the government's accusations.
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Microsoft takes on India: Microsoft (MSFT) will undertake the largest product launch it has ever made in India next month, launching half a dozen Internet servers that help build, deploy and manage networks and software applications.
The launch will include roadshows and product demonstrations in four Indian cities. The six servers, or back-end network software, are part of the .NET strategy of Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, who visited India in September to lay the groundwork for the marketing drive.
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Qwest, McLeodUSA deal: Telephone and data services company Qwest Communications International said it signed a three-year deal worth $600 million in revenues to provide voice and data communications services to McLeodUSA. Qwest (Q) said the agreement is the largest wholesale contract in its history.
The deal includes the sale of additional features and information services to McLeodUSA (MCLD), a telecommunications provider. It will allow McLeodUSA to offer customers DSL high-speed Internet and voice messaging services.
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Electrifying deal: Contract electronics maker Solectron said it would buy Singapore's NatSteel Electronics for about $2.4 billion in cash. Solectron (SLR) said in a statement that it would pay $4.53 cash for each share in NatSteel Electronics (NATS), the world's No. 6 contract electronics maker.
The acquisition will strengthen Solectron's manufacturing presence in the Asia-Pacific region, as well in Europe and the Americas, the company said. Solectron, based in Milpitas, Calif., said stockholders with 43 percent of NatSteel Electronics' common shares had agreed to sell their holdings.
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Gone fishin': Britain's Kingfisher strengthened its online presence in an advertising deal with Internet service provider Freeserve, and by buying Net retailer Streets Online for 16 million pounds, or $23.17 million.
Kingfisher said it would buy 85 percent of Streets Online for 15.7 million pounds, including a 14 percent stake from Freeserve (FREE). Under the advertising deal, Freeserve would provide Kingfisher's general merchandise brands with advertising space on its portal for an undisclosed sum.
Freeserve would receive around 2.6 million pounds in cash from the sale of its stake.
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Thirsty.com is drying up: Teen website Thirsty.com is shutting down, and its 30 employees are to be let go, the company announced.
Signs of the site's closure became obvious recently, when most of the links from its home page sent users to blank pages. Message boards were filled with warnings about the site's impending doom, and were frozen.
In four months, Thirsty generated respectable traffic numbers that crested at 650,000 monthly unique users. But the venture capital market for content plays soured, and Thirsty was unable to put its extensive plans to provide content for wireless devices into effect. The company said it decided to cut its losses and return remaining assets to investors.
Wired News news services contributed to this report.
