Deals of the Hour

Trying to find out what's the deal with the world, tracking what's on sale and who's talking about it on Twitter. Update hourly.

Deals of the Hour / September 25, 2010, 4:45 am

Brazil's huge oil reserves fuel largest-ever share offer

SAO PAULO, Brazil - The exploration and production of Brazil's huge offshore oil reserves is the driving force behind the globe's biggest-ever share offering. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, the nation's state-run energy company, raised $70 billion ... (Source: Philadelphia Daily News 2010-09-25T07:12:23Z)

OKC Police Investigating Fatal Shooting

A man has died at a hospital from his injuries after a shooting Thursday evening in southwest Oklahoma City. Officers were called to the 3200 block of SW 49th Street around 8 p.m. on Thursday. When officers arrived, they saw that one person was shot. The ... (Source: KSBI-TV 52 2010-09-24T23:19:56Z)

Mexican drug toll: 10th mayor slain, another wounded

MEXICO CITY -- As if Mexicans needed more evidence that criminal groups are trying to hijack the political life of the nation, it came with a ferocious triple-whammy punch in the past 24 hours. Assailants shot and seriously wounded the mayor-elect of a ... (Source: Lexington Herald-Leader 2010-09-24T23:05:37Z)

Avis Shakes Up Hertz-Dollar Thrifty Deal

Not taking "non-negotiable and final" for an answer, Avis strikes back in rental car bidding war. The offer comes a few weeks after Dollar Thrifty and Hertz announced they had agreed on a deal worth $1.4 billion, or $50 per share, at the time was believed ... (Source: Forbes 2010-09-23T17:23:12Z)

Newark, New Jersey, schools to get $100M Facebook donation

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Schools in New Jersey's largest city are poised to receive $100 million from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Democratic Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Republican Gov. Chris Christie and Facebook's Zuckerberg are expected to announce the ... (Source: Chicago Sun-Times 2010-09-23T16:11:37Z)

Oklahoma City police investigating death of man who was shot when 2 people burst into home

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma City police say a man who was shot when two people forced their way into his southwest-side home has died. Officers found 40-year-old Jose Guadalupe Cruz when they responded to a call of a shooting about 8 p.m. Thursday ... (Source: KFSM.com 2010-09-24T20:20:58Z)

Mexican mayor slain in drug-plagued state

Gunmen killed a town mayor near the drug-plagued industrial city of Monterrey, authorities said Friday, the fourth mayor in northern Mexico to be murdered in little more than a month. Prisciliano Rodriguez Salinas was gunned down along with another ... (Source: AP - msnbc.com 2010-09-24T14:01:35Z)

Hertz Declares Its Dollar Thrifty Bid 'Best and Final'

Hertz Global Holdings is standing by its deal to acquire the Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group , even after the Avis Budget Group unveiled on Thursday what it described as a significantly higher offer. Almost two weeks ago, Dollar Thrifty agreed to a revised ... (Source: New York Times Blogs 2010-09-24T22:58:27Z)

Candidates to lead Labour make final vote pitch

MANCHESTER (AFP) – The candidates vying to lead the Labour party held their last hustings Monday, with the frontrunner, ex-foreign secretary David Miliband, saying he would be a "credible" premier. The five contenders made their pitch to delegates at the ... (Source: YAHOO! 2010-09-13T19:36:45Z)

Britain's Labour Party to appoint new leader

MANCHESTER, Sept 25, 2010 (AFP) - Britain's opposition Labour Party appoints its new leader on Saturday, after a four-month battle that has come down to a fight between two brothers hoping to guide the party back to power. Five candidates are competing ... (Source: Calgary Herald 2010-09-25T10:54:17Z)

Pakistani to be sentenced in NYC for soldier clash

A Pakistani scientist convicted of trying to kill U.S. agents and military officers is set to be sentenced in New York City on Thursday. Aafia Siddiqui will appear in federal court in Manhattan. A jury convicted the U.S.-trained scientist in February of ... (Source: AP - msnbc.com 2010-09-23T14:38:34Z)

Malcolm Forbes's Toys Are Up for Sale

The Forbes Galleries on lower Fifth Avenue will be emptying out their darkened maze of toys in dioramas, The Associated Press reported. Sotheby's will organize about 7,500 pieces, including metal marching bands, submarines, motorcycles and a box of ... (Source: New York Times Blogs 2010-09-24T20:28:08Z)

Forbes' tiny toys will be sold in NYC; ocean liners, submarines and soldiers could bring $5M

sns-ap-us-forbes-miniature-toy-sale NEW YORK (AP) — The legendary Forbes collection of miniature toy soldiers and boats will be auctioned in New York City in December. The collection has been on view for 25 years in a series of dioramas in the lobby of ... (Source: Los Angeles Times 2010-09-24T14:08:45Z)

Sign of the times: Lehman Bros sign, artworks, up for UK auction as creditors sell off assets

LONDON (AP) — For sale: a sign of the times. Christie's is auctioning off the 10 foot-long (3 meter-long) sign that adorned the European headquarters of Lehman Brothers , along with paintings, furniture and other objects from the offices of the collapsed ... (Source: Chicago Tribune 2010-09-24T19:02:14Z)

Brazil oil company Petrobras aims at offshore reserves with $70B stock offer, world's largest

BIG DEAL: Petroleo Brasileiro SA , or Petrobras, Brazil's state-run energy company, raised $70 billion through the sale of more than 4 billion common and preferred shares in Brazil and the U.S. BIG OIL: The money will fund Petrobras' ambitious $224 billion ... (Source: Chicago Tribune 2010-09-24T18:19:17Z)

Flooding forces more home evacuations in Minnesota

OWATONNA, Minn. - Flooding caused by heavy rain that's lashed parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin forced the evacuation Friday of dozens of homes in the small city of Owatonna, where swollen waterways closed bridges and threatened to swamp neighborhoods. A ... (Source: Tampa Bay Online 2010-09-24T14:58:51Z)

Man shot to death in home invasion

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma City police say a man who was shot when two people forced their way into his southwest-side home has died. Officers found 40-year-old Jose Guadalupe Cruz when they responded to a call of a shooting about 8 p.m. Thursday. They say ... (Source: msnbc.com 2010-09-24T21:11:05Z)

Britain's Labour Party elects new leader

LONDON — Britain's Labour Party is announcing its new leader following a brother-versus-brother battle to replace the ousted ex-prime minister Gordon Brown. Ex-foreign secretary David Miliband, 45, and his younger brother Ed, the 40-year-old former ... (Source: CTV 2010-09-25T11:08:36Z)

Brazil Stocks End Lower As Market Settles After Petrobras Offer

RIO DE JANEIRO (Dow Jones)--Brazilian stocks closed lower Friday as the market settled after the euphoria from the successful share sale completed by oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR, PET4.BR), or Petrobras. The benchmark Ibovespa stock index closed ... (Source: Wall Street Journal 2010-09-24T22:01:11Z)

Pakistani scientist gets 86 years for '08 terror plot

NEW YORK - Pakistani scientist Aafia Siddiqui was sentenced to an 86-year prison term Thursday in federal court in New York City for attempting to kill U.S. soldiers and FBI agents in Afghanistan in 2008. Siddiqui, whose conviction on terrorism charges ... (Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune 2010-09-24T01:37:07Z)

Pakistan to fight for US convict's release

KARACHI — Pakistan's prime minister called a scientist convicted Thursday of trying to kill US interrogators in Afghanistan "the daughter of the nation'' yesterday and vowed to campaign for her release from an American prison. Police fired tear ... (Source: Boston Globe 2010-09-25T06:07:57Z)

Minnesota, Wisconsin residents being clean up efforts after heavy rain leads to flooding ...

Cindy Dorsey has lived near the Straight River in southern Minnesota for 15 years and never laid a sandbag before Friday. But the river's swift rise from heavy rain forced Dorsey to learn quickly and, after rising at dawn, she had placed at least 200 bags ... (Source: Post-Crescent 2010-09-25T09:21:14Z)

4th Mexican mayor killed in past 6 weeks

MEXICO CITY — Armed assassins have killed a fourth Mexican mayor in less than six weeks as drug war violence continues to engulf formerly calm parts of the country, authorities said Friday. Assailants Thursday night ambushed Prisciliano Rodriguez Salinas ... (Source: Bend Bulletin 2010-09-25T11:01:26Z)

UPDATE 2-Hertz says not to raise offer for Dollar Thrifty

Northcoast Research analyst John Healy said the gap between investor expectations and what Hertz was willing to pay has narrowed dramatically over the last few weeks. "I think there is a higher likelihood of a Hertz deal getting approved today than it was ... (Source: Reuters 2010-09-24T16:24:45Z)

Luis Artiga claims innocence in Bell scandal

Chino homeowner Luis Artiga finds himself in the crosshairs of prosecutors and a central figure of condemnation for his alleged involvement in the Bell corruption scandal. The Bell councilman was among eight city officials who are accused of illegally ... (Source: San Jose Mercury News 2010-09-24T02:34:23Z)

D.A.'s office investigates former Bell police chief's pension deal

Los Angeles County prosecutors are investigating former Bell Police Chief Randy Adams for having himself declared disabled for the job the day he was hired, an arrangement that could pay him millions in tax-free pension money, Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said ... (Source: Los Angeles Times 2010-09-24T13:18:38Z)

'Calculated greed' at heart of Bell criminal case, D.A. says

Eight current and former Bell city leaders were arrested Tuesday on charges of misappropriating more than $5.5 million from the small, working-class community as prosecutors accused them of treating the city's money as their personal piggy bank. The ... (Source: Los Angeles Times 2010-09-21T23:16:20Z)

Flood fighters get a break in Minnesota, Wisconsin

Flooding caused by heavy rain that's lashed parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin forced the evacuation today of dozens of homes in the small city of Owatonna, where swollen waterways closed bridges and threatened to swamp neighborhoods. (Source: Grand Forks Herald 2010-09-25T03:44:47Z)

Mark Zuckerberg: Guilt is good

The world is spangled with temples, cathedrals, statues, and frescoes patronized by the super-rich of one epoch after another, often in the hope that a grand enough act of philanthropy would make folks forget the crimes behind a great fortune. But in the ... (Source: Boston Globe 2010-09-25T09:49:52Z)

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg giving $100M to Newark, N.J., schools

TRENTON, N.J. -- Schools in New Jersey's largest city are poised to receive $100 million from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Democratic Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Republican Gov. Chris Christie and Facebook's Zuckerberg are expected to announce the ... (Source: San Jose Mercury News 2010-09-23T15:07:12Z)

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