Business Briefs

Published: July 3, 2008

RICHMOND, Va. — Prospective and current graduate business students who used a Web site to cheat on entrance examinations over the last five years could have their scores thrown out.

The exam's publisher, the Graduate Management Admission Council, is tracking down users of Scoretop.com after winning a lawsuit to shut down the Internet site and seize a computer hard drive containing payment information and user identifications.

Scoretop sold VIP access for $30 a month, giving users previews to current questions on the latest Graduate Management Admission Test. Some were posted by users after taking the exam.

WASHINGTON — Late payments on consumer loans dipped slightly in the first three months of the year, but remained at a level not seen since the early 1990s.

The American Bankers Association said Wednesday that late payments on a broad sample of consumer loans fell to 2.62 percent in the January-March quarter, down from 2.65 percent in the last quarter of 2007.

Still, it was the second-highest level since the first quarter of 1992, when the economy had just emerged from a recession.

SAN FRANCISCO — Unable to strike a deal on its own, Microsoft Corp. reportedly is hoping to snap up Yahoo's online search operations with the help of News Corp. and Time Warner Inc.

The latest twist in Microsoft's convoluted courtship caused Yahoo's shares to rise more than 3 percent in Wednesday's sinking stock market, even though the chances of a deal getting done still seemed remote.

If nothing else, the enthusiastic reaction to the unconfirmed report served as another reminder that investors want Yahoo to pursue a different path than the one mapped out by Chief Executive Jerry Yang.

HOUSTON — The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States rose by eight this week to 1,921.

Of the rigs running nationwide, 1,539 were exploring for natural gas and 373 for oil, Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc. reported Wednesday. Nine were listed as miscellaneous.

Baker Hughes released the rig count two days earlier than usual because of the Fourth of July holiday Friday.

A year ago, the rig count stood at 1,752.

Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Oklahoma gained nine rigs, Texas added eight and New Mexico gained one. Louisiana, Colorado and Alaska lost two each; California and Wyoming were unchanged.

NEW YORK — Hundreds of cement-mixing truck drivers have gone on strike, disrupting work at the largest construction projects in the city, including the World Trade Center site.

Local 282 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said it failed to agree on wages and work conditions after weeks of negotiations. More than 400 drivers walked out after the union's contract expired Tuesday.

From Wire Reports

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