Download site targets PC music listeners

PC owners got a new Internet music download site Tuesday, one boasting the cheapest per-song rates but carrying many of the restrictions that have stymied rival music services.

Although online retailer BuyMusic.com will offer more than 300,000 songs from the five major recording labels, users of the service will not necessarily have the freedom afforded customers of Apple’s iTunes service. That service permits transfer of music to multiple computers, portable devices and compact discs.

BuyMusic founder Scott Blum called Apple CEO Steve Jobs “a visionary, but he’s on the wrong platform.” While Apple users constitute about 3 percent of the personal computer market, BuyMusic is targeting the 97 percent of people with PCs.

Investigation

Freddie Mac CFO promises openness

The new chief financial officer of housing finance giant Freddie Mac told Congress Tuesday that the company would fully disclose financial information as it remedies defects that led to its accounting problems.

“We know how to fix these shortcomings — and we will,” Martin Baumann told a House subcommittee hearing. “We will emerge stronger than ever, with significantly improved accounting and disclosure practices that will meet the highest standards. … There’s no excuse for Freddie Mac’s accounting problems other than it didn’t have the right controls in place.”

Freddie Mac disclosed recently that it underreported earnings by $1.5 billion to $4.5 billion during the past three years. The disclosure raised the question of whether the company purposely bent its accounting to smooth out volatility in its earnings, a practice generally frowned on by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which also is investigating the company’s accounting.

Shipping

UPS sees strong growth

United Parcel Service said Tuesday that efforts to distinguish itself as more than a shipping company and strong growth in its international business helped boost second-quarter profit 13.3 percent.

The world’s largest shipping carrier said it expected the growth to continue despite the stagnant economy, but cautioned that rising health and pension costs could hurt profits.

UPS earned $692 million, or 61 cents a share, for the three months ended June 30 compared to a profit of $611 million, or 54 cents a share, in the same period a year ago.

Earnings

Schlumberger drops off

Schlumberger Limited announced Tuesday that its earnings fell for the latest quarter, in large part because of a one-time charge related to retiring international debt.

The company posted earnings of 24 cents per share, down from 33 cents during the same period a year ago. Without the one time charge, earnings were 38 cents per share.

The company operates a manufacturing plant in Lawrence that produces products for the oil field services industry.