Apple adds iPods

Apple Computer Inc. released new versions of its popular iPod digital music player Wednesday, cutting prices and expanding memory capacities.

The price of the 4-gigabyte iPod mini went to $199, down $50, and a new 6-gigabyte version will sell for $249. Batteries also have improved, with playback times on a single charge now at now 18 hours, up from 8 hours of previous models.

Apple also cut prices on its 60-gigabyte “iPod photo” and introduced a new 30-gigabyte model. A soon-to-be-introduced cable will allow for transfers of photos without use of a computer.

The iPod line — sales to date: more than 10 million — has helped boost Apple’s fortunes and remains the top-selling portable music player despite increased competition.

Apple shares rose $2.94, or 3.5 percent, to close at $88.23 in Wednesday trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Trucking

Merger talk drives rise of Yellow shares

Shares of Yellow Roadway Corp. and USF Corp. rose Wednesday after a report that Yellow was looking to buy its trucking and logistics rival.

The Wall Street Journal said Yellow wanted to acquire USF in a deal potentially worth more than $1 billion.

On the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, Yellow shares closed up $2.60, or 4.7 percent, to $57.95, while shares of Chicago-based USF rose $4.37, or 13.1 percent, to $37.73.

Such a purchase would be the second major acquisition for Yellow in the past 18 months. Overland Park-based Yellow Corp. merged with competitor Roadway Corp. in late 2003, effectively doubling the size of the company.

The combination has proven fruitful for Yellow, now the nation’s revenue leader among trucking companies specializing in carrying less than a truckload, or LTL.

Media

Cablevision earnings drop on write-off

Cablevision Systems Corp., a New York-area provider of cable TV, reported a wider loss in the fourth quarter Wednesday as it absorbed $354.9 million in charges relating to its decision to get out of the satellite television business.

The charges overshadowed growth in the company’s cable TV business, and the company issued a strong outlook for the coming year.

Cablevision shares have been rising steadily since August on hopes that the company would exit the satellite business and perhaps be put up for sale. The company’s shares jumped another $2.25 Wednesday, or 8 percent, to close at $30.30 in active trading on the New York Stock Exchange, hitting a new 52-week high.

Cablevision posted a net loss of $305.8 million, or $1.06 per share, in the three months ending Dec. 31.