Today in business: 5 things you need to know
The feds crack down on student loan fraud, Neiman Marcus files IPO plans, and more
1. FEDS CRACK DOWN ON STUDENT LOAN FRAUD
In January, the Education Department started flagging federal student loan applicants with "unusual enrollment history," usually meaning they had been granted aid for three or more schools within the year. Some 126,000 applicants, about 1 percent of those seeking aid for the 2014 school year, have been flagged so far, as mounting evidence suggests some applicants are pocketing the grant money with no intention of going to school. About $829 million in Pell grants last year were "improper payments," meaning either fraud or clerical errors. [Wall Street Journal]
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2. NEIMAN MARCUS FILES IPO PLANS
Eight years after TPG Capital and Warburg Pincus LLC took it private, Neiman Marcus has filed plans for a $100 million IPO. After a dip in sales following 2008, the last few quarters have been strong for the luxury retailer, with its fiscal third-quarter earnings rising 13 percent on a 3.8 percent increase in revenue. Neiman Marcus recently turned down an offer from buyout firm KKR & Co to merge the retailer with Saks & Co. [Wall Street Journal]
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3. VODAFONE TO SPEND $10.1 BILLION ON GERMAN CABLE COMPANY
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British telecommunications company Vodafone plans to purchase the German cable company Kabel Deutschland for 7.7 billion euros, or $10.1 billion. At a time when telecommunications and cable companies in Europe are battling for market dominance, the deal is cushy for Kabel, representing an almost 40 percent premium on the company's stock since the idea of the purchase first came up in February. [New York Times]
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4. MONSTERS UNIVERSITY SCHOOLS WORLD WAR Z AT THE BOX OFFICE
Monsters University, the prequel to Pixar's 2001 hit Monsters, Inc. made $82 million in the U.S. on opening weekend — the fifth biggest June opening ever — topping the $66 million brought in by Brad Pitt vehicle Wold War Z. All of Pixar's 14 films have won the top spot opening weekend at the box office. [Washington Post]
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5. APPLE 1 COMPUTER WORTH AROUND $500,000
Next week, as part of its "First Bytes: Iconic Technology from the Twentieth Century" show, Christie's plans to auction an original Apple 1 computer built by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976. Bidding will start around $300,000 and is expected to reach over $500,000. The value of Apple 1s, which first sold in 1976 for $666.66, has skyrocketed since Jobs' death in 2011. "I've been shocked auction prices got into the six digits. The market has just gone crazy," a computer science professor told AP. [Associated Press]
Carmel Lobello is the business editor at TheWeek.com. Previously, she was an editor at DeathandTaxesMag.com.
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