1. THE BATTLE BETWEEN SPRINT AND DISH OVER CLEARWIRE NEARS ITS END
The end of Sprint and Dish's bidding war over high-speed internet company Clearwire may be in sight: On Tuesday, Sprint Nextel increased its bid to $5 a share or $14 billion, higher than Dish's recent bid of $4.40 a share, and seriously higher than Sprint's last bid of $3.40 a share. Sprint, which already owns half of Clearwire, wants to tap into the company's wide spectrum to expand its 4G LTE network for high speed data. [New York Times]
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2. FAA IS LETTING UP ON ELECTRONICS RULES
If the Federal Aviation Administration adheres to new points from an advisory panel, passengers will soon be allowed to use certain electronic devices, such as e-readers, during all phases of the flight, including from the time the door closes to 10,000 feet. An FAA spokesperson says the agency "recognizes consumers are intensely interested in the use of personal electronics aboard aircraft, that is why we tasked a government-industry group to examine the safety issues and the feasibility of changing the current restrictions." The FAA likely won't make a decision until the end of September at the earliest. [Wall Street Journal]
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3. PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND REGAL CINEMAS UNVEIL $50 TICKET OPTION
Rather than pay some $16 or so to see World War Z with everyone else, people living in L.A., Houston, San Diego, Atlanta, and Philadelphia can buy tickets to an early screening for $50. The "mega-ticket" also includes collectible 3D glasses, a movie poster, and a digital download when the film hits video, and a small popcorn. If each theater seats around 500 people and sells out, that will bring Paramount $125,000 in total (assuming each theater used only one screen). [Businessweek]
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4. CARL ICAHN JOINS TWITTER
The legendary activist investor, who is currently battling against a $24.4 billion buyout of Dell by its founder and private equity shop Silver Lake Partners, joined Twitter Thursday. His first Tweet: "Twitter is great. I like it almost as much as I like Dell." Icahn is urging Dell to spend up to $16 billion buying back shares from investors instead of letting Michael Dell take the company private. Though the account is not yet validated, Icahn's assistant Susan Gordon confirmed its legitimacy to Fortune. [FOX Business]
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5. RUSSIA'S ROSNEFT TO SEND $60 BILLION IN OIL TO CHINA
Russian oil company Rosneft is preparing to sign a deal to send $60 billion of oil to China, following a trend away from Russian energy companies exporting to Europe. Russia's President Vladimir V. Putin told China's vice premier, Zhang Gaoli, that he hopes Russian gas companies Gazprom and Novatek will follow suit and strike deals with China, too. The shift threatens to significantly raise prices in Europe. [New York Times]
