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World Business Quick Take

■ CREDIT CARD

Visa IPO set for today

Credit card giant Visa is set to launch trading today in the largest share offering in US history. Visa Inc, which touts itself as the world's largest electronic payment and credit card company, joins its rival MasterCard, which went public two years earlier. But Visa is expected to raise as much as US$18.75 billion in the initial public offering on US markets, topping the record IPO of US$10.6 billion by AT&T Wireless in 2000. The IPO is priced between US$37 and US$42 per share. Shares will trade under the ticker "V."



■ TECHNOLOGY

File-sharer stole ID data

A man was sentenced to more than four years in jail in Seattle, Washington, on Monday in what prosecutors said was the first federal case against someone using file-sharing software to steal identities. Gregory Kopiloff pleaded guilty in November to mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and accessing a protected computer without authorization to further fraud. Kopiloff, 35, used programs such as LimeWire to search computers for personal financial documents. His attorney said her client had turned to identity theft to support drug and gambling addictions.



■ AVIATION

Italy approves Alitalia bid

Italy's economics minister approved Air France-KLM's bid for Alitalia on Monday, a day after the struggling airline agreed to be bought by the Franco-Dutch carrier at a lower-than-expected price. Italian Economics Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa will send a letter to Alitalia with a commitment by the Italian Treasury to sell its 49.9 percent stake in the national airline, the government said in a statement following a Cabinet meeting. Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi agreed with the decision, the statement said. Air France-KLM is offering one of its shares for every 160 Alitalia shares, which values the airline at 139 million euros (US$216.3 million), far less than expected.



■ INSIDER TRADING

New trial for Qwest ex-CEO

A federal appeals court in Denver, Colorado, ordered a new trial on Monday for former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio, saying the trial judge wrongly excluded expert testimony and classified information important to Nacchio's defense in his insider trading case. Nacchio was convicted last April on 19 counts involving the sale of US$52 million worth of Qwest stock in 2001. He was sentenced to six years in prison but remained free on appeal. Prosecutors argued Nacchio sold the stock when he knew Denver-based Qwest Communications International Inc was at financial risk but didn't tell investors. US Attorney Troy Eid called the case the largest insider trading prosecution in the nation.



■ RETAIL

Wal-Mart to buy all of Seiyu

Wal-Mart Stores will buy the rest of Japanese chain Seiyu as the US retail giant seeks the flexibility it says it needs to turn around the money-losing supermarket operator. Seiyu, Japan's fifth-biggest retailer by sales, said shareholders approved the move at a meeting yesterday. The vote allows Wal-Mart to buy the remaining 4 percent of Seiyu it doesn't already own. Since entering the Japanese market in 2002, Wal-Mart has been gradually raising its stake in Seiyu, which has about 400 stores nationwide. Last month, Seiyu reported a net loss of ¥20.93 billion (US$216 million) for last year.