Newsday (Suffolk Edition) from Melville, New York • 53

BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY A54 Eyeing parts of Tribune? iar with his plans said yesterday that Frank Zarb the politically connected finance power broker is in Newsday Zarb has declined comment on the matter One newspaper industry analyst has said he does not believe Tribune will spin off major assets opting instead to sell noncore broadcast and newspaper properties while holding on to profit centers such as the Los Angeles Times Private-equity firms reportedly interested in Tribune include Madison Dearborn Partners of Chicago which is partnering with Providence Equity Partners and Apollo Management and Washington DC-based Carlyle Group Meanwhile in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission board said it has amended its bonus and retirement plans to accelerate payment of deferred bonuses to top executives if the company is sold have expressed an interest in Tribune whose market capitalization exceeds $8 billion While media companies many of which are operating under fire same circulation and revenue pressures as Tribune been rushing the table there has been speculation that one or two have at least considered whether some of the properties fit into their strategic plan One such company is Denver-based MediaNews Group which earlier this year acquired several newspapers following McClatchy purchase of Knight Ridder MediaNews chief executive William Dean Singleton return phone calls and an e-mail yesterday but a person dose to the company said newspapers in such markets as Allentown Pa and southern Connecticut which abut communities where it it already owns newspapers are possible targets if they become available The person stressed however that Media- Some of company's newspapers may be attracting interest as deadline draws near for potential buyers BY MARK HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER With the deadline for expressions of interest for Tribune Co properties fast approaching market watchers have been debating whether a media company or two will toss their hats into a ring that already includes some high-stakes equity investment firms Tribune in September hired Merrill Lynch and Citigroup to explore strategic alternatives that could include the sale of all or parts of the company Companies interested have until end to communicate their interest This week media reports said at least three private-equity investment firms A moving experience for the Fed holds rates steady BLOOMBERG NEWS The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate at 525 percent for a third month and played down concerns that the housing slump will jeopardize the five-year economic expansion growth has slowed over the course of the year partly reflecting a cooUng of the housing the Federal Opot Market Committee said in a statement yesterday after meeting in Washington forward the economy seems likely to expand at a moderate Policy-makers reiterated that inflation remains a risk even though they dropped language expressing tears that energy and commodities would contribute to price increases Jeffrey Lacker president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond continued to dissent in favor of a rate increase and the committee stressed that any further tightening of credit will depend on new information on growth and prices Yesterday was the first time since May that the Fed included a specific reference to the growth outlook Officials are counting on inflation easing and remain open to higher borrowing costs if necessary inflation risks the Fed said using language identical to the prior statement extent and timing of any additional firming that may be needed to address these risks will depend on the evolution of the outlook for both inflation and economic Lacker is the only voting member of the panel to dissent this year The Philadelphia Fed and the Dallas Fed signaled their opposition to keeping rates on hold through votes for a higher discount rate at the August and September meetings respectively the moment the Fed has a bias toward said Lyle Granuey a senior adviser at Stanford Group Co in Washington and a former Fed governor guess is the Fed is probably going to be on hold for another six to nine NEWSDAY THURSDAY OCTOBER 26 2006 wwwnewtdayaxn 1 BUSINESS News already has considerable work to do to assimilate recently acquired papers including the San Jose Mercury News "I see him being a player for the Tribune the person said if they sell off individual papers there are some Dean Singleton would be interested James Goss an analyst who tracks Tribune for Barrington Research agreed could very well see MediaNews taking some he said He added that Singleton been known to step in where others have been hesitant to and it has Whether major market papers would be considered as sell-off opportunities is another matter If so some interest already has been expressed for properties such as the Los Angeles Times and Newsday For example three billionaires have separately expressed interest in buying the Los Angeles Times And two people famil Hudson River silt that has built to make it possiblejojnove the after Intrepid officials learned that each family received $6000 half of which was taxable when a soldier died White said The foundation provided $11000 for every surviving spouse and $5000 for every dependent child until it and others successfully lobbied the government to offer death benefits that paid surviving families $500000 White sail The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund raised $45 million to build the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio a state-of-the-art hospital and rehabilitation center for severely injured military personnel And the Fisher House Foundation established by the Intrepid founder Zachary Fisher has constructed at least one house at every major military medical center so families can remain close to soldiers during hospitalization is not charity for White said is INTREPID from A53 pier where it has been docked will be demolished and rebuilt Much is at stake in protecting the name museum officials said While the aircraft carrier which survived five kamikaze attacks during World War IL is viewed as a sacred place a national cemetery and historic battlefield its foundation has carved out a mission that goes beyond commemorative and educational goals Arnold Fisher chairman of the board of the Intrepid museum describes the Intrepid as mother for launching numerous charitable efforts is really the interesting story behind the Intrepid is the White said The Intrepid Foundation provides financial support for US military personnel killed in the line of duty It distributed $14 million for families of those killed in Iraq or Afghanistan Intrepid up nearby is dredged snip A Patton tank is prepped to be removed from the Intrepid before the carrier's move to New Jersey.