1. Dell to go private in $24.4 billion deal. Michael Dell will take computer company Dell Inc private in a $24.4 billion deal that marks the biggest leveraged buyout since the financial crisis. The company's founder and CEO, and private equity firm Silver Lake are paying $13.65 per share in cash for the world's No. 3 computer maker. The deal is being financed by cash and equity from Michael Dell, cash from Silver Lake, cash from Michael Dell's MSD Capital investment firm, a $2 billion loan from Microsoft Corp and debt financing from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Credit Suisse and RBC Capital Markets.
2. U.S. Accuses S.&P. of Fraud in Suit on Loan Bundles.
1. Record Oil Exports Shrink Trade Deficit as U.S. Fills Energy Gap. Record petroleum exports helped shrink the U.S. trade deficit to the smallest in two years as America moves closer to achieving energy self-sufficiency, a goal the nation has been pursuing since the 1973 Arab oil embargo. The gap shrank 20.7 percent to $38.5 billion, lower than any estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 73 economists and the least since January 2010, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The jump in fuel sales to overseas buyers, combined with purchases of the fewest barrels of imported crude in almost 16 years, led to the smallest petroleum deficit since August 2009.
1. E.C.B. President's Comments Send Euro Lower. The president of the European Central Bank on Thursday cited the rising value of the euro currency as a possible threat to the region’s economic recovery, comments that immediately sent the euro down sharply against the dollar and yen. Mario Draghi, the E.C.B. chief, denied that the central bank was trying to influence the value of the euro, no doubt mindful of provoking a currency war with Japan or the United States. But he then made statements that markets interpreted as meaning the E.C.B. could take action if the euro rose too much. 
1. Microsoft Surface Pro vs. Surface RT: Which One Should You Buy? Microsoft's Surface Windows 8 Pro is the ultrabook-class tablet that people have been waiting for. Question is, is it worth the extra price premium over the Surface that (only) comes with Windows RT? The Microsoft Surface with Windows RT$699.00 at Microsoft Store does a decent job running Windows RT, a lighter version of Windows, but to get older programs running on your tablet, you'll need a tablet that runs Windows 8.
