Harold Maass of The Week The Best of Today's Business

NEWS AT A GLANCE

Mobile entertainment store opens

Fox parent News Corp. is opening an online cell-phone entertainment store called Mobizzo today. The service will offer $5.99 monthly subscriptions as well as a la carte downloads of screensavers and ring tones catered to the tastes of young consumers -- one ring tone is the sound of a character from Fox's "Family Guy" cartoon passing gas. The company is hoping to get a jump on competitors in the wireless gold rush as the number of cell-phone users doubles worldwide over the next five years. "It's all about being first," said Lucy Hood, the Fox executive overseeing Mobizzo. (The New York Times, free registration required)

Economy bounces back

The U.S. economy will grow at a robust annual pace of 4.5 percent over the first three months of this year, according to a new forecast by the National Association for Business Economics. After a sluggish few months at the end of 2005, the economy is finally managing to "shake off" the effects of last year's hurricanes and surging energy prices, said the association's president, Stuart Hoffman. The performance will lead the Federal Reserve to continue its campaign to tighten credit to control economic growth and inflation. The group predicts at least two more increases in short-term interest rates this year. (AP in Yahoo! Finance)

Icahn rebuffed

The board of KT&G has unanimously rejected a $10-billion hostile takeover bid led by investor Carl Icahn. KT&G, South Korea's largest tobacco and ginseng company, said the proposal would not "help maximize interests of the company and shareholders." (AP in Yahoo! Finance) The bid was unprecedented in Asia and drew public opposition. Woori Investment & Securities analyst Hwang Ho-Sung said Icahn, who recently dropped a bid to shake up Time Warner, was probably trying to pressure management to sell some assets and accept other changes "to boost share prices, rather than actually take over the company," (Financial Times, paid registration required)

China hits speed bumps

Chinese automakers racing to enter the U.S. market are being slowed by everything from financing to pollution regulations. Entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin is trying to raise $200 million -- $2 million from each dealer looking to sell vehicles from China's Chery Automotive -- but he only has 37 dealers so far. Rival automaker Geely, which hopes to offer vehicles for $10,000, just flunked U.S. emissions and side-crash tests, forcing engineers to tweak designs. Someone will bring cheap Chinese cars to the U.S., said George Peterson of consultant AutoPacific. "The question is who will be first." (USA Today)

BEST COLUMNS OF THE DAY

The threat of complicated taxes

You know the tax structure is too complex when H&R Block bungles its own taxes, say the editors of Investor's Business Daily. The tax preparation firm underestimated its state tax obligations by $32 million over the last three years. If H&R Block can't handle "our monstrous tax code," other companies don't stand a chance. "In today's global economy, capital is more mobile than ever." If Washington doesn't give companies a break, they'll just take their business and their jobs elsewhere.

Keep your eye on what matters

Investors shouldn't get "distracted by irrelevant details," says MarketWatch.com columnist Chuck Jaffe in the San Francisco Chronicle. A case in point is the announcement that American Century is teaming with cycling champion Lance Armstrong to create LiveStrong Funds. These lifestyle funds might turn out to be a great investment, but it won't be because of a celebrity endorsement. It's performance that matters, not "hype."

GOOD DAY FOR: Saying farewell, as AskJeeves.com is dropping the iconic butler Jeeves -- borrowed from the late novelist P.G. Wodehouse -- from its name. Starting today, the site will be called Ask.com. It will feature a more straightforward search service than the original, which allowed users to phrase queries as questions to the fictional Jeeves. (BusinessWeek Online)

BAD DAY FOR: Upward mobility, as Enron founder Kenneth Lay's fortune has dwindled from as much as $400 million to less than $650,000 since the energy trading firm collapsed. Lay is currently on trial for fraud. (The New York Times)

NOTED: Seven hundred U.S. filling stations sell ethanol; more than 167,000 sell gasoline. (Knight Ridder Newspapers)