AT&T Corp. has dropped its $307 million bid for the assets of bankrupt Excite@Home, though the high-speed Internet provider is getting more money from its biggest remaining cable customers to keep running for three more months.

        The latest developments came after Excite@Home cut its cable Internet service to more than 850,000 AT&T Broadband accounts over the weekend because the companies could not agree on new contract terms. A federal bankruptcy judge had authorized the move.

        The service remained on, however, for other cable companies that continued to negotiate with Excite@Home.
       

Friendly plan stalls

        Friendly Ice Cream Corp. says its plan to obtain new loans and buy back debt has stalled.

        The restaurant chain said Monday it has been unsuccessful in obtaining $35 million in loans to lower interest expenses. It had launched the refinancing effort on Oct. 23.

        Shares of Friendly fell 90 cents, to close at $2.30 on the American Stock Exchange following its announcement Monday, a 28 percent slide. Tuesday, shares fell another 7 cents to $2.23.
       

Microsoft makes Europe plea

        Microsoft Corp. asked European antitrust enforcers to accept the terms of the proposed settlement it negotiated with the Bush administration in its U.S. trial, saying complaints it faces in Europe will be “inevitably affected” by concessions it made in the deal with the White House.

        Microsoft's confidential response to the antitrust case in Europe, outlined in a 102-page filing obtained by the Associated Press, said “all of the areas” of the most recent antitrust complaints in Europe were covered by the U.S. settlement, which the trial judge must still approve.

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