Man guilty in game scam

        The man who masterminded the theft of $24 million in winning McDonald's game tickets pleaded guilty Friday and was ordered to repay at least $13.4 million.

        Jerome Jacobson, 59, of Lawrenceville, Ga., could get up to 15 years in prison for conspiracy and mail fraud. No sentencing date was set.

        He was among 51 people indicted in the scam that went undetected for a dozen years and involved McDonald's games. No McDonald's employees were involved.
       

Report boosts 3M

        Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co. shares rose 6.8 percent after the maker of products from Post-It notes to electronic circuit boards said first-quarter profit was more than forecast.

        The shares of the St. Paul, Minnesota-based company, which will change its name to 3M Co. on Monday, rose $7.81 to $121.93.

        Chief Executive James McNerney has cut costs since coming from General Electric Co. in late 2000, including the elimination of 2,500 jobs this year and 6,000 last year. The savings helped the company exceed the first-quarter profit estimate and although sales will decline from a year ago, the company is situated to make the best of a rebounding U.S. economy, analysts said.
       

Genentech price falls

        Genentech Inc.'s share price tumbled Friday after the biotechnology titan warned it probably is still not ready to apply for federal approval to sell the experimental psoriasis drug Xanelim.

        The filing of the Food and Drug Administration application to market the drug, developed with partner Xoma Ltd., already has been delayed once. In October, the FDA ordered the companies to conduct an additional study because of manufacturing concerns.

        South San Francisco-based Genentech's share prices fell $4.29 a share, or almost 9 percent, to close at $44.70 on the New York Stock Exchange. Xoma's stock plummeted 42 percent, or $3.21 a share, to $4.42 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
       

Chain identifies buyer

        Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon Inc. said Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co. is the buyout firm that plans to purchase the operator of about 300 Texas-themed restaurants for as much as $546.6 million.

        Chief Executive Jamie Coulter, Lone Star's largest shareholder, won't participate in the buyout, the Wichita, Kansas-based company said in a statement. He'll stay on in a transitional role for as long as 90 days after the closing, Bruckmann Rosser Managing Director Hal Rosser said.
       

Wal-Mart cuts prices

        Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's biggest retailer, will reduce prices on more than 300 products at its stores in Germany.

        The discounts will begin at the 95 German stores on Monday and last at least 60 days, the company said. Investors say the retailer needs to win more customers to make the German unit profitable.
       

Napster bid announced

        Bertelsmann wants to take over Napster Inc., the pioneering online music service, the chief executive of the German media giant said in an interview published Friday in the newspaper Die Welt.

        Napster, the world's most popular song-sharing service until it was shut down by court order last summer, plans to relaunch as a subscription service once it reaches a settlement with the music companies including Universal, Sony and Warner.
       

Steel duties criticized

        South Korea on Friday called on the United States and the European Union to withdraw new import duties on steel or risk damaging the international trading system. The Bush administration on March 20 imposed duties of up to 30 percent on steel imports.

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