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U A onetime dot-com billionaire was convicted of stock fraud, witness tampering and obstruction of justice after a federal judge in Alexandria concluded that he deceived investors in his Las Vegas software company. Charles E. Johnson Jr. was chief executive of PurchasePro Inc., a software company that went bankrupt after the dot-com bubble burst in 2001 and its shaky accounting practices were exposed. Two midlevel executives at AOL, the Sterling, Va., Internet service provider that had a marketing partnership with PurchasePro, were acquitted at an earlier trial.

National

U CBS Corp. is acquiring a big online reach with its acquisition of CNet Networks Inc. but also a company that has faced heavy criticism from investors. Those concerns, as well as the hefty $1.8 billion price tag, helped send CBS’s shares down after the deal was announced yesterday.

U AAA says high fuel prices are prompting Americans to curb their travel plans for Memorial Day weekend. The number of Americans traveling more than 50 miles from home will fall nearly 1 percent from last year, the travel club said. The number of air travelers will fall by about half a percent, the AAA survey said.

U Plane-maker Airbus and diversified manufacturer Honeywell International Inc. said they are developing a biofuel that by 2030 could satisfy nearly a third of the worldwide demand from commercial aircraft, without affecting food supplies. They plan to produce fuel from vegetation and algae-based oils.

U US Airways fleet service workers ratified an agreement that brings all of the carrier’s ramp and baggage employees under a single contract.

U Passengers booking flights on United Airlines got a one-day reprieve from paying the carrier’s fast-rising fuel surcharge due to what United says was an error. The mistake saved lucky customers as much as $130 round-trip on United’s domestic flights — the maximum the airline charges for its fuel surcharge.

U Maverick oilman T. Boone Pickens‘ company, Mesa Power, is purchasing hundreds of wind turbines from General Electric Co. in a $2 billion effort to create a Pampa Wind Project, which will eventually cover 400,000 acres and generate enough power for more than 1.3 million homes.

U Blackstone Group LP, one of the world’s largest private equity funds, reported its second straight quarterly loss as the leveraged buyout market dried up and its portfolio of companies lost value. The New York firm lost $251 million compared with net income of $1.13 billion a year ago.

U Beazer Homes USA Inc. said losses widened in the second quarter as sales fell by half. The Atlanta home builder said it lost $229.89 million ($5.96 a share) in the quarter ended March 31 compared with a loss of $57.19 million ($1.49) a year earlier. Beazer recorded 1,568 home closings in the second quarter, compared with 2,748 homes a year ago.

U Blockbuster Inc. said it swung to a first-quarter profit of $42.6 million (20 cents) on lower expenses and improved domestic sales. The Dallas chain lost $51.8 million (27 cents) a year ago.

U A jury found that a company that makes encryption technology for DirecTV violated federal and state piracy provisions, but awarded rival Dish Network just $1,500 of the $1 billion it sought. The $1,500 award, the statutory minimum, stemmed from one incident of testing on the satellite broadcaster’s encryption cards.

U Nissan Motor Co. lowered its U.S. sales forecast from 15.5 million vehicles to 15.2 million vehicles this year as the weak economy continues to wreak havoc on the auto industry.

U Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down this week to their lowest point in a month. Freddie Mac, the McLean mortgage company, reported that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.01 percent for the week ending May 15, down from last week’s 6.05 percent.

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