Birmingham-based United States Pipe and Foundry Co. and US Pipe Fabrication acquired Minnesota-based company Fab Pipe Inc. to expand its waterworks fabrication and distribution network in the Midwest.

Hedge funds are now entering the municipal debt market, finding a veritable gold mine in value but may provide more problems in the long run as to the temporary nature of the investments.

Backdoor, the anonymous messaging app, founded by technology prodigy Daniel Singer, was able to gather USD 200,000 in seed funding from Brazil-based investment company Arpex Capital.

A USD1.4 billion settlement is being negotiated between Bank of America and Freddie Mac on the issues related to the repurchase of faulty mortgages sold by the bank to the mortgage lender.

Allete Clean Energy, a subsidiary of US power company Allete, recently announced its acquisition of three wind farms located in Minnesota, Iowa, and Oregon, for USD27 million.

Telecom Italia, the largest telecommunications company in Italy, will be selling its controlling stake in Buenos Aires-based Telecom Argentina to investment firm Fintech for EUR4 billion.

T-Mobile, a mobile service provider based in the US, had put up for sale its 66.15 million shares worth USD1.96 billion to improve its capacity for wireless data services.

In a recent statement, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission or SASAC had welcomed the move to allow the private sector to purchase interests in state owned or controlled corporations.

Legg Mason Opportunity Trust Manager Bill Miller said he bought JC Penney debt for a new fund. Miller holds the record of beating the US benchmark for 15 years.

London-based Armajaro Holdings Ltd sold its coffee, cocoa, and sugar trading arm to Swiss agricultural trader Ecom Agroindustrial Corp Ltd after reporting a loss of USD7.5 million.