Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) says it now has two million customers using its Apps products. The online software offers many of the features of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows, but operates on Google’s servers instead of on the user’s PC. Although the Apps client base is growing, it may not be bringing in much revenue for the search giant. According to Reuters, "Those include both larger businesses that pay $50 a year per user for Apps, as well as firms with fewer than 50 employees that get the software for free." –Daily Finance
Shares of iPCS Inc. (NASDAQ: IPCS) jumped 33.4 percent to $23.85 before the opening bell on Monday after Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) said it would acquire the company for approximately $831 million, including the assumption of $405 million of net debt. Shares of Sprint gained 2.3 percent to $3.55. -Reuters
China’s economy expanded more than 7 percent in the first nine months of the year and will certainly surpass the 2009 growth target of 8 percent, a top economic official said Monday. China is due to release official third quarter economic data on Thursday. But in a briefing Monday in Beijing, Xiong Bilin, a top economic planner, told reporters the growth rate for January-September would be a bit above 7 percent. Statistics for September showed improving trade, housing sales, manufacturing and car sales. The data suggest that resilience in retail sales and industrial production are helping offset the blow from falling exports to China’s economy. –Associated Press
Federal investigators are gearing up to file charges against a wider array of insider-trading networks, some linked to the criminal case against billionaire hedge-fund manager Raj Rajaratnam that shook Wall Street last week, people familiar with the matter said. The pending crackdown, based on at least two years of investigation, targets securities professionals including hedge- fund managers, lawyers and other Wall Street players, the people said, declining to be identified because the cases aren’t public. –Bloomberg
Investor Carl Icahn sent a letter to the board of CIT Group (NYSE: CIT) Monday, offering to underwrite a $6 billion loan — a move that he claimed would save CIT as much as $150 million in fees. Shares jumped 18% in early trading to $1.32. –Marketwatch
-Jutia Group
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