IN BRIEF

Landry’s shareholders to vote on buyout bid

Shareholders of Landry’s Restaurants, which owns the Golden Nugget casinos in Las Vegas and Laughlin, are scheduled to vote Nov. 3 on whether to allow CEO Tilman Fertitta to buy the company.

Fertitta’s offer of about $21 per share is worth about $1.2 billion, well above the current value of outstanding shares. Landry’s shares closed at $15.83 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.

If voters accept the buyout, Fertitta would gain control of the Golden Nugget properties and about 180 restaurants in 28 states. But he would also have a company that is saddled with debt and battered by fallout from Hurricane Ike.

Many of Houston-based Landry’s top-performing restaurants are in Houston and Galveston, Texas. Several remain closed due to hurricane damage, which will hurt upcoming earnings.

The hurricane could also undermine financing for Fertitta’s offer. The banks that agreed to do the financing require the company to hit certain performance benchmarks.

The company was making the marks through the second quarter, but could fall below in the third quarter, depending on how much revenue is lost due to hurricane closings.

The Nov. 3 meeting was revealed in a filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

HARTFORD, Conn.

General Electric cuts profit forecast for year

General Electric Co., the industrial powerhouse that makes everything from jet engines to light bulbs, cut its earnings forecast for the year on Thursday, blaming volatile financial markets that have damaged the profitability of its loan and lease business, which accounts for almost half its income.

GE, a bellwether of the U.S. economy, warned that its GE Capital unit would face “difficult conditions in the financial services markets that are not likely to improve in the near future.”

Thursday’s announcement came as Wall Street grappled with the collapse of Lehman Bros., the government takeover of insurer AIG and fierce debate over a $700 billion plan for Washington to bail out banks weakened by risky mortgage-backed securities.

MILWAUKEE

Wrigley investors OK $23 billion sale to Mars

Shareholders of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. have approved the company’s $23 billion sale to Mars Inc., a move that will end more than a century of family control as the chewing gum company becomes part of what will now be the world’s largest candy maker.

The deal, expected to close around Oct. 6, joins the company that makes gums like Juicy Fruit and Big Red with the privately held maker of M&Ms, Snickers and Skittles, bumping Britain’s Cadbury PLC from the top candy-making slot.

The voting results were released Thursday at a shareholder meeting in Wrigley’s hometown of Chicago.

NEW YORK

Oil prices increase as bailout plan advances

Oil prices rose in erratic trading Thursday as a U.S. financial rescue plan won preliminary approval from lawmakers, raising expectations of a resurgence in domestic energy demand.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery rose $2.29 to settle at $108.02 a barrel in early afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange after edging slightly lower for much of the day. Oil shed 88 cents to settle at $105.73 on Wednesday.

NEW YORK

As traders seek safety, 10-year Treasurys slip

Treasury prices were mixed Thursday as traders sought the safety of short-term U.S. government debt.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note slipped 0.28 points to 101.25, and its yield was at 3.84 percent, up from 3.81 percent.