NATIONAL

Morgan Stanley raises $5 billion from China Investment

Investment bank Morgan Stanley said Wednesday it sold a portion of itself to China Investment Corp., an investment arm of the Chinese government, for $5 billion to raise capital after taking $9.4 billion in write- downs on mortgage-related investments.

Morgan Stanley said the investment will help bolster its capital position and allow it to continue building its Chinese operations. China Investment will receive equity units that convert into as much as 9.9 percent of Morgan Stanley common stock.

CLAIMS SETTLED Microsoft Corp., the world's largest computer software maker; and Internet search engines Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. agreed to pay $31.5 million to resolve claims they helped promote illegal gambling, a U.S. prosecutor said.

Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft will pay $21 million of the total, U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway said Wednesday. Each of the companies was accused of accepting payments from businesses advertising illegal online gambling between 1997 and 2007, she said.

EXECUTIVE PAY CUT D.R. Horton Inc., the fourth-largest U.S. home builder, cut the pay for its top two executives after reporting the first annual loss since going public in 1992. Chairman Donald Horton had his compensation reduced to $3.1 million in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, from $12.6 million a year earlier. Chief Executive Officer Donald Tomnitz's pay was reduced to $2.8 million from $12.5 million.

SATELLITE DEAL The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday approved a $16.4 billion deal in which satellite company Intelsat Holdings Ltd. will become privately owned.

Intelsat Holdings is the parent company of Intelsat Ltd., the world's largest provider of fixed- satellite services. It is being acquired by Serafina Holdings Ltd., an investment vehicle primarily owned by private-equity firm BC Partners Ltd.

LOCAL

Calarco to replace Murdy as chairman of Newmont board

Vincent A. Calarco was elected nonexecutive chairman of the board of Newmont Mining Corp., the company said Wednesday.

Calarco takes over Jan. 1, replacing Wayne Murdy, who is retiring. Calarco has been on the board since 2000.

Murdy retired as Newmont's chief executive officer in June. He was replaced in that job by Rich ard O'Brien.

QWEST CONTRACT Qwest Communications won an $8.3 million contract to upgrade the voice network at the U.S. Department of Energy headquarters in Washington, D.C. The upgrade will allow the DOE to transition to a voice-over-Internet-protocol system over time.

LABOR CHIEF The Denver Area Labor Federation will announce today that John Fleck has been elected its new president. Fleck has been serving as the financial secretary-treasurer for the Sheet Metal Workers, Local 9.

He replaces Leslie Moody, who resigned to become executive director of a new group called the Partnership for Working Families.

LEVEL 3 SALE Level 3 Communications said Wednesday it has sold its Vyvx advertising distribution business to DG FastChannel Inc., of Irving, Texas, for $129 million.

The Broomfield-based company will retain the Vyvx broadcast business. It said it sold the advertising distribution segment because it's not a core business.

Vyvx is expected to report 2007 revenue of about $36 million and $11 million of earnings before taxes, interest, amortization and depreciation. Shares of Level 3 closed at $3.07 Wednesday, down 11 cents.

Rocky staff and wire reports