HP says company it bought ‘willfully’ boosted its value

NEW YORK – Hewlett-Packard Co. said on Tuesday that it’s the victim of a multibillion-dollar fraud at the hands of a British company it bought last year that lied about its finances.

HP CEO Meg Whitman said executives at Autonomy Corp. PLC “willfully” boosted the company’s figures through various accounting tricks, which convinced HP to pay $9.7 billion for the company in October 2011.

Autonomy’s former CEO said HP’s allegations are false.

HP is now taking an $8.8 billion charge to align Autonomy’s purchase price with what HP now says is its real value. More than $5 billion of that charge is due to false accounting, HP said.

The revelation is another blow for HP, which is struggling to reinvent itself as PC and printer sales shrink.

Green Mountain appoints Coca-Cola executive as CEO

WATERBURY, Vt. – Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. has picked a new CEO, Coca-Cola executive Brian Kelley, as the coffee company deals with slowing sales growth.

Kelley, 51, will also become president and join the board, effective Dec. 3.

Shares added $1.66, or 6 percent, to $28.99 in afternoon trading. The stock had dropped 39 percent this year.

A pioneer of single-serve coffee in the U.S. with its Keurig machines, Green Mountain Coffee grew quickly on their popularity. But the company has struggled as patents on technology for its K-Cups expired and competitors released their own single-serve coffee makers – including coffee chain giant Starbucks Corp.

Best Buy’s shares plummet as its sales slump continues

NEW YORK – Struggling Best Buy Co. reported another dismal quarter on Tuesday, recording a third-quarter loss and continued sales slump just as the crucial holiday season revs up.

Adjusted for restructuring charges, it earned 3 cents per share, well below analysts’ expectations. The news sent shares down more than 12 percent in midday trading to their lowest level in more than two decades.

“Best Buy’s third-quarter financial performance was clearly unsatisfactory,” said CEO Hubert Joly, the turnaround expert tapped to lead Best Buy in August.

Meanwhile, co-founder and former chairman Richard Schulze is mulling a bid for the company.

Oil price drops 3 percent on hopeful news in Gaza

NEW YORK – The price of oil fell sharply Tuesday on signs that Israel and Hamas are close to putting a halt to fighting that has lasted nearly a week.

Benchmark crude finished almost 3 percent lower as a diplomatic push to end Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip gained momentum.

Benchmark crude fell $2.53, or 2.8 percent, to finish at $86.75 per barrel in New York.

Meanwhile AAA said the price of gas at the pump dropped slightly and is now the lowest since July 16. The national average of $3.41 per gallon is down 26 cents from a month ago, but still 5 cents higher than a year ago.