NEW YORK

Ruling favors rival bank over Citigroup

NEW YORK — The battle for control of troubled bank Wachovia tilted toward Wells Fargo on Sunday as a state appeals court blocked a lower court ruling that had favored rival bidder Citigroup.

At stake is the $339 billion in Wachovia deposits and its network of more than 3,300 branches throughout the country that would solidify the winner as being in the top tier of U.S. retail banking.

In the Sunday night ruling, the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court threw out an order by Justice Charles Ramos issued late Saturday at the request of Citigroup; the order would have extended the time under which Wachovia and Citigroup had to complete their deal.

Citigroup, which announced Sept. 29 that it had received federal government backing to acquire the banking assets of Wachovia Corp. for $2.1 billion, or the equivalent of about $1 a share, said it would appeal the decision.

The fight was also waged in federal court, where Wachovia asked U.S. District Judge John Koeltl to declare invalid part of the Citigroup deal that would have restricted Wachovia from considering competing bids.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Mars lab project may be canceled

America's next daring adventure on Mars — a one-ton rolling science laboratory scheduled to launch next October — is in deep trouble.

Huge cost overruns and technical difficulties may cause the $2 billion Mars Science Laboratory to be delayed or canceled outright, members of a NASA advisory committee were warned Thursday.

"Our problem is enormous," said Jim Green, director of the space agency's Planetary Science Division, as project costs soar up to 40 percent above budget.

The successor to the wildly popular Spirit and Opportunity rovers, still toiling along on Mars, is supposed to check out a region on the planet's surface where conditions could support past or present life — one of science's highest goals.

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin is to decide whether to cancel, delay or go ahead with the troubled mission Friday.

It's also possible that Congress, grappling with massive budget deficits and the cost of a $700 billion financial rescue package, will terminate the mission on its own.

"Congress can stop us if they want to," Douglas McCuistion, director of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, told the committee of planetary scientists.

The lander, a 9-foot-long minivan packed with scientific instruments, four times heavier than Spirit and Opportunity, has already cost $1.5 billion. Poor management and inflation will add about $500 million to that sum, the panel was told.

"A lot of serious mistakes were made," McCuistion said.

HAWAII

Electric vehicle stations planned

HONOLULU — A California company is planning to build a network of charging stations on four Hawaii islands to fuel electric-powered cars.

Electric vehicles are expected to be available in Hawaii's auto showrooms in 2011.

Palo Alto-based Better Place intends to power these electric cars by tapping into the state's growing renewable energy industry.

Pete Cooper, in charge of global development for Better Place, said Hawaii is an ideal market because of the relatively short distances traveled by most motorists.

A fully charged vehicle would have a range of more than 100 miles.

Cooper says the company is dedicated to buying renewable energy produced by sources such as wind, solar, ocean, geothermal and biofuels.

— From wire reports