IBM buy

IBM agreed to buy DemandTec for $440 million, adding Web-based tools to help businesses adjust promotions based on buying patterns. The all-cash transaction amounts to $13.20 a share. That’s 57 percent higher than DemandTec’s closing price Wednesday.

Soros deal

Investor George Soros’s family fund bought about $2 billion of Italian debt formerly owned by MF Global Holdings, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Bauer guilty

Garrett Bauer, a stock trader, pleaded guilty to his role in an insider trading scheme that the feds says generated $37 million in illegal profits using merger tips stolen from law firms.

Jersey sure

New Jersey’s pension fund committed up to $1.8 billion to funds managed by private-equity fund The Blackstone Group. The fund, which has $66 billion in assets, is at the forefront of investing trends.

Walmart

Walmart has begun an internal probe into whether some of its workers violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits bribery overseas.