A day after facing questions over its big debt pile at its annual shareholder meeting, Paul Allen-controlled cable operator Charter Communications unveiled plans for $8.4 billion in private debt exchanges that are designed to increase its financial flexibility. The company said the move will reduce its annual interest expenses by about $140 million and extend the debt maturities in question by three or more years. Charter's plan calls for institutional investors to swap old debt for new debt that matures later. Charter's bonds and shares experienced a boost Wednesday, with the stock closing up 40.9% at $1.62. As of June 30, the firm had $19.2 billion in debt and $40 million of cash on hand.

Ergen gets boost
Satellite TV firm EchoStar Communications said in a regulatory filing Wednesday that chairman and CEO Charles Ergen's base salary totaled $308,846 in 2004, an 8.8% increase compared with 2003. Ergen also received options for 900,000 EchoStar shares last year, some of which expire at the end of 2009, with the rest expiring mid-year 2014. If EchoStar shares rise 10% during the option terms, the value of Ergen's options could reach more than $29.7 million, the filing indicated. Ergen's pay has been "below amounts paid to chief executive officers at other companies of similar size and in comparable industries," the filing said.

Baidu slides
Shares of Chinese Internet search giant Baidu.com fell 5.1% to $77.80 on Wednesday -- a day after the company, which went public this month, gave a third-quarter revenue forecast that disappointed Wall Street. In reporting second-quarter financials, Baidu.com said it expected revenue of $9.6 million-$10 million for the current quarter. While this would more than double year-ago results, the estimate came in below analysts' expectations.