U.S. air carriers can continue buying discounted insurance through 2005 to protect them from terrorism and other acts of violence under budget legislation being sent to President Bush. The relief bill saves airlines, most of them struggling against high fuel costs and increased competition, as much as $560 million a year. The program would have expired Dec. 31. Lawmakers included it in a $388 billion bill to fund 14 Cabinet-level departments.
Canada Considers Retaliatory Duties
Canada said it may impose retaliatory duties on U.S. imports to pressure the United States to comply with a World Trade Organization decision. A WTO ruling in August ordered the United States to drop legislation that lets the government distribute punitive duties to companies. The proposed tariffs total about $10 million for next year but may rise to more than $1 billion if the United States starts to distribute the duties it collects on Canadian lumber, the Canadian government said.
Wal-Mart Stores, which opposes trade unions for its 1.2 million U.S. workers, will allow them for its employees in China, where it plans to open as many as 15 stores next year for a total of 58. Above, a cyclist passes by a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Shenzhen, China. The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer is competing for a foothold in China with Paris-based Carrefour and Germany's Metro Group as the Chinese government prepares to ease store ownership restrictions starting Dec. 11.
(Dennis Owen -- Bloomberg News)
|
|
MORE NEWS
Nearly 8 million cell phone users have taken advantage of number portability in its first year, the Federal Communications Commission said. Almost 750,000 more people have moved a home or office number to a cell phone.
Cingular Wireless will cut almost 10 percent of its 68,000 jobs as it continues to integrate with newly purchased AT&T Wireless, Cingular chief executive Stanley T. Sigman said. Most of the jobs cut will be administrative, and the company will try to rehire employees as it expands its subscriber base, Sigman said.
Walt Disney Co. chairman George Mitchell said he was asked to become company president before the job was offered to Michael S. Ovitz, disputing testimony by chief executive Michael D. Eisner. Testifying in a shareholder lawsuit seeking to recover Ovitz's $140 million severance, Mitchell, a former U.S. senator, said he spent six months in 1995 talking to Eisner and board members about the position. Eisner testified last week that he never formally offered Mitchell the job.
Hewlett-Packard announced that staff reductions in the first half of fiscal 2005 would cost the computer giant roughly $200 million. The cuts are part of a reorganization that will downsize some divisions and regional offices while expanding others, a spokesman said. HP does not expect to reduce its overall workforce of 150,000 people, he added.
A jury in Nashville, Tenn., ordered DaimlerChrysler to pay $98 million in punitive damages to a couple whose baby died when a Dodge Caravan seatback failed in a crash, the family's lawyer said. The jury had already awarded the family $7.5 million in compensation for the child's death.
Marsh & McLennan's credit rating has been cut one level, to BBB, by Standard & Poor's. S&P lowered the senior debt rating from BBB+ because cash flows in 2005 and 2006 may be lower than it expected. Marsh & McLennan's rating is now two levels from junk, or below investment grade. Lower ratings typically make it more expensive for a company to borrow.
Sales of previously owned homes fell less than forecast in October, increasing the odds that housing will have its best year ever. The 0.1 percent decrease brought sales last month to 6.75 million single-family homes, the National Association of Realtors said. The median price of an existing home was $187,000 last month, up 0.7 percent from September and 8.8 percent from October 2003.
Two-year Treasury bills' yield rose to 2.945 percent, from 2.590 percent at the last auction, on Oct. 27. The notes will carry a coupon interest rate of 2.875 percent, with each $10,000 in face value selling for $9,986.50.
RECALL
Fitness Quest recalled some of its Ab Lounge exercise machines after reports that some consumers were injured when their fingers got caught in the hinges. The recall includes Ab Lounge models ALX-000001 though ALX-037999, and all machines that start with serial numbers 03 44 through 04 36; Ab Lounge 2 models AL2X-000001 through AL2X-059060, and all machines that start with the serial numbers 04 03 through 04 36; and Ab Lounge Ultimate machines with serial numbers 04 28 through 04 34.
INTERNATIONAL
The judge deciding whether to suspend the European Union's antitrust order against Microsoft pending appeal has called an unexpected meeting for Thursday to discuss "procedural matters," the court said, declining to elaborate. The meeting comes in the wake of the Nov. 8 defection from the E.U. side of Microsoft rival Novell and a trade group, the Computer and Communications Industry Association.
Airbus hopes to get the green light from parent company EADS next week to launch a new rival to Boeing's 7E7 Dreamliner, chief executive Noel Forgeard said. Forgeard said the A350, a long-range, fuel-efficient version of its A330 airliner, could be ready in 2009 or 2010. He said the company would go ahead with plans to request government funding. Airbus had previously indicated that the new plane would cost $2.6 billion to $3.9 billion to develop.
LOCAL BUSINESS
Lockheed Martin said Robert J. Stevens, its chief executive and president, will also become chairman after Vance D. Coffman retires in April. The Bethesda defense contractor announced that Norman R. Augustine will retire from the board, also in April.
