Apple to pay $100 mln to Creative in settlement

Apple Computer said it will pay $100 million to Creative Technology to settle all patent litigation over Apple's popular iPod music player. The agreement gives Apple a license to use a Creative patent in its music player and other products, Apple said. Steve Jobs said the agreement ends five lawsuits between the companies "and removes the uncertainty and distraction of prolonged litigation." "Creative is very fortunate to have been granted this early patent," Jobs added.

Creative said it would take part in the "Made for iPod" program and was "very excited about this new market opportunity" for its speaker systems, recently introduced line of earphones and headphones, and a future line-up of X-Fi audio enhancement products.

(2006-08-24 12:52:34 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

Prudhoe Bay output down on hitch

news.yahoo.com :

BP said that oil production at its Prudhoe Bay oilfield in Alaska, already running at half capacity due to pipeline corrosion, has been cut by 90,000 barrels per day (bpd) for several days due to a technical fault. A company spokesman said output at the biggest oilfield in the United States had been reduced to 110,000 bpd after a natural gas compressor in Gathering Center 2 failed. "We anticipate that fixing the compressor will require several days," said BP spokesman Daren Beaudo.

The field had previously been pumping about 200,000 bpd, around half its normal output, after the discovery of serious corrosion in a pipeline led BP to shut down the eastern half of Prudhoe Bay earlier this month. The spokesman said no-one was hurt and no oil was spilled in the latest incident to beset the field, which has added to worries over an oil market strained by reduced Nigerian supply and fearful of potential disruptions in the Middle East.

BHP profit jumps to record

news.yahoo.com :

BHP Billiton, the world's biggest miner, reported a 77% leap in second-half profit on strong metal prices, but shares fell as the result just met expectations and disappointed investors betting on a bigger pay-out. The result swept full-year profit 63% higher to a record $10.45 billion versus a restated $6.4 billion a year ago, attributed by the company to the sharp gains in prices for copper, aluminum, iron ore and other industrial staples and was in line with market expectations of $10.49 billion.

The company, which set a $3 billion share buyback, forecast an extended commodities bull run on supply shortages and demand growth across the world. But BHP, which already is dealing with a strike at its biggest copper mine, did warn of wage pressures and ballooning equipment costs - bulldozer tires cost as much as $20,000 each.

(2006-08-24 00:23:47 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

Oil-rich Russia wipes out US$23.7b Paris Club debt

channelnewsasia.com :

Russia repaid in full more than 23.7 billion dollars owed to the Paris Club of creditor nations in a sign of the country's new economic power. "The sum of 23,737,038,657.61 US dollars has been transferred to the Paris Club of creditors," Russia's foreign trade bank, Vneshekonombank, said in a written statement.

The repayment is the biggest in the 50-year history of the creditor group and has become a point of pride for Russia, whose economy has been buoyed up by income from oil exports. The early debt repayment underscores a remarkable turnaround in Russia's financial fortunes, eight years after the government sparked a major financial and banking crisis by defaulting on debt payments. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia inherited foreign debts accumulated at the end of the Soviet era that amounted to some 70 billion dollars.

news.bbc.co.uk :

Russia has finished paying off its $22.5bn Soviet-era debt to the Paris Club of international sovereign creditors ahead of schedule. Its huge oil and gas wealth has allowed it to fast-track the repayments, and this has saved $7.7bn servicing costs. Moscow also agreed to pay a $1bn premium to certain creditors in compensation for lost interest. Some, including Germany, had objected to Russia repaying its debt in one lump sum because they would miss out.

- Good for Russia. More dollar dumping - not so good for the dollar.

(2006-08-24 00:13:16 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

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