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Bernard
Kerik - Rudolph
Giuliani - 
New
York
- 
Police
- 
Government
- 
Politics
- "Kerik
made millions from agency contractor: Homeland Security
nominee sat on board of stun-gun maker." ... "Bernard Kerik, [Republican]
President Bush's choice to run the Homeland Security Department, made $6.2
million by exercising stock options he received from a company that sold
stun guns to the department — and seeks more business with it." ... "Taser
International was one of many companies that received consulting advice
from Kerik after he left his job as New York City police commissioner in
2001, when he was earning $150,500 a year. Kerik remains on Taser's board
of directors, although the company and the White House said he planned
to sever the relationship." ... "Partnering with former New York Mayor
[Republican] Rudolph Giuliani and also operating independently, Kerik has
had business arrangements with manufacturers of prescription drugs, computer
software and bulletproof materials, as well as companies selling nuclear
power, telephone service, insurance and security advice for Americans working
abroad." ... "Kerik and other former New York City officials joined the
ex-mayor in Giuliani Partners, a consulting firm. In 2003, Kerik became
chief executive officer of an affiliate consulting company, Giuliani-Kerik."
-AP via -MSNBC
Education
- 
Law
- Politics
- "Nation's
Charter Schools Lagging Behind, U.S. Test Scores Reveal."
... "The first national comparison of test scores among children in charter
schools and regular public schools shows charter school students often
doing worse than comparable students in regular public schools." ... "The
findings, buried in mountains of data the Education Department released
without public announcement, dealt a blow to supporters of the charter
school movement, including the [Republican President] Bush administration."
... "The data shows fourth graders attending charter schools performing
about half a year behind students in other public schools in both reading
and math." ... "Charters are expected to grow exponentially under the new
federal education law, No Child Left Behind, which holds out conversion
to charter schools as one solution for chronically failing traditional
schools." ... ""The scores are low, dismayingly low," said Chester E. Finn
Jr., a supporter of charters and president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation,
who was among those who asked the administration to do the comparison."
... "Charters are self-governing public schools, often run by private companies,
which operate outside the authority of local school boards, and have greater
flexibility than traditional public schools in areas of policy, hiring
and teaching techniques." (1 of 2)
-By Diana Jean Schemo
-NYTimes
OPINION
- Free-Speech
-
- "Firms
play tough game to defend a good name." ... ""Overzealous
companies often try to assert trademark ownership in inappropriate ways
to stifle free speech," says Kembrew McLeod, a communications studies professor
at the University of Iowa and author of the forthcoming book "Freedom of
Expression: Overzealous Copyright Bozos and Other Enemies of Creativity."
"The real harm comes from self-censorship in a world where [companies]
fire off cease-and-desist letters, and where we and our employers back
down from lawsuits, even when they're baseless."" ... "The stakes can run
high. Microsoft, for instance, is vigorously defending its ubiquitous Windows
trademark from what it views as an infringement by a San Diego software
firm called Lindows, which markets an alternative computer-operating system.
Last summer, Fox News made headlines when it attempted to prevent humorist
Al Franken from using its "Fair and Balanced" tag line in the title of
his bestselling book." -By Eric Schellhorn
-CSMonitor
UPS
News - "United
Parcel 2nd-Qtr Net Rises 18% on Global Growth (Update2)."
... "United Parcel Service Inc., the world's largest package-delivery company,
said earnings in the second quarter rose 18 percent as global economic
growth raised shipments." ... "Net income increased to $818 million, or
72 cents a share, from $692 million, or 61 cents, a year earlier, the Atlanta-based
company said in a statement. Revenue climbed 7.8 percent to $8.87 billion
from $8.23 billion." -By Mary Schlangenstein ed. by
Steve Geimann -Bloomberg
- 
- 
-
- "Halliburton
unit's Iran role probed." ... "The investigation
centers on Halliburton Products and Services Ltd., a subsidiary registered
in the Cayman Islands and headquartered in Dubai that provides oil field
services in Iran. The unit's operations in Iran included [US Vice President]
Cheney's stint as CEO from 1995 to 2000, when he frequently urged the lifting
of such sanctions." ... "Current law forbids US companies from doing business
with countries considered by the US government to be sponsors of terror.
The list includes Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Sudan. However, numerous
US companies operate indirectly in Iran under strict guidelines requiring
that their subsidiaries have a foreign registry and no US employees, and
act independently of the parent company. At issue is whether Halliburton's
subsidiary met those criteria." --LAtimes
via -Boston/Globe
-
-
-
- "US
group admits to criminal probe over Iran." ... "Halliburton,
the oilfield services company formerly headed by US Vice-President Dick
Cheney, has disclosed that a Treasury Department probe into its business
dealings with Iran had been elevated to a criminal investigation. The company
acknowledged that it had been subpoenaed by a grand jury in the southern
district of Texas to present documents related to a Cayman Islands subsidiary
that serves the Iranian National Oil Company." -By
Joshua Chaffin -FT.com
UPS
News - "EBay
2nd-Qtr Profit More Than Doubles on 52% Sales Increase."
... "EBay Inc., the world's No. 1 Internet auctioneer, said second-quarter
earnings more than doubled to $190.4 million as a record number of users
bought and sold merchandise online and utilized its electronic-payment
system." ... "EBay added 9.2 million users to sites in the U.S. and 22
countries, helping boost the value of items sold through them to $8 billion."
... "During the quarter, AuctionDrop Inc., a company that takes items on
consignment for sale on EBay, reached an agreement with United Parcel Service
Inc. to have 3,400 stores to act as drop- off points for the service."
-By Greg Wiles ed. by Vince Bielski -Bloomberg
- Microsoft
News - "[Microsoft
dividends] Giving $75 billion back, with plenty to spare."
... "On Tuesday July 20th, Microsoft said it would return a whopping $75
billion to shareholders over the next four years, in the biggest corporate
cash disbursement in history." ... "Regardless of the legal situation,
Microsoft's bosses realised some time last year that they could no longer
sit on their cash pile (valued at $56.4 billion as of March 31st this year),
and resolved to take steps to give it back to shareholders." ... "Under
the disbursement announced this week, Microsoft will pay out a special
dividend worth $32 billion in early December; buy back a further $30 billion
in stock over the next four years; and double its annual dividend to 32
cents per share." -Economist
-
- "The
[diamond] cartel isn't for ever." ... "On July 13th
in an Ohio court De Beers, the world's largest producer of rough stones,
finally pleaded guilty to charges of price-fixing of industrial diamonds
and agreed to pay a $10m fine, thereby ending a 60-year-long impasse. De
Beers executives are at last free to visit and work directly in the largest
diamond market, America." ... "A few days earlier, on July 9th, the first
case of successful industry self-regulation against trade in so-called
conflict diamonds took place when Congo-Brazzaville was punished
for failing to prove the source of its diamond exports. And on June 28th
Lev Leviev, an arch-rival of De Beers, opened Africa's biggest diamond-polishing
factory in Namibia." ... "Behind all these events lies sweeping change
in an industry that sells $60-billion-worth of jewellery alone each year.
For generations it has been run by De Beers as a cartel. The South African
firm dominated the digging and trading of diamonds for most of the 20th
century. Yet the system for distributing stones established decades ago
by De Beers is curious and anomalous—no other such market exists, nor would
anything similar be tolerated in a serious industry."
-Economist
Enron
- "Lay
surrenders to authorities: Ex-Enron CEO turns himself
in after indictment, pleads not guilty in massive accounting fraud." ...
"In the 11-count indictment, Lay was accused of lying to the public, investors
and Enron employees in charges that include securities and wire fraud and
making false statements." ... "He pleaded not guilty to all charges and
was released on $500,000 bail." ... "In a related move, the Securities
and Exchange Commission accused Lay in a civil complaint that seeks more
than $90 million. It also seeks to bar him from serving as an officer or
director of a public company." -By Krysten Crawford
with contributions by Jen Rogers -CNN
- Enron
- "Enron's
Lay indicted: Former Enron CEO [Kenneth Lay] indicted
by grand jury in Houston, says he's "done nothing wrong."" ... "Enron filed
for bankruptcy Dec. 2, 2001 after investigators found it had used partnerships
to conceal more than $1 billion in debt and inflate profits. The company
once ranked as the country's seventh-largest." ... "To date the federal
government has launched 30 separate prosecutions related to Enron's implosion,
including a criminal case that brought down auditor Arthur Andersen two
years ago and criminal probes of about 20 former Enron employees. Of those,
11 have resulted in convictions or guilty pleas." -By
Krysten Crawford and Kelli Arena -CNN
-
- Enron
- [PDF]
"United
States of America V. Richard A. Causey, Jeffrey K. Skilling, and Kenneth
Lay, Defendents." [65 pages] ... "Superseding
Indictment." -From the "United States District Court
Southern District of Texas Houston Division." via
-FindLaw /LegalNews/Documents
- "Cost
of ads on 'Friends' finale at Super Bowl level."
... "Advertisers paid up to $2 million for 30 seconds on the "Friends"
finale tonight, making it the Super Bowl of sitcoms." ... "That puts the
one-hour finale, which NBC has estimated will draw an audience of at least
50 million people, second in price only to the Super Bowl this year. CBS
took in $2.3 million for a half-minute of ad time on the Super Bowl."
-AP via -TucsonCitizen.com
-
- "Shell
says signs Libya oil and gas partnership."
-Reuters via -Forbes
- 
- "Future of
Mitsubishi Motors in doubt as bailout is withheld:
DaimlerChrysler insists it will still honor joint ventures." ... "The future
of Mitsubishi Motors was thrown into question on Friday after DaimlerChrysler's
surprise decision to cut off financial support to its partner. The Japanese
automaker's stock collapsed, falling 25 percent before trading was halted."
... "DaimlerChrysler, which controls Mitsubishi Motors through a 37 percent
stake, said late Thursday that it had decided "to cease further financial
support" for Japan's fourth-largest carmaker. The announcement shocked
investors, who had speculated that the German company would announce a
cash injection of ¥200 billion, or $1.8 billion, or more. Mitsubishi
Motors must now scramble for investments if it is to remain in business."
-By Todd Zaun -NYTimes
via -Google-News
-IHT.com
- "U.S.,
Libyan Bankers Discuss Frozen Assets -Libya." ...
"Libyan officials say assets worth about $1 billion are frozen in the United
States, including equity holdings in banks." ... "Although assets remain
blocked, a Libyan banking official said there would be no further freezing,
which would previously have occurred if, for example, any Libyan dollar
transactions were cleared through New York." (1, 2)
-By Salah Sarrar -Reuters
-
- 
- 
- "Bush
eases years-long economic sanctions against Libya."
... "President Bush on Friday eased economic sanctions against Libya, ending
its status as a pariah nation and clearing the way for the return of American
oil companies." ... "Bush's order ending Libya's economic isolation gave
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi the reward that he wanted for agreeing in
December to abandon his pursuit of weapons of mass destruction." -By
Ron Hutcheson -Knight Ridder via
-SLTrib.com
- 
-
- "UK
court to review EU flight delay rule: Airline trade
association IATA asked Britain's High Court to review pending EU rules
that would force carriers to reimburse passengers for delays, even if caused
by security measures or snowstorms." ... "The rules set a baseline of between
two and four hours for permissible delays, depending on the length of journey,
with anything above that forcing carriers to reimburse passengers."-Reuters
via -CNN
- 
- 
- 
-
- "High
court mulls Mexican truck access." ... "A Bush administration
lawyer told the Supreme Court yesterday that the president must be able
to open America's roads to Mexico's trucks without delays for an environmental
study." ... "But a lawyer for labor and environmental organizations cautioned
justices that ''we're talking about tens of thousands of trucks" packing
US roads after a two-decade moratorium ends." ... "Some of those trucks
are older and may be pollution-causing safety hazards, said the organizations'
lawyer, Jonathan Weissglass." -By Gina Holland
-AP via -Boston/Globe
Enron
News - "Ex-Enron
CEO Broke Terms of Release -Prosecutors." ... "Prosecutors
charged on Wednesday that former Enron chief executive Jeff Skilling broke
the terms of his $5 million bond during a bizarre alcohol-fueled fracas
in New York earlier this month." ... "The court filing says Skilling's
blood alcohol level was 0.19 -- more than twice the legal limit in most
U.S. states -- when police sent him to the hospital at 4 a.m. on April
9." ... "Officers described Skilling as "uncooperative and intoxicated"
and deemed him "an emotionally disturbed person" because he was accusing
bar patrons of being undercover agents for the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
(1, 2)
-By C. Bryson Hull -Reuters
- "China's
economy soars despite Beijing's curbs." ... "China's
economy grew at an official 9.7 per cent in the first quarter of this year
as ambitious local authorities went on an investment binge and banks continued
to lend to a roaring property sector in spite of Beijing's orders to rein
in credit." ... "The 9.7 per cent increase in gross domestic product to
Rmb2,711bn ($328bn) was higher than last year's full-year 9.1 per cent
increase. Some independent economists use a range of proxy indicators to
suggest that the official figures understate reality and China is actually
growing at around an annualised 11 or 12 per cent." -By
James Kynge -FT.com
- "Intel
Says 1st-Qtr Profit Almost Doubled, Sales Rise (Update2)."
... "Intel Corp., the world's biggest semiconductor maker, said first-quarter
net income almost doubled to $1.73 billion as customers accelerated purchases
of new computers." ... "Net income was 26 cents a share, compared with
14 cents a year earlier, Santa Clara, California-based Intel said in a
statement. Sales rose 20 percent to $8.1 billion." -By
Jason Kelly and Ian King -Bloomberg.com
- 
- "Pushing
the limits of 'public use'." ... "Rene Corie installs
drapes in Florida mansions. Her husband, David, builds the mansions' gates."
... "Eight years ago, the working-class couple finally found some waterfront
real estate they could afford: a two-bedroom house for $70,000 in Riviera
Beach, a poor town near the wealthy enclaves of Palm Beach and Jupiter."
... "But Riviera Beach now wants to bulldoze the Cories' home and 2,200
others to make way for one of the nation's grandest redevelopment plans:
a collection of high-rise condos, bigger homes and upscale shops. The city
plans to use eminent domain — its power to confiscate private property
for projects that benefit the public — to take the homes of 5,100 people
if the residents do not agree to move." -By Dennis
Cauchon -USATODAY
-
- "Attacks
in Iraq claim lives of four contractors, five soldiers:
An anti-American mob in the Iraqi city of Fallujah ambushed a group of
contractors Wednesday, beating and dragging four bodies through the streets.
The brutal attack came on the same day a roadside bomb killed five Americans
west of Baghdad." ... "" -PBS.org
/NewsHour
Rove
- 
Abramoff
- 
Ralston
- 
DeLay
- 
Norquist
- 
Reed
- Scanlon
- 
Money
- Religion
- Government- Law
- Politics
- Texas
- 2004
Election - History
- "K
Street Stumble." ... "As [Republican] presidential
adviser Karl Rove set up shop in the West Wing in 2001, he was looking
for an assistant to serve as the trusted gatekeeper of his new fiefdom.
Superlobbyist and Republican fundraiser Jack Abramoff was happy to lend
a hand. Abramoff knew just the right person for the job: his own assistant,
Susan Ralston. She interviewed with Rove and got the position." ... "For
a staunch conservative and smooth GOP operative like Abramoff, losing a
valuable aide was well worth the opportunity to ingratiate himself with
the president's senior political adviser." ... "An active fundraiser for
George W. Bush's 2000 election race, Abramoff has done even better in the
2004 campaign, raising more than $100,000 and becoming an elite "Pioneer"
in the president's re-election drive. For years, Abramoff has been a generous
donor and key fundraiser for powerful GOP members of Congress, notably
House Majority Leader [Republican]
Tom DeLay, R-Texas. In the 2004
election cycle, Abramoff and his wife, Pam, have contributed $83,000 to
Republicans, landing themselves at No. 93 on the nationwide list of individuals
who have donated to either political party, according to the nonpartisan
Center for Responsive Politics. Nine other Washington lobbyists are higher
on that list." ... "For almost a quarter-century, Abramoff has counted
among his friends and allies anti-tax activist Grover Norquist and grassroots
strategist and former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed. An Orthodox
Jew, Abramoff has moved easily in conservative circles since the early
1980s, when he was chairman of the College Republican National Committee."
... "On March 2, Abramoff abruptly resigned from [lobbying law firm] Greenberg
Traurig, and now he's embroiled in what's shaping up as a legal and political
fight to salvage his reputation." ... "When asked about Abramoff's troubles,
DeLay distanced himself, telling reporters, "If anybody is trading on my
name to get clients or to make money, that is wrong and they should stop
it immediately."" ... "One reason for the touchiness is that the controversy
has also ensnared Michael Scanlon, a former aide to DeLay who worked with
Abramoff at Greenberg Traurig before setting up his own grassroots firm,
Capital Campaign Strategies." -By Peter H. Stone
-NationalJournal
-
-
- Microsoft
News - "EU
orders Microsoft to pay $613 million fine: Software
giant found guilty of abusing "near monopoly"." ... "The European Union
declared Microsoft Corp. guilty Wednesday of abusing its "near monopoly"
with Windows to squeeze competitors in other markets and levied a record
fine of $613 million (497.2 million euros)." ... "The EU's antitrust authority
said that "because the illegal behavior is still ongoing," it was also
demanding changes in the way the U.S. software company operates."
-AP via -MSNBC
-
- "Mexico,
Japan agree on trade deal." ... "Mexico and Japan
have agreed on the substance of a free-trade agreement, Mexico's Economy
Department says." ... "The department said in a statement Wednesday that
the deal is expected to create annual growth of 10.6 percent in Mexican
exports to Japan, creating about 277,000 new jobs over 10 years."
-AP via -CNN
- "Prices
at the pump vault toward all-time high: Early hikes
in gas prices across the US could affect everything from flower delivery
to vacation plans." ... "Later this month, gas prices will almost certainly
eclipse the record for the highest average price-per-gallon in US history.
Then, if analysts are right, they will go even higher." ... "Ominously,
some experts suggest that the energy outlook hasn't looked so bleak since
the last days of Mr. Carter. Not that the country would be as severely
affected as it was in the 1970s. For one, today's prices are still well
below 1970s levels, when adjusted for inflation. In addition, many US power
plants have since shifted to natural gas and coal, and manufacturing is
now a smaller share of the economy. As a result, America is less dependent
on oil for its well-being." -By Mark Sappenfield
-CSMonitor
-
-
- "IMF vacancy
revives debate over top job." ... "Horst Köhler's
decision to resign as head of the International Monetary Fund to become
a candidate for president of Germany has rekindled a debate over whether
a non-European should run the international lender for the first time."
... "Köhler, 61, who cuts short a term as managing director that would
have expired in June 2005, will be replaced by Anne Krueger, the IMF's
No. 2 official and an American, until a replacement is found." ... "The
IMF, with 184 member countries, was created in 1945 to promote global economic
health after World War II."
-Bloomberg -Reuters
-AFP.com via -IHT.com
WorldCom
News - "Ebbers
indicted, ex-CFO pleads guilty: Sullivan is expected
to cooperate with authorities as they prosecute ex-WorldCom CEO." ... "Ex-WorldCom
CEO Bernard Ebbers was charged with securities fraud Tuesday for his role
in the nation's biggest accounting scandal, while his former chief financial
officer pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors." ... "The
indictment says Ebbers and ex-WorldCom CFO Scott Sullivan "knowingly and
consistently" manipulated WorldCom's financial results to present the company
in a better light to Wall Street, investors and regulators." -By
Terry Frieden -CNN
Enron
News - "The
hearing: 'I plead not guilty to all counts'." ...
"Jeffrey Skilling, former Enron chief executive, surrendered to the FBI
on Thursday to face a 42-count indictment, but he remained as defiant as
ever that he was innocent." ... "Prosecutors outlined the charges against
Mr Skilling, which range from conspiracy to insider trading, and said he
faced up to 325 years in prison and more than $80m in fines if convicted."
-By Sheila McNulty -FT.com
- Enron
News - "Enron's
ex-CEO Skilling surrenders to FBI." ... "Skilling,
50, entered FBI headquarters in Houston accompanied by about six attorneys
at 6:52 local time." -Reuters
via -Forbes
-
- "Japan's pride
and joy gets a 'Made in China' label." ... "The qualms
are gone. Now even Japan's pride and joy, its top-end electronics manufacturers,
are coming to China with abandon." ... "They are building immense new plants
and research centers here [in China] to take advantage of abundant Chinese
labor up and down the value chain, doing nearly every kind of job their
Japanese work force does. Cost pressures are driving them to forget old
fears of having their best technology stolen or of harsh publicity at home
over moving high-paying jobs overseas." -Ken Belson
-NYTimes
via -IHT.com
Poverty
- Business
- Politics
- 2004
Election - "Wages
up for the well-off, but not for others: 'Rich-poor
gap' relates to long-term forces, but could hurt Bush as it reaches record
level prior to election." ... "Most US workers saw their earnings fall
or stagnate last year, with those at the bottom of the income scale hit
hardest." ... "The trend, coming alongside a slack job market, explains
why many Americans feel left out of the economic recovery - and why President
Bush faces a tough sell with his campaign-trail message that there is "good
strong growth." Democratic rivals point to "two Americas," one for the
rich, one for the poor." ... "Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina speaks
of "two Americas," while the leading contender, John Kerry, promises "a
prosperity where we will reduce the poverty of millions instead of constantly
reducing taxes for millionaires."" -By David R. Francis
-CSMonitor
- 
- 
-
-
- Microsoft
News - "The
Coming Search Wars." ... "Bill Gates, the chairman
of Microsoft, stated his admiration for the "high level of I.Q." of Google's
designers. "We took an approach that I now realize was wrong,'' he said
of his company's earlier decision to ignore the search market. But, he
added pointedly, "we will catch them.''" ... "Microsoft is intently poring
over Google's portfolio of patents, hunting for potential vulnerabilities,
Mr. Schmidt [Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive] contended. And because
Google is running its business using Linux - the free open source software
that has become the biggest challenger of Windows - Microsoft is concerned
that it may be at a competitive disadvantage."
-NYTimes
-
- "About
2 Million to Use Up Jobless Benefits." ... "Nearly
2 million people are expected to exhaust their state unemployment benefits
in the first half of the year without access to more government aid or
a regular paycheck, according to a study released Thursday." ... "Congress
has refused to approve another extension of federal unemployment benefits
for people who exhaust their state aid." -By Leigh
Strope -AP
via -AJC
-
- 
- "Second
BBC Exec Resigns Over Iraq Story: Second BBC Executive
Resigns, Shaken Broadcaster Apologizes Over Report on Iraq Intelligence."
... "The chief of the BBC stepped down Thursday as the badly rattled broadcaster
struggled to respond to harsh criticism from a judge who repudiated its
report that the government "sexed up" intelligence on Iraq." ... "The resignation
of British Broadcasting Corp. director-general Greg Dyke stunned BBC employees,
and hundreds of them rallied outside the network's offices around Britain
to show their support for him. One local BBC radio station briefly went
off the air in protest." -AP
via -ABCNEWS.com
-
-
-
- "BBC
Chairman Resigns After Hutton Criticism." ... "The
chairman of the BBC resigned on Wednesday and the broadcaster apologized
for some of its reporting on the buildup to the war in Iraq after an inquiry
by a senior judge lambasted the corporation." ... "The report by Lord Hutton
criticized journalist Andrew Gilligan, the BBC's management and its supervisory
board of governors, for a radio report saying the government "sexed up"
intelligence in a dossier on Iraqi weapons." -By Adam
Pasick -Reuters
-
- "Toyota
surpasses Ford as No. 2 automaker." ... "Toyota confirmed
the tally it gave last Friday for worldwide sales for 2003 of 6.78 million
vehicles, up 9.9 percent from 6.17 million the previous year. Last week,
Ford said its 2003 sales slipped to 6.72 million vehicles, down 3.6 percent
from 6.97 million the year before." -AP
via -SeattlePI.NWsource
-
-
-
-
- "US
business urging Bush to drop Libya sanctions soon."
... "U.S. oil companies and other corporations eager to do business in
Libya have urged the Bush administration to remove sanctions on that country
by an April 23 deadline set by Tripoli and families of the 1988 Lockerbie
bombing victims, senior industry officials said Friday." ... "Tripoli appears
eager to restore normal diplomatic and trade relations with the United
States, which banned Libyan oil imports in 1982 and imposed additional
economic sanctions in 1986 against the country it accused of sponsoring
terrorism." -By Doug Palmer
-Reuters via -Forbes
-
- 
- "Halliburton
acknowledges kickback allegations in Iraq contract."
... "Halliburton has fired employees who allegedly took kickbacks from
a Kuwaiti subcontractor helping to supply U.S. troops in Iraq, the company
said." ... "The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that two employees
of Halliburton subsidiary KBR accepted up to $6 million in kickbacks from
the unnamed Kuwaiti firm." -By Matt Kelley
-AP via -Boston/Globe
-
- "Saudis
'ready to cut Iraq's debt'." ... "Saudi Arabia has
said it is prepared to negotiate a "substantial" reduction of Iraq's debt
to the kingdom." ... "The statement did not say how much of Iraq's estimated
$30 billion debt the Saudis might forego."
-BBC/News
- "J.P.
Morgan, Bank One to merge: The merged company, to
retain the J.P. Morgan Chase name, would become the second-largest U.S.
bank. The integration plans calls for eliminating up to 10,000 jobs." ...
"J.P. Morgan and Bank One say they are aiming for cost savings of $2.2
billion over three years and are determined to build on their top-tier
positions in retail banking and lending, credit cards, investment banking
and asset management. Merger-related costs are expected to be $3 billion.
The companies expect to eliminate 10,000 jobs, or about 7 percent of their
combined work force." -By Thor Valdmanis, Adam Shell,
and Christine Dugas -TucsonCitizen.com
- Enron
News - "Ex-Enron
executive, wife plead guilty: Andrew Fastow is the
highest-ranking Enron executive to plead guilty in the scandal surrounding
the energy company's dramatic disintegration." ... "Andrew Fastow, chief
architect of the off-the-books deals that brought down Enron, pleaded guilty
along with his wife Wednesday in a deal that could take prosecutors to
the top of the corporate ladder at the scandal-ridden company." ... "The
former finance chief agreed to a 10-year prison sentence and will help
prosecutors build a case against the executives who once occupied the most
opulent offices on the company's top floor: former Chairman Kenneth Lay
and former Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling." -By
Kristen Hays-Miami/Herald
-
- "China
firms buy $2.3B worth of U.S. high technology: Motorola
and Lucent win large telecommunications deals at trade seminar." ... "Motorola
Inc. won two large mobile telephony deals: a $556 million contract with
China United Telecommunication Corp. (China Unicom) to expand its CDMA
(Code Division Multiple Access) mobile networks in Beijing and 12 other
provinces; and a $510 million contract with China Mobile Communications
Corp. to expand its GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) network
and improve data services in Beijing and 13 provinces, Motorola said in
statements." -By David Legard
-IDG.net
via -InfoWorld
- "In-House
Audit Says Wal-Mart Violated Labor Laws." ... "An
internal audit now under court seal warned top executives at Wal-Mart
Stores three years ago that employee records at 128 stores pointed
to extensive violations of child-labor laws and state regulations requiring
time for breaks and meals." ... "The audit of one week's time-clock records
for roughly 25,000 employees found 1,371 instances in which minors apparently
worked too late at night, worked during school hours or worked too many
hours in a day. It also found 60,767 apparent instances of workers not
taking breaks, and 15,705 apparent instances of employees working through
meal times." ... "Officials at Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer,
employing 1.2 million people at its 3,500 stores in the United States,
insisted that the audit was meaningless, since what looked like violations
could simply reflect employees' failure to punch in and out for breaks
and meals they took." (1, 2)
-By Steven Greenhouse -NYTimes
via -Google-News
- 
-
- 
-
-
- "Bush:
Canada eligible in Iraq reconstruction contracts."
... "President Bush moved to ease tensions with Canada Tuesday by reversing
course and declaring Canadian companies eligible to bid on a second round
of U.S.-financed prime reconstruction contracts in Iraq." ... "The reversal
was seen as a goodwill gesture toward Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin,
who took office last month." ... "The White House indicated that other
opponents of the war, including France and Germany, might be able to join
the next round of bidding." -By Richard Benedetto
with contributions by James Cox -USATODAY
Enron
News - "Judge
OKs Lea Fastow plea deal: The agreement could clear
the way for a separate pact with her husband, the ex-CFO of Enron." ...
"A federal judge Thursday said he will accept a guilty plea from the wife
of a former top Enron executive that would mean prison time for her and
may also lead to a stiff sentence for her husband, ex-Enron CFO Andrew
Fastow." ... "U.S. District Judge David Hittner said Lea Fastow, a former
assistant treasurer at Enron, could come in as early as Thursday afternoon
to change her plea to guilty, adding he was still considering whether to
reduce her sentence to five months from a possible term of more than
10 years." -CNN
- Microsoft
News - "Microsoft
reaches out beyond the PC." ... "Bill Gates on Wednesday
unveiled a series of initiatives to extend Microsoft's
reach beyond the personal computer to deliver digital entertainment, including
a portable video player and an internet-enabled wristwatch." ... "He also
outlined a key piece of technology that forms an important link in Microsoft's
efforts to promote its PC-centric view of home entertainment. The technology,
which makes it possible to send music or video from a computer to other
devices such as televisions or music players, could eventually help to
turn the PC into the main engine of home entertainment." -By
Richard Waters -FT.com
-
-
-
- ELECTION
2004 - "Many
see Bush immigration proposals as non-starter." ...
"President Bush dived into a heated political debate on Wednesday by proposing
to create a class of legal "guest workers" in the United States, but analysts
said it was doubtful the blueprint could gain congressional approval in
this election year." ... "In a carefully balanced speech, Bush proposed
giving some of the estimated 8 million to 14 million illegal immigrants
in the country a way to gain three-year temporary work permits, but offered
them no clear path to becoming U.S. citizens." ... "The proposal seemed
calculated to win Bush Hispanic support ahead of the November presidential
election while pleasing employers looking for workers to fill mainly manual,
agricultural or low paid service jobs." -By Alan Elsner
-Reuters via -Forbes
- 
-
- "Music
Pirates Going Clean." ... "For whatever reason, the
number of Internet users who download music free of charge took a dive
over just six months last year." ... "A couple of things happened that
may explain the decline." ... "Last September, the Recording Industry Association
of America began suing individuals for downloading music files -more than
340 cases so far. That might have pricked the conscience of many digital
freeloaders, or at least scared them off." ... "The other change was Apple
Computer's promotion of its iPod listening device and iTunes website, which
allows many popular songs to be downloaded for 99 cents each. Other websites,
including the one that once offered free downloading, Napster, also began
to offer paid service." -CSMonitor
-
-
-
- "U.S.
Opens Bidding for New Iraq Work." ... "The United
States opened up bidding on Wednesday for $5 billion in new contracts to
rebuild Iraq, the first in a string of lucrative deals funded by $18.6
billion appropriated by the U.S. Congress but barred to those nations who
opposed the Iraq war." ... "After more than a month's delay, the Pentagon-run
Program Management Office kicked off bidding by issuing solicitations overnight
for 17 major construction contracts and project management deals to oversee
the work." (1, 2)
-By Sue Pleming -Reuters
- "Labor
Dept. offers ways not to pay overtime: While touting
the benefits of new overtime rules for poor workers, the Labor Department
offers pointers on how to avoid paying the extra wages." ... "The Labor
Department is giving employers tips on how to avoid paying overtime to
some of the 1.3 million low-income workers who would become eligible under
new rules expected to be finalized early this year." ... "Among the options
for employers: cut workers' hourly wages and add the overtime to equal
the original salary, or raise salaries to the new $22,100 annual threshold,
making them ineligible." -By Leigh Strope
-AP via -Miami/Herald