Boeing wins order for new 777s
Chicago: Boeing Co. said on Friday that aircraft lessor GECAS ordered 4 777 jets to lease to the Dubai-based airline Emirates, the first new order for the wide-body model this year. Both Boeing and European rival Airbus SAS are suffering through a major slump in the commercial aircraft market since the September 11, 2001, attacks. Airlines are still struggling with weak economies and reduced demand from business travelers along with fallout from the war in Iraq and the deadly SARS virus. The deal for the twin-aisle 777-300 ERs follows state-owned Emirates' announcement of a gigantic aircraft order at the recent Paris Air Show.

On its Web site, Seattle-based Boeing Commercial Airplanes listed the 4 new orders for the 777s, bringing total net orders so far this year to 42. The GECAS 777 order is the only one for that model so far this year, with the 737 narrow-body leading the pack with 37 net orders. At the air show earlier this month, Emirates captured the headlines, announcing a massive $12.5 billion plane order for 41 wide-bodies from Toulouse, France-based Airbus, including 21 A380 super jumbos. That 555-seat plane is currently in development, set to fly in 2006.
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Court paves way for trial on Nike's rights
San Francisco: With a Supreme Court decision that rattled corporate America, the coast is now clear for a San Francisco activist to go to trial with his claims that sneaker giant Nike has been untruthful in ads and statements defending its overseas labour practices.

Marc Kasky is free to pursue claims he first made in 1996 and 1997, that Nike has repeatedly misrepresented its employment practices in the Third World. He was thrilled that his case could now be heard on the merits and would not be sidetracked by Nike's contention that the company famous for its trademark swoosh was protected by the First Amendment, which upholds the right to free speech. "We now have the opportunity to go to trial to determine if Nike's comments were true or not," Kasky said. "It could have been resolved very quickly five years ago by just going to trial. Nike chose instead to seek protection under the First Amendment." Kasky maintains there is evidence, despite Nike's past descriptions of its workplaces in south-east Asia, that workers still endure deplorable conditions. "This is on behalf of the consumers of California who make decisions in part based on what's in a product, where it's manufactured, and the conditions of where it's manufactured," Kasky said. Kasky is the interim executive director of the NTC Foundation, an organisation that is converting the former Naval Training Center in San Diego into space for non-profits. He said he would review the high court decision with his lawyer next week.
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BMW may start building more cars in US: Newspaper
Frankfurt: Germany's BMW may start building more cars in the United States, the head of the group's sales and marketing told a newspaper on Friday, a move that would reduce the firm's exposure to currency fluctuations. BMW currently produces around 150,000 Z4 roadster and X5 sports utility vehicles each year at its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where it has invested almost $2 billion since it broke ground at the facility over a decade ago. "I can imagine us also producing other models at Spartanburg in the long term," Michael Ganal, board member responsible for sales and marketing, told the Financial Times Deutschland. BMW said in May the United States had become its largest market for the first time, but unlike some other automakers, it has not seen profits hit by the recent strength of the euro because it is fully hedged for this year and two thirds hedged for 2004. Analysts worry that in the longer term the company could suffer from a strong euro, which makes cars produced in Europe more expensive in the US, if it does not increase production in the dollar area. The company has planning permission to double its capacity at Spartanburg, which currently accounts for around 13 per cent of its global output, as it strives to increase its annual sales by around 40 per cent to 1.4 million vehicles by 2008.
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NY Community Bank buys rival for $1.6 bn
New York: New York Community Bancorp Inc., which has 110 banking offices in the New York City metropolitan area, agreed to buy Roslyn Bancorp Inc. in an all-stock deal worth about $1.58 billion, the banks said on Friday. The merger will create one of the largest New York-based community banks and is expected to close in the fourth quarter, pending shareholder and regulatory approval. It will help New York Community expand in New York City and Long Island. New York Community is based in Westbury, New York, and Roslyn in nearby Jericho. The combined bank will have about $20 billion of assets and 145 banking offices in New York City; Long Island; Westchester County, New York; and New Jersey, with about $11.3 billion of deposits. Roslyn shareholders will receive 0.75 shares of New York Community common stock in exchange for each share of Roslyn stock as of the merger date, the banks said. The transaction values each Roslyn share at $20.33, a 2.5 per cent discount to the shares' Thursday closing price on the Nasdaq of $20.85.
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Nike shares fall by almost 6 pc
New York: Shares of Nike Inc., the world's largest maker of sports shoes, fell nearly 6 per cent on Friday after it reported weak US orders and a major Wall Street brokerage downgraded the stock. The stock was down $3.25 at $53.68 in morning New York Stock Exchange trading. Merrill Lynch analyst Virginia Genereux downgraded the shares to "neutral" from "buy." In a research note, she said the stock was no longer undervalued and Nike's excess levels of inventory are hindering its growth prospects. Genereux also said Nike's relationship with top US athletic shoe retailer Foot Locker Inc. doesn't appear to be improving and may lead to more bad news. The two companies are disputing the number of high-end Nike shoes Foot Locker sells. Genereux also downgraded Foot Locker's stock to "neutral" from "buy." Foot Locker shares slid 24 cents to $13.26 on New York Stock Exchange.
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Strikes halt Volkswagen Golf production
Berlin: Automaker Volkswagen halted production of the mainstay Golf model at its main factory on Friday after strikes for a shorter work week at its eastern German plants dried up the supply of parts. Union and employer negotiators planned to resume talks later on Friday on ending nearly four weeks of walkouts. Volkswagen will produce 2,000 less Golf and Lupo cars a day as a result of the halt in Wolfsburg, in western Germany, spokesman Peter Schlelein said. Production had been stopped at least until Monday, Schlelein said. Germany's largest automaker is the second to halt production in the west as a result of the IG Metall union's strike in the formerly Communist east, following a similar move by BMW earlier this week. IG Metall, which represents workers in the manufacturing, steel and electronics industries, has made automakers and their suppliers a prominent target of its campaign for a 35-hour work week in eastern Germany.
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