Apple Computer Q3 profits down 41%
San Jose: Apple Computer's third-quarter profits fell by 41 per cent though revenues rose enough to beat Wall Street's earnings expectations. For the three months ended June 28, Cupertino-based Apple on Wednesday said it earned $19 million, or 5 cents per share, compared with a profit of $32 million, or 9 cents per share, in the same period last year. Revenue for the quarter was $1.5 billion, up 8 per cent from $1.43 billion a year ago.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had projected earnings of 3 cents a share on revenue of $1.49 billion. Apple officials attributed the increase in revenue — the highest level in 11 quarters — to robust sales of laptops and the iPod portable music player. Also, sales in the education market, a traditional stronghold for Apple, bucked industry analyst predictions and rose 5 percent from the previous year, said Fred Anderson, Apple's chief financial officer. Apple said it shipped 770,000 Macintosh computers in the quarter. Before it released earnings, Apple shares rose 26 cents to close at $19.87 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. In the extended session, shares increased another 36 cents.
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EU fines Yamaha $2.85 million for fixing prices
Brussels: The European Commission on Wednesday fined Japanese musical instruments manufacturer Yamaha Corp $2.85 million on Wednesday for fixing prices for pianos, guitars and oboes, agency reports say. The EU's executive office said that Yamaha's business practices in the 15-nation bloc violated EU competition rules.It said that Yamaha's practices of dividing the European market and fixing resale prices also included obliging dealers to purchase and sell Yamaha products exclusively. Yamaha also forced dealers to seek prior approval before selling its instruments on the Internet, the commission said.

The countries where the unlawful practices applied included Germany, Italy, France, Austria, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark and Iceland. While the infringement was deemed serious, the Commission said that the restrictions applied only to a limited number of dealers and products and were not implemented in full. A company found in breach of EU rules can be fined up to 10 per cent of its global annual turnover. But the fine imposed was relatively small because Yamaha took steps to end the restrictions and redesign its distribution system in Europe "as soon as the commission intervened," the statement said. Yamaha produces traditional and electronic musical instruments such as pianos, electronic organs, guitars, saxophones and violins. It reported a fiscal year 2002-03 net profit of 17.95 billion yen ($151.6 million) on sales of 524.76 billion yen ($4.43 billion).
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Boeing to abandon commercial satellite launch
Chicago: Boeing, already pummeled by the commercial aviation downturn, has said it will take a $1.1 billion charge for its ailing satellite business in the second quarter and abandon its largest commercial satellite launches for five years, reports say. The company said that the decision reflected higher launch costs and weakened demand for some of its launches and its satellite-making business.

Chief executive Phil Condit, explaining the decision to analysts on a conference call, cited a "terrible marketplace" along with some technology and performance problems. Boeing will now focus exclusively on the US military as a customer for its Delta IV satellite launches, which will significantly raise its costs. In addition to Delta IV, Boeing's newest programme, the company also launches smaller satellites through the Delta II and the ocean going SeaLaunch system, both of which still will be available for commercial launches. The announcement culminates several years of struggles at Boeing's California-based satellite operations, the weak link in its expanding and otherwise prosperous defense and space business.
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Midwest Airlines tries hard to avoid bankruptcy
Milwaukee: Midwest Airlines won concessions from its labour unions and continued negotiating with banks and aircraft leasing companies in a bid to avoid bankruptcy, new agencies report. Midwest executives said last month that the company would be forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection without concessions from its 11 aircraft lessors and three labour unions. Carol Skornicka, Midwest's senior vice-president and general counsel, declined to comment late on Tuesday on the negotiations. The labour groups ratified the new contracts in voting that concluded on Tuesday.

Flight attendants approved the measure by 72 per cent of voting union members. The deal includes changes in work rules, productivity and wage cuts. In return, attendants will participate in a profit sharing and stock option plan, the Association of Flight Attendants said in a statement. Jerome Schnedorf, chairman of the Air Line Pilots Association's Midwest unit, said that the deal with the 275 Midwest pilots would save the airline $30 million over the next five years. He said that the concessions did not involve furloughs, but did give the airline more favourable work schedules, sick leave and vacation policies, he said.
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Massachusetts haunts Microsoft still
Boston: The Justice Department and 19 states have made peace with Microsoft Corp over its antitrust violations, a newspaper report said. But Massachusetts is still on the company's case. Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly is the lone public-sector holdout who has refused to settle with the Redmond, Washington-based software giant over allegations that it attempted to crush competitors with its monopolistic acts. Reilly said that he was defending consumers and his state's 3,000 software companies. But some consider the Attorney General's heel-digging on Microsoft expensive folly, maybe even political grandstanding.

"There's a rule for the nation and there's the Massachusetts rule," said Eric Green, a Boston University law professor who mediated the 2001 settlement talks between Microsoft and several states. Massachusetts was invited to the talks, he said, but was the only party that was never serious about settling. Reilly's predecessor, Scott Harshbarger, was in office when Massachusetts joined the suit against Microsoft in 1998. But when West Virginia dropped out last month, accepting $19.7 million in vouchers for hardware and software, Reilly still refused to budge. His office was expected to file briefs by Wednesday with a Washington DC, federal appeals court supporting Massachusetts' case that the settlement between Microsoft and the Justice Department was not tough enough on the company.
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