India and EU join the steel wars — warn France
Brussels: India's commerce minister, Kamal Nath, launched an open attack yesterday on French politicians who have been trying to scuttle a £13bn takeover of Arcelor, the European steel maker, by the Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal.

Kamal Nath dropped unmistakable hints that the move against Mittal Steel could likely trigger a trade war between the two countries. Nath's comments have been made even as world trade negotiations are currently hanging on a knife-edge.

Joining Nath, in issuing a veiled warning to the French and Luxembourg, was Peter Mandelson, the EU trade commissioner, who made it clear that any Commission inquiry into the deal would be decided on competition grounds alone.

Speaking after a bilateral EU/India meeting, Nath said: "India is watching closely this issue of the takeover of Arcelor by Mittal and the comments being made and reaction by the French government on this…India has a good relationship with France - but we are watching this situation with concern."

Nath contrasted the French reaction to the takeover move with India's decision to approve the takeovers of some of its cement operations by Lafarge of France.

Asked whether this would impede negotiations to open up countries such as India to foreign investment, he said: "We are talking about globalisation and investment access so there should be nothing that negates that or is a contradiction to that."

Mittal Steel, which made its hostile offer for Arcelor last week, seeks to create a giant controlling 10 per cent of the world's steel production. The combined company, with 320,000 workers in four continents - of whom 32,000 are in France and Luxembourg - would pour three times more steel than its closest rival.

Mandelson said he had spoken with Mittal on Tuesday. "If and when the issue is referred to the Commission we will determine it to see if it contravenes European competition rules. We will determine it on its commercial and not its political merits - and not the personal views of the individuals concerned."

Mittal's hostile bid for Arcelor has evoked a chorus of hostile comments from European politicians. Jean-Claude Juncker, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, which has a 5.6 per cent stake in Arcelor, said: "This hostile bid by Mittal calls for a reaction that is at least as hostile." François Loos, the French industry minister, told MPs: "We have an industrial policy. We are opposed to this Mittal takeover." On Tuesday, Dominique de Villepin, the French Prime Minister, called the bid a "problem" because it included "no industrial project". The finance minister Thierry Breton said he had never seen such a "badly prepared" bid.

A visibly angry Nath said, "We have brought to Peter Mandelson's notice our concerns over the comments emanating from the governments."

After the India/EU bilateral talks, Nath and Mandelson said they had made progress on industrial tariffs and services, two of the key issues in the World Trade Organisation negotiations. Mandelson said: "I think that we are both somewhat more encouraged by what can be achieved in this round than I, certainly, have been in the past."
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Time Warner posts 20 per cent growth in Q4 profits
New York, USA: Time Warner has announced 20 per cent growth in Q4 profits, prompting the chairman of the world's largest media company, Dick Parsons, to declare that no one could run the company better than the current management.

Parsons is fending off an attempted boardroom coup from veteran corporate raider Carl Icahn, who controls 3 per cent of Time Warner. Icahn has been pressing for the removal of the directors and a possible break-up of the company.

Parsons meanwhile insisted that the Time Warner board was "very confident" about the health of the company, which owns the Warner Bros film studios, AOL, CNN and Time Inc. "No one can run these businesses better than the current management is running them." Time Warner's share price would reflect this "over time".

Parsons also said that Time Warner will take advantage of its depressed stock price by "doubling the pace" of its share buyback over the next three months. The company has already bought US$3bn worth of stock, as part of a US$12.5bn buyback plan.

Strong performances in the cable and film divisions underpinned the US$2.9bn profit Time Warner made in the last quarter of 2005. Revenues grew 7% to US$11.9bn. Over the full year revenues increased 4% to US$43.7bn, and operating profits rose 8% to US$10.7bn. Net debt remained static at US$16bn, while free cashflow increased to US$4.4bn. Time Warner predicted operating income would grow in "the high single digits" for the 2006 full year from a base of US$10.3bn, in line with market expectations.
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Research In Motion wins ruling on BlackBerry patent
Washington, USA: A preliminary ruling from the U.S. patent office has gone in favour of Research In Motion Ltd. With the patent office issuing a "non-final'' ruling that the BlackBerry patent, owned by NTP Inc. of Arlington, Virginia, didn't cover a new invention and should be canceled.

Research In Motion argues that questions about the validity of patents for the BlackBerry service mean the system shouldn't be shut down in the U.S. A court order, meanwhile, is pending that might stop the service and deprive most of 3.2 million U.S. customers of the device, including Wall Street executives and members of Congress.

The US Justice Department, also got into the act through a filing in a Richmond, Virginia, federal court, seeking to delay any shutdown of the system until a hearing can be held on how to implement it without affecting government services.

Research In Motion has said in a statement that the patent office decision was ``comparable to a final office action.'' The decision ``maintains the outright and complete rejection'' of the patent, including elements that were found to be infringed, Research In Motion said in its statement.

``In all of the Patent Office rulings to date relating to the reexamination of all eight of the NTP patents, NTP's arguments on the merits of patentability have been rejected by the Patent Office,'' Research In Motion said.

NTP, which is contesting RIM's claims to the patents, meanwhile, has thirty days to respond to the provisional ruling. NTP has said that a final rejection by the office can be appealed. The patent office has issued preliminary rejections of all five NTP patents that cover the BlackBerry system.

On Feb. 24 a judge will hear arguments on whether sales and service of the BlackBerry should be shut down in the U.S., taking into account arguments made today by the government and the companies.
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GM to build hybrid transmissions for SUVs
White Marsh, USA: General Motors Corp. has announced a US$115mn investment in a Baltimore-area plant to build transmissions for hybrid gasoline-electric SUVs.

GM said that the new transmissions are the first for hybrid passenger vehicles that will be designed and developed in the United States. Currently, most of the hybrid vehicles sold in the United States are imported from Asia.

GM said that the investment will create up to 87 new jobs at the plant. Production of 40,000 hybrid transmissions will begin in the fourth quarter of 2007. The transmissions will be used on hybrid versions of GM's Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon full-size SUVs to go on sale late next year.

DaimlerChrysler, which has partnered with GM on hybrid development, will also use the transmission on a Chrysler Group SUV, GM said.
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