Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigns after Democrats' victory
Washington: Democrats have taken control of the US House of Representatives and could win the Senate as well. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigns.

The Democrats, who gained about 30 seats to seize control of the House have also won the contested seat of Virginia's Sen. George Allen, an incumbent whose narrow race over Democrat James Webb had come down to within thousands of votes, may have lost. The new AP count showed Webb with a lead of 7,236 votes over Allen.

Allen, who has refused to concede defeat, said in a statement on Wednesday night he planned to make a statement after the conclusion of the final vote count.

On Wednesday, Rumsfeld resigned after heavy Republican election losses and Democrats applauded the move calling for "a fresh start" on a new war policy.
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Cisco reports better than expected results
New York: With Internet traffic growth boosting orders for network equipment, Cisco Systems Inc. has reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and has given a strong outlook on Wednesday. The company's shares rose 7.5 per cent on the result. Scientific Atlanta, the cable set-top box maker acquired by Cisco in February, also showed strong sales growth.

Cisco's fiscal first-quarter revenue rose 25 per cent to $8.2 billion, with Scientific Atlanta contributing $584 million. First-quarter profit before special items rose to $1.9 billion, or 31 cents per share, from $1.6 billion, or 25 cents per share, a year ago. That was more than the average analyst forecast of 29 cents per share.

Cisco's chief Executive John Chambers said he expected second-quarter revenue growth of 24 percent to 25 per cent over a year ago, or 14 per cent to 15 per cent growth excluding Scientific Atlanta. The market consensus forecast had been for second-quarter revenue growth of about 21 percent.
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Big Corus shareholders encash holdings
Big shareholders of Corus Group Plc including AllianceBernstein LP and Barclays Plc have sold their shares in the Anglo-Dutch company, raising doubts about a counteroffer to Tata Steel's $8 billion takeover.

Barclays has reduced its holding to 4.7 pc from 6.4 pc while AllianceBernstein has cut its stake from 5.2 pc to 0.9 pc. Jupiter Asset Management and TT International have also sold stock. Standard Life, Corus' biggest shareholder says the $8 bn Tata deal undervalues Corus and has called for a higher bid.

Shares Corus have dropped 2.7 pc since October 20, when Tata Steel made its offer of 455 pence a share but remained unchanged at 465.75 pence at 10:23 a.m. in London after trading at 461.75 pence, the lowest since October 5. The four-week share decline has edged Tata Steel closer to pulling off corporate India's biggest deal ever.
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