Повторно възпроизвеждане на четвъртък, 9 февруари 2006 г.

World Business Briefing | Europe: Britain: BG Raises Production Targets As Profit Doubles

Date: 10 February 2006

By Bloomberg News

Bloomberg News

The BG Group, Britain's third-largest oil and gas company, raised production targets and increased its dividend after fourth-quarter earnings almost doubled. Net income climbed 96 percent, to £463 million ($810 million), or 13 pence a share, BG said yesterday in a Regulatory News Service statement. Frank Chapman, BG's chief executive, said production would rise as much as 10 percent a year through 2012 as it expands with projects from Kazakhstan to Trinidad.

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World Business Briefing | Asia: Japan: Central Bank Governor Sees Price Gains

Date: 10 February 2006

By Bloomberg News

Bloomberg News

Toshihiko Fukui, the head of Japan's central bank, said core consumer prices would show clear gains in January and after, signaling that the bank is getting closer to ending its policy of pumping cash into the economy and holding rates near zero. Mr. Fukui made his remarks to reporters in Tokyo. The bank's board decided earlier to keep the target for reserves made available to lenders at 30 trillion yen ($252 billion) to 35 trillion yen, six times the level in March 2001.

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Profit at Aetna Increased 41% in 4th Quarter

Date: 10 February 2006

By Bloomberg News

Bloomberg News

Aetna, one of the nation's largest health insurance providers, said yesterday that its fourth-quarter profit rose 41 percent as it added customers and held down costs. The company also raised its earnings estimates, and its shares rose $3.15, or 3.3 percent, to $99.27.

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World Business Briefing | Europe: Italy: Eni Sees Gas Crisis If Cold Weather Continues

Date: 10 February 2006

By Bloomberg News

Bloomberg News

Italy's gas shortages will reach crisis levels if cold temperatures persist, reducing strategic reserves to historically low levels, the head of Italy's biggest gas and oil company, Eni, said. Another 15 days of cold weather will turn Italy's gas situation into a ''red alert,'' Eni's chief executive, Paolo Scaroni, told journalists from Il Messaggero, which published his comments yesterday. Gianni di Giovanni, a company spokesman, confirmed the remarks. Eni, based in Rome, said almost 4 percent of the gas it requested in January from Gazprom of Russia was not delivered.

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Inventory Data Hint at Good Sales Outlook

Date: 10 February 2006

By Bloomberg News

Bloomberg News

Wholesale inventories increased in December and the number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose less than forecast last week, suggesting that companies were gearing up for improving sales. The Commerce Department reported yesterday that inventories at wholesalers rose 1 percent, the most since January 2005 and twice as much as a month earlier. Economists had expected a 0.5 percent increase.

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South Koreans Visit Intel With Questions

Date: 10 February 2006

By Bloomberg News

Bloomberg News

South Korean regulators have questioned some of Intel's employees as part of an investigation of its marketing and rebate programs, the company said yesterday. Officers from the Korea Fair Trade Commission were following up on an investigation begun in June when the agency requested documents related to local marketing practices, Chuck Mulloy, a spokesman for Intel, said.

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National Briefing | Science And Health: Study On Warming

Date: 10 February 2006

By Bloomberg News

Bloomberg News

The increase in temperatures in the 20th century was the greatest and most widespread warming in the past 1,200 years, according to a study in the journal Science. The researchers, at the University of East Anglia in England drew that conclusion by analyzing climate data from sources like tree rings, fossil shells and ice core records at 14 locations around the world.

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Fed Plans 2-Day Meeting

Date: 09 February 2006

By Bloomberg News

Bloomberg News

The Federal Reserve said the next meeting of its interest-rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee will last two days, March 27 and 28, to allow more time for the new Fed chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, to confer with the panel. The meeting, which had been scheduled for March 28, will start the afternoon of March 27 and continue the next day, the Fed said yesterday.

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Rosier Technology Outlook Fuels Broad Market Gains

Date: 09 February 2006

By Bloomberg News

Bloomberg News

Stocks gained yesterday after a sales forecast from Cisco Systems suggested that the profit outlook for technology companies might be improving. Falling oil prices, as well as advances in PepsiCo and Pfizer, helped support the market's rise. PepsiCo said fourth-quarter sales beat analysts' estimates and Pfizer announced that it might sell or spin off its consumer health unit.

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News Summary

Date: 10 February 2006

INTERNATIONAL A3-12 Ex-President Takes Lead In Haiti Election Returns Unofficial presidential electoral results in Haiti appeared to give an early lead to René Préval, a former president who has captured the support of the country's desperately poor masses. A1 Putin Weighs Hamas Meeting President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, pulling away from an American and European policy, said he was considering inviting the newly victorious leaders of the radical Palestinian Islamic group Hamas to Moscow to discuss solutions to the conflict in the Middle East. A12 Sectarian Strife Mars Holy Day Sectarian violence exploded in Pakistan and Afghanistan during processions by Shiite Muslim worshipers observing the holy day of Ashura. A total of 37 people were killed. A6 Iraq Hungry for Internet Access Internet cafes and companies that install wireless networks and satellite dishes are thriving in Baghdad, as the desire to get online has made computer and Web services among the few bright spots in Iraq's stagnant economy. A12 Dane Sees Greed in Crises Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen of Denmark said attempts by European companies in the Middle East to disassociate themselves from Denmark or Danish products were ''disgraceful.'' A9 Journalists at Risk in Mexico Recent attacks against journalists in Mexico, a country known as one of the most dangerous places to practice journalism, has prompted President Vicente Fox to appoint a special federal prosecutor to investigate crimes against the press. A6 NATIONAL A14-22 Administraion Alerted To Flooding, Report Says Congressional investigators have learned that the Bush administration was alerted to broken levees and flooding in New Orleans just hours after their collapse. A1 For months, Michael D. Brown, the former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has declined to answer questions from Congress about his conversations during Hurricane Katrina with top Bush administration officials. But in an interview, he said that his position had changed. A16 Right Uneasy As Election Nears Heading into a midterm Congressional election, conservative leaders face internal rifts over polarizing issues and are dogged by a sense that a Republican Congress and president are not taking the nation in the right direction on some critical matters, party leaders said. A18 Church Fires Investigated As investigators examine the nine church fires that spread across rural Alabama, the evidence they find suggests that those behind the arsons were local people or frequent-enough visitors to be able to find their targets, which were secluded. A14 Accord on Patriot Act Reached Four recalcitrant Senate Republicans said that they had reached agreement with the White House on the broad antiterrorism law known as the USA Patriot Act, and two leading Democrats said they would now support the bill. A14 Race Riots in California Jails Days of rioting have left one inmate dead and dozens injured at Los Angeles County jails as blacks and Latinos have taken their conflicts from the streets to behind bars.A20 NEW YORK/REGION B1-7 Immigration Gatekeepers Said to Be Going Overboard Low-level gatekeepers and prosecutors in the customs and immigration system are continuing their heavy-handed treatment of travelers who pose no security risk, including a second grader in Manhattan, immigration lawyers say. A1 Parents and Mayor At Odds The Chancellor's Parent Advisory Council, a citywide group of parent leaders, voted narrowly to boycott the administration's annual trip to Albany to lobby for the city schools. It was the sharpest blow yet to Mayor Bloomberg's efforts to woo the parents of city schoolchildren. B1 FASHION B8 WEEKEND E1-32; E33-44 Oprah on Satellite Radio XM Satellite Radio announced that it had signed Oprah Winfrey to a three-year, $55 million deal to create a channel called Oprah & Friends for its pay service. E2 ESCAPES F1-12 OBITUARIES A23 SPORTSFRIDAY D1-7 Olympic Torch Changes Course Protestors in Turin, Italy, generated enough concern that Olympic organizers, for the third time in recent days, diverted the path of the torch relay to avoid them. D1 BUSINESS DAY C1-14 Choosing Your Cable Channels The Federal Communications Commission has released a report stating that the average consumer watches only 17 cable channels and would save as much as 13 percent on their cable bills if they could buy only the channels they want. C1 AIG Settles Fraud Case American International Group has reached a $1.64 billion settlement with federal and state securities and insurance regulators after admitting that it had participated in bid-rigging schemes as well as other various illegal activities. C1 Business Digest C2 EDITORIAL A24-25 Editorials: Still shortchanging the troops; voting rights under siege; the cleanup continues; Carolyn Curiel on undocumented laborers and buried truths. Columns: Paul Krugman, Thomas L. Friedman. Crossword E42 Public Lives B2 TV Listings E31 Weather D8

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