BUSINESS IN BRIEF
A.T. Cross plans move
10/25/2003
Pen maker A.T. Cross is moving its production to China in the next three years, to take advantage of cheaper labor costs and help the company reverse the losses of recent years. A.T. Cross has been in Rhode Island for more than 150 years. Three hundred jobs will be eliminated by the move, saving the Lincoln, R.I., firm $5 million to $7 million annually, chief financial officer John Ruggieri said. In July, the firm said it was moving some operations abroad that would eliminate 140 jobs this year and next. (AP)
Biogen drug seen effective
Biogen Inc.'s psoriasis drug, Amevive, is effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis in combination with the old-line therapy of methotrexate, according to a small study to be presented Monday at a scientific conference. However, the Cambridge biotechnology firm said it has no immediate plans to throw its hat into the multibillion-dollar market for rheumatoid arthritis drugs. That market is dominated by Amgen Inc.'s Enbrel, which racked up $920 million in sales in the first nine months of this year. (Dow Jones)
THE NATION
Wal-Mart to review staff
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it will review all of its workers and fire any who are illegally employed, after a federal immigration sweep that resulted in the arrest of 245 employees. Wal-Mart, the largest private employer in the United States, has 1.1 million US workers. Investigators said they gathered recordings from wiretaps that suggest Wal-Mart executives knew the company's subcontractors used illegal workers. Though contract cleaning crews were the focus of Thursday's sweep, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman said that Wal-Mart employees at stores in Arizona and Kentucky were among those arrested. (AP)
Microsoft settlement woes
A key element of the antitrust settlement Microsoft Corp. negotiated with the US Justice Department isn't working as effectively as was hoped. The criticism comes weeks before a federal appeals court considers tougher sanctions against the world's largest software firm. US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly urged government lawyers during a hearing to find out why only nine firms have paid Microsoft to license its Windows technology for their software products. The licensing requirement was considered central, since it would prevent Microsoft from locking out rivals who were developing competing products. (AP)
GMAC unit suitor seen
Deutsche Bank AG is in talks to buy the commercial mortgage finance business of General Motors Corp. for as much as $2 billion, people familiar with the matter said. The unit, GMAC Commercial Holding Corp., has $12 billion of assets and earned $225 million last year, said GM spokesman Jerry Dubrowski. Finance companies typically sell for 10 times the previous year's earnings, which would mean it's worth $2.25 billion, said Kevin Tynan, an analyst at Argus Research. (Bloomberg)
Anti-spam law victory
California won its first anti-spam judgment when a court fined a marketing firm $2 million for sending out millions of unsolicited e-mails telling people how to spam. State Attorney General Bill Lockyer brought the case against PW Marketing of Los Angeles County and its owners, Paul Willis and Claudia Griffin, in 2002 under a 1998 state anti-spam law. The law was strengthened last month to make it easier to sue spammers. (Reuters)
Cable fees outrun inflation
Cable TV rate increases are outpacing the rate of inflation, but inroads made by satellite television providers and some competition between cable companies are helping to counteract the upward spiral, a government study reported. The report, prepared by the General Accounting Office, cited a 34 percent increase in the cost of programming as the primary culprit for the increases in the monthly bills that consumers pay. Cable operators, who have long pointed the finger at soaring programming costs, said that the study validates their claims. (Newsday)
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