Two more San Diego fire declared fully contained
Two more fires in San Diego County were declared 100% contained today, the latest good news for Southern California as it enters its second week dealing with an outbreak of wildfires that has destroyed more than half a million acres across seven counties.
Cooler, moist air gave firefighters a break overnight and there was hope of further progress today through the region.

Merrill Lynch's CEO To Step Down Amid Board Pressure

Stan O’Neal was poised to step down as chief executive of Merrill Lynch on Sunday, making him the biggest casualty of the recent credit market turmoil.
A number of the Wall Street bank’s directors had lost confidence in his leadership, rendering his position untenable, according to people close to the situation.
Merrill shocked investors last week by revealing losses of almost $8bn in its mortgage-backed securities business, nearly double the figure it estimated less than three weeks ago.

Oracle lets BEA Bid Die
Oracle Corp. let its unsolicited $17-a-share takeover proposal for BEA Systems Inc. expire yesterday as scheduled, and it invited BEA's shareholders to confront the company if they were unhappy with the result.
The move nods to the potential for a clash between BEA and agitated investors. It followed the call Friday by billionaire Carl Icahn to let BEA's shareholders decide whether to accept Oracle's takeover offer. Mr. Icahn, BEA's largest shareholder, also called for an auction to sell the business-management-software company.

Lehman's march across Asia gains pace
Analysts looking for signs of how Asia’s business landscape is developing need look no further than the changes afoot at Lehman Brothers’ operations in the region.
Even though Lehman's Asia headquarter is based in Tokyo, it is fast expanding its footprint to compete for business in faster-growing financial centres such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Mumbai and Sydney.

Mexico shutting 600,000 bpd oil output due cold front
Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex was shutting down about one-fifth of its daily output on Sunday due to bad weather, but said it expects to quickly resume output within days.
U.S. crude oil futures jumped as much as 1 percent to a record high $92.79 a barrel on news of the outage, which traders fear could put further strain on winter fuel supplies in the United States, Mexico's main customer.

Xstrata Makes a Bid for Australia's Jubilee
Anglo-Swiss mining titan Xstrata PLC, one of the world's largest nickel producer, announced a friendly offer of three billion Australian dollars (US$2.75 billion) for nickel miner Jubilee Mines NL.The deal, marking Xstrata's first move into nickel mining in Australia, comes as the world's biggest miners hunt the globe for new sources of minerals to feed voracious global commodities markets.

GAP Admits Possible Child Labor Problem
The multi-billion dollar global fashion company Gap has admitted that it may have unknowingly used child labor in the production of a line of children's clothing in India.
ABC News obtained some of the video material he used to substantiate his story. It shows children who appeared to be between the ages of 10 and 13, stitching embroidered shirts in a crowded, dimly lit work-room. The video clearly shows a Gap label on the back of each garment.

Fed likely to cut rates
The Federal Open Market Committee meeting and the first estimate for third-quarter growth aren't even the main events on the economic calendar for the week. That honor would go to the October payroll report, which will be released on Friday.

Google ready ring in changes in mobile sector
Google is on a mission to shake up the mobile communications industry, but it does not plan to change the world single-handedly and promises to “play nice” with the industry’s existing powers. That was the message last week from senior executives of the internet search and advertising company as they prepare to unveil one of Google’s most important strategic initiatives for the next few years. One part of the plan, rumoured for months and expected within weeks, is a Google-designed software-and-services “platform” for mobile phones designed to support a wide range of handsets.

Argentina's first lady wins presidency:polls
First lady Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner swept to victory in Argentina's presidential vote on Sunday to become the first woman elected to lead the country, television exit polls showed.
Polls aired by several television channels showed Fernandez, a center-leftist senator, with 42 percent to 46 percent of the vote, well ahead of her nearest rival, former lawmaker Elisa Carrio with 23 percent to 25 percent.



Nintendo raised its profit forecast twice
Nintendo, maker of the Wii game player, raised its profit forecast Thursday for a second time after the console outsold Sony's PlayStation 3. Net income for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008, will rise 58 percent to a record 275 billion yen, or $2.4 billion, the Kyoto, Japan-based company said. That compares with a July projection of 245 billion yen and the 273.4 billion yen average of 19 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

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This entry was posted by David Choi, on Sunday, October 28, 2007. You can leave your response.