BUSINESS BRIEFS
Chinese unfazed by move to raise fuel prices 18%
Associated Press
SHANGHAI, China — Chinese motorists, long accustomed to cheap gas, seemed to take in stride a government decision to boost fuel prices yesterday by as much as 18 percent.
While higher prices for China's state-controlled fuel will squeeze consumers at both gas stations and grocery stores, analysts say it is unlikely to make an immediate or huge dent in the country's hunger for oil.
China's economy is booming, and people are buying cars and air conditioners as their incomes grow. There is huge demand in a country of 1.3 billion, where per capita energy consumption remains far below western nations.
The silver lining is that with the government increasing prices, refiners may finally boost production of gasoline, diesel and other refined products, helping to alleviate long lines at gas stations and a widespread fuel shortage.
STEEL PIPE MAKERS WIN IMPORT RULING
WASHINGTON — U.S. steel pipe manufacturers, who have been battling a surge in imports from China, won a major victory yesterday when the International Trade Commission cleared the way for the imposition of stiff penalty tariffs for the next five years.
The commission voted 5-0 that the U.S. industry was being harmed by the import of circular steel pipe. It marked the first time a U.S. industry has won a decision to impose tariffs on a Chinese product based on the argument that the Chinese government was unfairly subsidizing a Chinese industry.
The commission ruling means penalty tariffs ranging from 99 percent to 701 percent will be imposed on Chinese imports of circular welded pipe, a form of pipe used in a variety of construction jobs, such as home plumbing and sprinkler systems.
For more than two decades, the U.S. government had refused to consider subsidy cases against the Chinese government because China was classified as a nonmarket economy.
CONTINENTAL AIR OFFERING BUYOUTS
DALLAS — Continental Airlines Inc., which is shedding 3,000 jobs in a cost-cutting move, is offering employees a year's worth of health insurance and travel perks if they leave on their own.
The pilots' union is pushing for job-sharing and other measures that would reduce the need for layoffs, a union official said yesterday.
Continental announced this month it would cut about 6.5 percent of its workforce and reduce capacity as it tries to deal with rising fuel prices. The Houston-based company lost $80 million in the first quarter.
"We are offering all of our work groups voluntary plans to reduce the number of involuntary furloughs and terminations that will be required due to capacity cuts," said Continental spokeswoman Mary Clark.
Continental has made an umbrella offer to all labor groups that includes the health benefits and free travel privileges for employees and families until 2023. The offer was extended to employees who have worked at the airline at least 10 years.
MICROSOFT TO PAY IN PATENT DISPUTE
SEATTLE — A U.S. District Court judge in San Diego ruled that Microsoft Corp. must pay Alcatel-Lucent $511.6 million for infringing on two patents, marking the latest move in a 5-year-old patent scuffle between the two companies.
In April, a jury awarded Paris-based Alcatel-Lucent $357.7 million in damages from Microsoft after a trial in U.S. District Court. The jury had found that the world's largest software maker infringed on an Alcatel patent that covers how software users select a calendar date from a menu in certain programs, including Microsoft Outlook and Windows Mobile.
The jury also awarded Alcatel-Lucent $10.4 million from Microsoft after finding the software maker infringed on an patent related to the use of a stylus on a tablet computer. Judge Marilyn L. Huff denied Microsoft's request that she reconsider those findings, and she raised the amount of damages due to Alcatel-Lucent.
