Nintendo Wii debuts, fans line up for consoles
Nintendo's new Wii video game console debuted on Sunday. There were hundreds of fans camped out in front of the stores.At the Times Square Toys "R" Us store in New York, a line snaked around the block, with more than 1,000 customers dying to purchase the Nintendo Wii.
At midnight, Isaiah "Triforce" Johnson, 29, purchased the first Wii as Toys "R" Us employees cheered and Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime helped ring up the sale.
"I just had to get it first," said Johnson, who was dressed in a black leather Nintendo coat and "Legend of Zelda" sweatshirt. He immediately took the Wii out of its box and had Fils-Aime autograph it. The Nintendo Wii launch came two days after the Play Station 3. Along with the already available Xbox 360.
Nintendo hopes to expand the traditionally male video game audience by attracting new players. They have already started this phenomenon by lowering the price of this amazing device.Nintendo priced the Wii at $250, compared with the $600 premium PS3 and the $400 top-end Xbox 360. There is also the Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. Ltd., which created video game characters Super Mario and Donkey Kong, it has hooked girls and older people with its "Nintendogs" pet training games and its "Brain Age" fitness title. The device offers touch-screen and voice recognition capabilities that allow users to "pet" and speak commands to their dog or to write and speak answers to brain teasers.
URL: CNNMoney.com
Russia's Gref hails WTO accession deal with U.S. as "historic"
On Sunday, Russia's economics minister signed a final protocol on the country's access to the World Trade Organization with the United States. This will help bring it together with the global economy.The agreement was signed by German Gref and U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab. This agreement will help introduce Russia into the world’s largest trade body.
"This is a historic, ultimate step, which heralds Russia's return onto the market track, to equal competition on the world market," Gref told reporters after the signing ceremony. He said Russia will make every effort to protect intellectual property rights. This agreement comes with restrictions on U.S. meat exports and on the access of American companies to the Russian banking and insurance sectors.
"All our actions will be aimed at creating favorable conditions that would ensure maximum protection for copyright holders," he said. Russia has signed a binding blueprint to improve copyright protection and to stop piracy and counterfeiting of foreign goods. It has also agreed to cut customs tariffs on U.S. agricultural and manufactured goods. The U.S., has promised to guarantee the safety of its pork and beef supplies to Russia.Agreements signed with the U.S. along with Russia’s WTO accession allow foreign companies to own up to 100% in Russian banks and to operate on the country's insurance market through local subsidiaries. But it will retain the right to limit direct foreign investment in banking and insurance. Only if the ratio of foreign investment to total investment exceeds 50%.
There are, however, a couple of obstacles. Russia will have to consolidate the bilateral agreements it has signed with 57 WTO countries before it is able to join the trade club. Gref said this could be done by the middle of 2007. Another remaining obstacle is the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment, which tied trade with the former Soviet Union and gave rights to the Jews to emigrate from the country. The Soviet-era trade restrictions will be harder to remove now that the U.S. Democratic Party has won a majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Democratic Party is less flexible with liberalizing trade.
"This is a historic, ultimate step, which heralds Russia's return onto the market track, to equal competition on the world market," Gref told reporters after the signing ceremony. He said Russia will make every effort to protect intellectual property rights. This agreement comes with restrictions on U.S. meat exports and on the access of American companies to the Russian banking and insurance sectors.
"All our actions will be aimed at creating favorable conditions that would ensure maximum protection for copyright holders," he said. Russia has signed a binding blueprint to improve copyright protection and to stop piracy and counterfeiting of foreign goods. It has also agreed to cut customs tariffs on U.S. agricultural and manufactured goods. The U.S., has promised to guarantee the safety of its pork and beef supplies to Russia.Agreements signed with the U.S. along with Russia’s WTO accession allow foreign companies to own up to 100% in Russian banks and to operate on the country's insurance market through local subsidiaries. But it will retain the right to limit direct foreign investment in banking and insurance. Only if the ratio of foreign investment to total investment exceeds 50%.
There are, however, a couple of obstacles. Russia will have to consolidate the bilateral agreements it has signed with 57 WTO countries before it is able to join the trade club. Gref said this could be done by the middle of 2007. Another remaining obstacle is the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment, which tied trade with the former Soviet Union and gave rights to the Jews to emigrate from the country. The Soviet-era trade restrictions will be harder to remove now that the U.S. Democratic Party has won a majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Democratic Party is less flexible with liberalizing trade.
US airlines look for soft landing in bumpy field
The Alchemists that run America’s airlines attempting to turn base metal into gold. US Airways’ bid of almost $9 billion for bankrupt Delta would create the industry’s largest carrier and might be followed by the rumor of United with Continental, and American with bankrupt Northwest. America West filed for bankruptcy protection after the first Gulf war, and avoided a second such filing after September 11 only by arranging a government bail-out. US Airways twice filed for bankruptcy reorganization, in 2002 and 2004.
Alfred Kahn, the former airline- industry regulator who is considered the godfather of airline deregulation, said: "It is ironic ... that what has always been considered the financially weakest of the major carriers [US Airways] is proposing to take over what was once widely believed to be the strongest [Delta]." If the proposed deal does come through the merged airline will have the Delta name with the belief that Delta is a better brand than US Airways.It is Delta’s condition as a bankrupt that makes it attractive to US Airways. Doug Parker, chairman and chief executive of US Airways, says that half of the $1.6 billion savings resulting from the merger would come from using the bankruptcy court to void onerous labor contracts and aircraft leases.
Delta responds that it would emerge from bankruptcy in far better shape as an independent than it would burdened with the problems created by a merger. Gerald Grinstein, Delta’s chief executive plans to use Delta’s Atlanta hub and a cost structure that he says will be 25% below those of Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, and other international carriers.
Meanwhile, the markets are on Parker’s side, with buyers bidding up US Airways’ stock to a 40% premium over the value of the creditors’ claims on Delta. The big question is whether US Airways can deal with four huge obstacles.
The first is Delta boss Grinstein, who plans to step down in a few years, and does not want to exit the company under pressure, and while it is still bankrupt. "The history of mergers in the airline industry is almost always one of failure," he wrote in an e-mail sent to all employees. The antitrust authorities will have to be convinced that consumers will not be harmed by the reduction of competition, especially on East Coast routes. They have approved of the merger of America West and US Airways because the routes of these carriers did not overlap — 50% of the routes of Delta and US Airways do overlap.
Then there are the unions, who know that a good portion of the savings that Parker is talking about will be their money. There is a similar outcome with the bankruptcy court, but would rather deal the court.
Oberstar opposed the United-US Airways merger in 2000, and told the press: "Mergers reduce opportunity for competition and thereby increase costs to travellers." Finally, Parker will have to convince half of Delta’s unsecured creditors, that his offer of cash and stock is better value than sticking with Grinstein and ending up with shares in an independent Delta when it comes out of bankruptcy.
The Alchemists that run America’s airlines attempting to turn base metal into gold. US Airways’ bid of almost $9 billion for bankrupt Delta would create the industry’s largest carrier and might be followed by the rumor of United with Continental, and American with bankrupt Northwest. America West filed for bankruptcy protection after the first Gulf war, and avoided a second such filing after September 11 only by arranging a government bail-out. US Airways twice filed for bankruptcy reorganization, in 2002 and 2004.
Alfred Kahn, the former airline- industry regulator who is considered the godfather of airline deregulation, said: "It is ironic ... that what has always been considered the financially weakest of the major carriers [US Airways] is proposing to take over what was once widely believed to be the strongest [Delta]." If the proposed deal does come through the merged airline will have the Delta name with the belief that Delta is a better brand than US Airways.It is Delta’s condition as a bankrupt that makes it attractive to US Airways. Doug Parker, chairman and chief executive of US Airways, says that half of the $1.6 billion savings resulting from the merger would come from using the bankruptcy court to void onerous labor contracts and aircraft leases.
Delta responds that it would emerge from bankruptcy in far better shape as an independent than it would burdened with the problems created by a merger. Gerald Grinstein, Delta’s chief executive plans to use Delta’s Atlanta hub and a cost structure that he says will be 25% below those of Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, and other international carriers.
Meanwhile, the markets are on Parker’s side, with buyers bidding up US Airways’ stock to a 40% premium over the value of the creditors’ claims on Delta. The big question is whether US Airways can deal with four huge obstacles.
The first is Delta boss Grinstein, who plans to step down in a few years, and does not want to exit the company under pressure, and while it is still bankrupt. "The history of mergers in the airline industry is almost always one of failure," he wrote in an e-mail sent to all employees. The antitrust authorities will have to be convinced that consumers will not be harmed by the reduction of competition, especially on East Coast routes. They have approved of the merger of America West and US Airways because the routes of these carriers did not overlap — 50% of the routes of Delta and US Airways do overlap.
Then there are the unions, who know that a good portion of the savings that Parker is talking about will be their money. There is a similar outcome with the bankruptcy court, but would rather deal the court.
Oberstar opposed the United-US Airways merger in 2000, and told the press: "Mergers reduce opportunity for competition and thereby increase costs to travellers." Finally, Parker will have to convince half of Delta’s unsecured creditors, that his offer of cash and stock is better value than sticking with Grinstein and ending up with shares in an independent Delta when it comes out of bankruptcy.
posted by Julia @ 10:38 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home