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AP Business NewsBrief at 1:15 p.m. EST
(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) FTC accuses Intel of stifling competition in chipsNEW YORK (AP) _ The Federal Trade Commission sued Intel Corp. on Wednesday, looking to block pricing deals and other tactics the government said the world's biggest chip maker has used to snuff out competition. The FTC said Intel, which makes the microprocessors that run personal computers, has shut rivals out of the marketplace. In the process, the FTC said, Intel has deprived consumers of choice and stifled innovation in the chip industry.
Microsoft to let Europeans pick browser in EU dealBRUSSELS (AP) _ More than 100 million Europeans will get to pick a Web browser after Microsoft agreed to offer Internet users a choice to avoid fresh fines _ a move that could represent a real thawing of long-standing tensions between the software company and the European Union. The deal announced Wednesday ends all current antitrust charges brought by European Union regulators. Beginning in March, Microsoft Corp. will provide a pop-up screen to all European users of its Windows operating system, asking them to choose one or more of five major browsers _ including Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Mozilla's Firefox, Google Inc.'s Chrome and Apple Inc.'s Safari _ and seven smaller rivals.
Stocks rise on benign reading for consumer pricesNEW YORK (AP) _ A benign reading on consumer inflation boosted stocks and Treasurys Wednesday as concerns eased that the Federal Reserve will be forced to raise interest rates. Consumer prices excluding food and energy were flat in November, signaling that inflation isn't working its way into the economy. It was the first time that "core" inflation was unchanged after 10 monthly increases.
Weak economy caps inflation as housing starts riseWASHINGTON (AP) _ The economy is weak enough to keep inflation in check but strong enough to increase the pace of home construction and raise hopes for a sustained recovery. That was the picture sketched Wednesday by government data showing an economy growing, however slowly.
SEC backs broader disclosure on executive payWASHINGTON (AP) _ Federal regulators voted Wednesday to require companies to reveal more information about how they pay their top executives amid a public outcry over compensation. The Securities and Exchange Commission voted 4-to-1 to expand the disclosure requirements for public companies.
Flight attendant's call caught pilots unawareWASHINGTON (AP) _ A single call from a flight attendant to the pilots of the Northwest Airlines plane that overshot Minneapolis catapulted the cockpit crew from complacency to chaos. Interviews with the flight crew and other documents released Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board indicate the pilots were completely unaware of their predicament until the moment the intercom rang. They were unaware that they had flown their Airbus A320 with 144 passenger more than 100 miles past their destination, that air traffic controllers and their airline's dispatchers had been struggling to reach them for more than an hour, or that the military was at that moment readying fighter jets for an intercept mission.
UK holiday travelers face strike chaosLONDON (AP) _ More than a million people faced travel chaos over the Christmas and New Year's holidays as baggage handlers and check-in staff at Heathrow and Aberdeen airports announced strikes in tandem with work stoppages by British Airways cabin crews. BA applied for an emergency court injunction on Wednesday to stop the 12-day strike by its workers, due to start Tuesday, and also held last-ditch talks with union leaders.
Credit Suisse Group to pay $536M in Iran caseWASHINGTON (AP) _ Credit Suisse Group has agreed to pay $536 million to settle a Justice Department probe and admit to violating U.S. economic sanctions by hiding the booming illegal business it was doing for Iranian banks. The settlement papers were filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington.
Callers of all incomes ditching landlines for cellWASHINGTON (AP) _ The number of households with cell phones but no landlines continues to grow, but the recession doesn't seem to be forcing poor cellular users to abandon their traditional wired phones any faster than higher-income people are. The finding, from data compiled by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggests that when it comes to telephone habits, peoples' decisions are affected more by age and where they live than by their economic situations.
Fed to strike upbeat note on economyWASHINGTON (AP) _ Focused on keeping the recovery going and driving down double-digit unemployment, the Federal Reserve is poised to leave interest rates at a record low. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues resumed a two-day meeeting Wednesday. At the end of the meeting this afternoon, the Fed will likely to strike an upbeat note about the progress the economy is making. But they'll also caution that now is not the time to be complacent against risks.
(c) 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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