Apple touts card-size iPod, cellphone that runs iTunes
Apple Computer Inc. introduced a phone with Cingular that runs its iTunes music software and a new iPod nano music player that is the size of a business card.
Chief executive Steve Jobs wants fresh products such as the silver iTunes phone, built by Motorola Inc., and new designs such as the nano to parlay demand for the iPod into new areas and to expand sales from iTunes.
Apple, which made its name selling Mac intosh computers, derives more than a third of its sales from iPod and iTunes products.
Apple’s nano, available in white or black, weighs 1.5 ounces and has a 14-hour rechargeable battery, Jobs said. A 2-gigabyte version sells for $199; a 4-gigabyte version, which can store up to 1,000 songs or up to 25,000 color photographs, is $249.
Until the iTunes phone, the iPod was the only portable device that worked with Apple’s iTunes store. Apple is counting on the mobile service to persuade customers to buy a dedicated music player. The iTunes phone, which holds 100 songs, costs $250 with a two-year Cingular contract.
DENVER
10 of 18 economic indicators move up
Ten of 18 economic indicators for the metro area are moving on a positive track, according to a report released Thursday by the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp.
Retail sales in metro Denver were up 4.4 percent through June compared with the first six months of last year, with Adams, Douglas and Boulder counties enjoying the largest gains.
Vacancies for apartments, office space and industrial space all moved lower, as did the pace of foreclosures.
On the negative side, multifamily building permits tumbled 39.2 percent for the year, and home sales through August are down 2 percent over last year.
The job picture was slightly negative as the metro area lost 8,000 positions during June and July, the bulk being teachers going on summer break.
NEW YORK
Judge lets Ebbers stay free while he appeals
A judge ruled Wednesday that former WorldCom chief executive Bernard Ebbers can stay out of prison while he appeals his conviction for leading an $11 billion accounting fraud – a process that could take more than a year. Ebbers, 63, had been due to report to a Louisiana prison on Oct. 12 to begin serving a 25-year sentence.
In her decision, U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones rejected arguments by prosecutors that Ebbers failed to meet the legal standard of raising a “substantial question of law” that could result in a reversal or reduction of his sentence.
MINNEAPOLIS
Northwest toughens stand on mechanics
Northwest Airlines Corp. will resume talks with striking mechanics today and demand steeper cuts than those that prompted the workers to walk out.
The announcement by both sides Wednesday came one day after Northwest told the union it would begin hiring permanent replacements by Tuesday unless a deal is reached.
McLEAN, Va.
Capital One pays less for Louisiana bank
Capital One Financial Corp. has renegotiated its acquisition of Louisiana’s largest bank to account for the impact of Hurricane Katrina, reducing its offer for Hibernia Corp. by about 9 percent to $5 billion and delaying the closing of the deal by at least a month.
Capital One had been slated to close on its $5.35 billion acquisition of New Orleans-based Hibernia on Wednesday, but the companies said Wednesday morning that Capital One would now pay $5 billion for the bank and that the transaction would not be completed until some time in the fourth quarter.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.
Vioxx maker moves to bar trial broadcast
Merck & Co., the third-largest U.S. drugmaker, asked a New Jersey judge to bar the media from televising the trial of a postal worker’s claims that the painkiller Vioxx caused his heart attack.
Merck’s lawyers contend in court papers that broadcasting the trial of Frederick Humeston’s lawsuit will make it difficult for the drugmaker to get a fair hearing.
Merck took Vioxx off the market in September 2004 after it was linked to an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.
DENVER
Frontier reports Aug. traffic, capacity up
Frontier Airlines’ planes were 77.5 percent full on average in August, up from 73.6 percent a year earlier. The airline also reported Wednesday that its capacity, or available seat miles, increased 4.2 percent, while traffic, or revenue passenger miles increased 9.7 percent.
Separately, Frontier said it plans to freeze pay for certain executives.
LOS ANGELES
Northrop teams to bid for military plane
Northrop Grumman Corp. said Wednesday it will team up with the parent of European aircraftmaker Airbus to bid for a contract to build a new refueling plane for the U.S. military.
The joint venture pits Northrop and the North American unit of the European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. against Chicago-based Boeing Co.
WASHINGTON
Geico, Google settle suit over Net ads
Geico Corp., the auto insurer owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and Google Inc. settled a lawsuit Geico filed over the placement of competitors’ advertisements next to Internet search results for its name.
Terms of the settlement agreement are confidential, Washington-based Geico said Wednesday in a statement. Jonathan Shafner, the company’s senior counsel, declined to comment beyond the statement.
FORT COLLINS
Two top execs at newspaper resign
The top two executives at Gannett Co.-owned Fort Collins Coloradoan resigned Wednesday.
Dorothy Bland, publisher for 11 years, and Michael Limon, executive editor for the past three years, resigned Wednesday morning, Gannett spokeswoman Tara Connell said, declining to release details.
Neither Bland or Limon could be reached for comment. City editor Pat Ferrier will serve as interim executive editor.
