Redmond, Wash. – Microsoft, striving to make its Xbox video-game unit profitable, said “Halo 3” brought in $300 million in revenue over its first week, becoming the fastest- selling video game.
More than 2.7 million people played the alien-shooting title online in the first week, Microsoft said. The world’s biggest software maker released “Halo 3” worldwide Sept. 25.
Sales of the Xbox 360 more than doubled compared with the weekly average before the debut of “Halo 3,” Microsoft said. That may help the company narrow the gap with Nintendo Co.’s Wii system, which has outsold the Xbox 360 in the U.S. since at least January, according to researcher NPD Group Inc.
CIBC World Markets’ Brad Reback said the $300 million was at the high end of the range he estimated. Bloomberg News
Arsenal keeps keen eye on Kroenke's stake
London – Arsenal’s board met with Denver sports mogul Stan Kroenke for the first time after Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov increased his stake in the soccer club. Kroenke bought 12 percent of the club in April and initially faced hostility from board members who feared a foreign takeover.
Kroenke, a real-estate developer who owns the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Avalanche and the Colorado Rapids, visited Arsenal on Wednesday.
“A positive meeting was held,” he said Thursday.
Kroenke, also a co-owner of the St. Louis Rams, was expected to make a bid for Arsenal when he invested in the north London club, but the size of his stake has been dwarfed by that acquired recently by Usmanov.
Chairman Peter Hill-Wood and other directors have said they want the club to avoid following Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea into foreign ownership, suggesting their meeting with Kroenke may have been an effort to dissuade him from selling to Usmanov. The Associated Press
Campbell’s soup recall includes Colo.
Camden, N.J. – Campbell Soup Co. recalled 72,300 cans of soup because they may contain pieces of hard plastic that pose a choking hazard.
The company recalled 18.8- ounce cans of “Campbell’s Chunky” Baked Potato with Cheddar & Bacon Bits sold in 24 states, including Colorado. Three consumers have reported minor injuries in and around the mouth, none in Colorado.
The cans are coded “JUL 08 2009 BZ 07097.” Consumers can return the product to the store of purchase for exchange or refund, or contact Campbell at 888-453-3868.
Slow job growth seen for Larimer, Weld
Fort Collins – Roughly 4,000 new jobs will be added in Larimer and Weld counties in 2008, a Colorado State University economist said Thursday.
The small boost, about 1.9 percent, will come from a variety of industries, including the manufacturing sector, said Martin Shields, a regional economist.
He also forecasts moderate growth in 2009 and 2010, with about 5,500 jobs added each year.
The service industry is the fastest-growing in the area, and accounts for about 61 percent of the new jobs in Larimer and Weld counties since 2001. But higher-paying industries, like health care and scientific and technical services, also are expected to add jobs in 2008, Shields told about 300 industry leaders at a conference in Fort Collins.
Frontier’s planes fuller in September. Frontier Airlines planes were 77.9 percent full in September, up significantly from 67.6 percent the previous year. During that period, Frontier increased its capacity measured by available seat miles by 9.4 percent, while traffic measured by revenue passenger miles grew 26 percent. Meanwhile, Frontier’s passenger yield, a measure of airline financial performance, fell 5.7 percent in September, compared with a year ago.
Airlines win appeal in blood-clot case
San Francisco – UAL Corp.’s United Air Lines Inc., Continental Airlines Inc., and seven other carriers won an appeals court ruling upholding the dismissal of passenger claims that airlines failed to warn about the risk of blood clots.
A federal appeals panel in San Francisco ordered a lower court judge to reconsider related claims that the defendants’ planes provide inadequate legroom that caused the clots.
The appeals court agreed with the lower court that any duty under state law to warn passengers about the risk of developing deep vein thrombosis, or blood clots, is preempted by the Federal Aviation Act of 1958.
The other airline defendants are AMR Corp.’s American Airlines Inc., Spirit Airlines Inc., JetBlue Airways Corp., Southwest Airlines Co. and US Airways Group Inc.’s America West Airlines Inc. and U.S. Airways Inc.
St. Mary Land closes energy deal. St. Mary Land & Exploration Co. said it has closed its previously announced $153 million acquisition of oil-and-gas properties in South Texas from Tulsa, Okla.-based Rockford Energy Partners II LLC.
Boeing posts Sept. sales gain
Chicago – Boeing Co. said Thursday it delivered 9 percent more commercial airplanes in the third quarter than a year ago, with the single-aisle 737 model accounting for three-quarters of the total.
The Chicago-based company delivered 109 planes in the period, up from 100 a year earlier. That pushed its total for the year to 329 and keeps it roughly on pace to reach its full-year estimate of 440 to 445.
