BUSINESS BRIEFS
HawTel granted new deadline
Advertiser Staff and News Services
A state deadline to decide whether Hawai'i's major phone company can offer TV services has been delayed until Nov. 17.
The original deadline was Thursday. Hawaiian Telcom requested the extension.
Hawaiian Telcom is seeking a cable franchise license from the state, which would give the company the right to offer video service in Honolulu over its phone lines in competition with Time Warner Oceanic Cable. The state Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs is reviewing the company's application.
Hawaiian Telcom spokeswoman Ann Nishida said that for competitive reasons the company would not discuss how the later deadline affects plans to launch the Internet-based TV service by year's end.
OIL PRICES DROP TO 11-MONTH LOW
NEW YORK — Oil prices fell to an 11-month low below $57 a barrel yesterday, in a sign of the market's doubts about OPEC's willingness to carry out a 4 percent production cut.
The pledge to curb output by 1.2 million barrels a day, announced after an emergency meeting in Doha, Qatar, came after oil prices had fallen by roughly $20 since a mid-July peak above $78 a barrel. Some oil-cartel members warned output could be trimmed further in December.
But many analysts believe the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will have difficulty enforcing the production cut because oil prices are still twice as high as they were just three years ago.
CATERPILLAR SHARES TUMBLE
PEORIA, Ill. — Caterpillar Inc. called an anticipated sales slowdown in 2007 a pause, not the end of a sales surge that has doubled revenues since 2002. Wall Street wasn't so sure and sent the heavy equipment maker's shares tumbling yesterday.
Some analysts said the 14 percent slide in stock price was a market overreaction to a gloomy forecast that overshadowed record third-quarter profits and revenue for the heavy equipment maker.
Caterpillar's third-quarter profit rose 15 percent, but the results were below analysts' expectations. The company also sharply reduced its forecast for the full year and said it expects a slowdown in 2007.
SONY POSTPONES PRODUCT ROLLOUT
TOKYO — In yet another embarrassment, Sony yesterday postponed the rollout of a product promised for next week to do more tests, a day after lowering its earnings forecast because of a massive battery recall and manufacturing delays.
Japan's trade minister said he was worried about Sony Corp.'s technological capabilities, as Sony shares dipped in Tokyo trading, falling 0.8 percent to close at $40.
The shares have lost about half their value in the last five years as Sony lost out in competition against rivals.
