BUSINESS BRIEFS
Talks begin on new contract for dockworkers
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Labor negotiators for dockworkers and some of the world's biggest shipping lines open talks today on a new contract with the aim of avoiding the kind of bitter dispute that paralyzed West Coast ports for 10 days in 2002.
With 14 weeks to go before the current agreement expires, this marks the earliest start yet for contract talks between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association, both based in San Francisco.
The nation's retailers are likely to be looking for any positive signal given the weakness of the U.S. economy and the key role that the 29 West Coast ports play in international trade. The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, the nation's largest cargo complex, account for 40 percent of U.S. cargo container traffic.
MICROSOFT TO USE ADOBE SOFTWARE
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Microsoft Corp. has licensed Adobe's software for viewing online videos and other files on cell phones, the companies said today.
Microsoft will distribute Flash Lite and Reader programs from Adobe Systems Inc. to cell phone makers who use its Windows Mobile software.
Flash also allows users to interact with more Web sites. It's the software behind most shopping sites where you can view an item in different colors or try out house paint colors on a virtual home.
AIR FRANCE-KLM BUYS ALITALIA
MILAN, Italy — Alitalia's board yesterday unanimously accepted Air France-KLM's bid valued at $1.1 billion in a move to save the struggling national carrier.
The Air France-KLM offer values the airline at $216 million, far less than expected, based on a share swap of one Air France share for every 160 Alitalia shares. The Franco-Dutch carrier also said it would pay $946 million for convertible shares. The Franco-Dutch carrier said it would inject $1.56 billion in capital once the deal is complete.
Alitalia's board issued a statement accepting the offer after a marathon meeting that went some 16 hours into early yesterday. Air France said it was "happy" with Alitalia's decision.
OUTAGE SHUTS IRAQ OIL REFINERY
BAGHDAD — A brief power outage idled Iraq's largest oil refinery yesterday, an official with the nation's oil ministry said. The disruption lasted five hours and was the third major production stoppage since January at the facility in Beiji, about 155 miles north of Baghdad.
The ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information to the media, said the refinery would return to normal production in a day.
With the two other main refineries, Iraq is producing roughly half the 700,000 barrels per day of refined oil products that it maintained before the U.S. invasion in 2003.
The nation, which has the world's third-largest known crude oil reserves, has been forced to import oil from neighboring Iran, Kuwait and Turkey.
HBO'S STRAUSS STEPPING DOWN
NEW YORK — HBO confirmed yesterday that Carolyn Strauss, the network's entertainment president, is leaving her post after 22 years at the premium cable channel, where she helped develop programs such as "The Sopranos" and "Six Feet Under" and foster an environment that attracted top-notch creative talent.
Strauss is in discussions about taking on a new role with HBO, likely in the form of a producing deal, a source familiar with the talks said.
Colleagues who talked to Strauss last weekend about the move said she did not elaborate on the reasons for making the shift. But in the past few years, HBO has struggled to maintain its standing as a top purveyor of culturally resonant hits with the conclusion of popular fare such as "The Sopranos," "Six Feet Under" and "Sex and the City," all programs that she helped nurture.
