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<< Previous   of   Next >> Associated Press  (click to enlarge) A woman holds the new Apple iPod Nano during a product announcement in San Francisco on Tuesday.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Apple unveils new Nanos, other iPods Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs took the wraps off a revamped line of iPods on Tuesday and trumpeted a truce with NBC Universal that means the TV network will begin selling programs again on iTunes. The iPod upgrades Jobs revealed Tuesday in a theater in San Francisco include two slick new Nano models, MP3 players that Jobs said are the thinnest iPods ever. They are less than a quarter-inch thick. A $149 version comes with 8 gigabytes of memory (enough for 2,000 songs); a 16-gigabyte version (which holds 4,000 songs) is $199. Lender offers free credit monitoring Countrywide Financial Corp. is offering two years of free credit monitoring to customers whose sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers, allegedly was stolen from the home lender's computers. In one of the largest data-theft cases in years, a former Countrywide employee was arrested Aug. 1 and charged with illegally accessing the company's computers for more than two years. McDonald's food popular overseas Overseas consumers spent more at McDonald's Corp. in August, leading the nation's No. 1 hamburger chain to surprise investors by posting a big rise in global same-store sales Tuesday. The chain said its worldwide same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, jumped 8.5 percent during the month. Same-store sales are a key indicator of restaurant performance since they measure growth at existing locations rather than newly opened ones. The increase follows a rise in global same-store sales of 8 percent in July and compares to a boost of 8.1 percent in August last year. Airbus explains cuts to unions Airbus presented new cost-cutting measures to unions Tuesday as part of parent company EADS' plan to seek an additional $1.42 billion in savings starting in 2010. In a bid to compensate for the euro's rise against the dollar and improve competitiveness, EADS Chief Executive Louis Gallois wants to expand production in the dollar zone or in areas where labor is cheap. He has promised the plans will not involve any additional job losses in Europe. Having failed to sell production sites in France and Germany as part of its original restructuring plans, Airbus has decided to accept a plan floated by one of the firms it sought to sell the sites to. Washington papers offer buyouts Three McClatchy-owned newspapers in the state are asking some employees to accept staff-reduction buyouts as the papers cut costs because of declining revenue. It's the second round of cuts in three months at The Olympian, The News Tribune of Tacoma and the Tri-City Herald in Kennewick. From Herald news services READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

1. Shot ends search for man sought in killing of Seattle police officer 2. Thousands honor slain Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton 3. No charge will be filed in death of Everett pedestrian 4. Rain, thunderstorms forecast for lowlands 5. Bothell steamrolls Stanwood 6. PREP FOOTBALL/SWIMMING ROUNDUP: Halfback pass for touchdown sparks Sultan win 7. More jibba-jabba 8. Obama OK's homebuyer tax credit 9. Suspect identified in Seattle police killing 10. Dana nibbles into Somers’ lead 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

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