The Federal Communications Commission has granted Boeing Co. a license to provide high-speed Internet access on airplane flights, paving the way for the company’s planned in-flight Internet service, Connexion by Boeing. The license gives Boeing permission to offer high-speed connections so passengers can use the Web, watch television or check e-mail while flying over the United States. Still, the future of Boeing’s Connexion service remains unclear. Last month, Boeing’s three partners in the venture – American, Delta and United airlines – suspended plans to introduce Connexion by mid-2002, citing the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
President Bush granted China permanent normal trade status Thursday, ending a quarter-century policy of using access to U.S. markets as an annual enticement to the communist giant to expand political and economic freedoms. The president’s decision made a final act to yearly battles in Congress since 1980 that at times divided the Democratic Party during the Clinton years. It was set up by China’s admission last month to the World Trade Organization. The new trade status takes effect Jan. 1.
Momentum toward a hefty 6 percent cut in OPEC crude production increased Thursday when several of the cartel’s oil ministers endorsed the move despite disappointment at smaller than expected cuts from non-OPEC producers. Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, Ali Naimi, said he was certain OPEC will trim its official output by 1.5 million barrels a day in an effort to bolster faltering prices. The cuts are likely to take effect Jan. 1 and last for six months.
Sears, Roebuck and Co. has agreed to pay the government $62.6 million to settle allegations it advertised and sold DieHard auto batteries in 1994-95 as the nation’s “longest-lasting” even after it learned some had defects. The settlement was announced Thursday by the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based retailer and the U.S. attorney for southern Illinois, ending a more than two-year investigation into the batteries made by Sears supplier Exide Technologies.
In a landmark ruling, a South Korean court has ordered 10 executives from Samsung Electronics Co. to pay $73.5 million back to the company for mismanaging its affairs. The decision handed down Thursday marked the first time that South Korean business executives were held legally responsible for mismanagement, which has caused serious financial losses to South Korean companies and shareholders.
From Herald news services
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