After losing out in the battle to define the high-definition successor of the DVD, Toshiba Corp. has turned its attention to the next best thing: the DVD. Tuesday, the Japanese electronics company released a new DVD player that it says does more than previous models to improve the look of DVDs on high-definition TVs. The XD-E500 will sell for a suggested price of $149.99, twice as much as regular “upconverting” players, which also improve the look of a DVD, but it is less than half the price of a Blu-ray player.
Design guru leaves Chrysler
Chrysler LLC says the design chief responsible for the success of the Dodge Challenger, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Dodge Viper and Dodge Ram is retiring at month’s end. The 63-year-old Trevor Creed is senior vice president for design at Chrysler, a company he joined in 1985 from Ford Motor Co. Chrysler chief Robert Nardelli says Creed “played a key leadership role” in the development of a number of vehicles.
Builders optimistic over home sales
Homebuilders are a little more optimistic about the prospects for home sales over the next six months, but an index reflecting the sector’s confidence overall remained at an all-time low, an industry trade association said Monday. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index remained unchanged this month at 16, where it’s been since July. But benchmarks for sales improved: The gauge of current sales conditions climbed one point to 16, while an index of builders’ sales expectations over the next six months rose by two points to 25.
Economic coverage spotty, too late
Media coverage of the economic downturn in the U.S. has lagged behind both economic activity and public interest, according to a study being released Monday by a Washington, D.C.-based research group. The Project for Excellence in Journalism analyzed more than 5,000 economic stories in 2007 and the first half of 2008. The stories, by 48 different news outlets, were delivered by cable news channels, network television, radio, newspapers and the Internet. The study found that reliance on government data to track the economy is leading to scattershot coverage that, at times, lags months behind actual economic conditions.
T-bill rates fall in Monday auction
The Treasury Department auctioned three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.85 percent, down from 1.87 percent last week. Six-month bills were auctioned at a discount rate of 1.98 percent, down from 2.02 percent last week. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,953.24, while a six-month bill sold for $9,899.90. That would equal an annualized rate of 1.885 percent for the three-month bills, and 2.028 percent for the six-month bills. Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, fell to 2.18 percent last week from 2.23 percent the previous week.
From Herald news services
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