Nacchio's sentence and fine trimmed A federal judge on Thursday cut former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio's insider trading sentence by two months and reduced the amount of money he must forfeit by $7.4 million. Nacchio was convicted of selling $52 million in Qwest Communications International Inc. stock in 2001 based on nonpublic information that Qwest was in danger of missing its sales forecasts that year. Nacchio originally was sentenced in 2007 to six years in prison, and he was ordered to forfeit $52 million and pay a $19 million fine, but the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that the sentence should be recalculated to focus on how much of Nacchio's profits actually came from having insider information.
Sony nears a deal with video website Hulu Sony Corp. is close to an agreement to carry a paid TV service from Hulu LLC on its PlayStation 3 video-game console, two people with knowledge of the talks said. The partnership could be announced as soon as next week, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the arrangement hasn't been made public. PlayStation 3 owners who register for the console's free Web service, the PlayStation Network, will be able to subscribe to a planned Hulu pay service, giving them on-demand access to current prime-time television shows from NBC, Fox and ABC, the people said. Hulu is also in talks to put the service on Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox, Reuters reported previously. The website plans a $9.95 a month subscription service, the Los Angeles Times reported previously.
Pair of Mississippi River locks closed Two locks on the upper Mississippi River near Canton, Mo., have been closed because of high water, halting barge traffic. Three barge towing vessels are waiting to pass through the locks, which may reopen in three to four days, depending on water levels, Lieutenant Rob McCaskey of the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday in a telephone interview. Lock 20 was shut June 22 and Lock 22 was closed late Wednesday, according to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers report. A total of 514 barges had passed through Lock 20 since June 17, transporting 42,100 tons of coal, 62,261 tons of chemicals and 384,490 tons of farm products, the Corps of Engineers reported.
Research in Motion reports 20% rise in profit BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. posted a 20 percent jump in profit for the most recent quarter, but the company's revenue and subscriber growth disappointed investors. The company's stock dropped $2.68, or 4.6 percent, to $55.90 in extended trading Thursday after closing down 1.8 percent before the release of results. The Canadian company said its net income was $768.9 million, or $1.38 per share, in the fiscal first quarter, which ended May 29. That's up from $643 million, or $1.12 per share, a year earlier. Analysts expected $1.34 per share. Revenue rose 24 percent to $4.24 billion, short of the $4.35 billion expected by analysts.
Sports Illustrated now offers an iPad app Sports Illustrated is the latest magazine to take app form on Apple's iPad. Its application landed in the iTunes store Thursday, with high-definition videos, extra photographs and even an eight-minute mini documentary. The magazine business is crowding onto Apple's new gadget for the chance to win new readers and ad dollars. Still, it's a largely unproven concept. Will readers pay $4.99 -- same as the regular newsstand price -- to download each weekly issue when the free Sports Illustrated website is available on the same device? Will advertisers bite? The medium provides some technological leaps that the printed magazine can't do. As readers scroll through the magazine they can pull up a menu to get updated sports stats, e-mail a story, or share it on Facebook and Twitter.
Sales and Sun help Oracle earnings shine Oracle Corp.'s net income jumped 25 percent in the most recent quarter as CEO Larry Ellison trumpeted momentum in the company's efforts to sell computer hardware and in its showdown with IBM Corp. The results, reported Thursday, were helped by stronger sales of database and other business software and a bump from its acquisition of Sun Microsystems. Oracle's net income was $2.36 billion, or 46 cents per share, in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended May 31. That compares with $1.89 billion, or 38 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue jumped 39 percent to $9.51 billion, from $6.86 billion, matching analysts' average forecasts.
Japan still in grip of deflation Japan says consumer prices fell for a 15th straight month in May as deflation kept its grip on the world's second biggest economy. The core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food, fell 1.2 percent from a year earlier.
FROM NEWS SERVICES
