FROM WIRE REPORTS
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Article Last Updated: Friday, February 28, 2003 - 7:08:06 AM PST
Crude oil prices retreat Crude oil fell after traders who use charts, graphs and other technical tools to make decisions sold contracts after prices failed to surpass $40 a barrel. As prices fell, the U.N. Security Council met to discuss a resolution presented by the U.S. and the U.K. that says Iraq has missed its last opportunity to disarm, paving the way for a U.S.-led invasion. Prices have soared 39 percent in the past three months as a strike cut oil exports from Venezuela and the U.S. threatened to attack Iraq Crude oil for April delivery fell 50 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $37.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil rose to $39.99 a barrel during the session, the highest price since Oct. 12, 1990, when Iraq's occupation of Kuwait led to the cutoff of exports from both nations.
Comcast losses shrink Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp., the Bay Area's cable provider, posted a narrower fourth-quarter loss in its first report since buying AT&T Broadband. The company raised a 2003 profit estimate and said it expected to stop losing subscribers this year. The net loss shrank to $51 million, or 3 cents a share, from $321 million, or 34 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 11 percent to $5.73 billion. The results were reported as if the acquisition had been completed in January 2001 instead of November. Chief Executive Officer Brian Roberts has pledged to make the former AT&T cable systems profitable by trimming costs and stemming subscriber losses.
Lucent says SEC probe over New Jersey-based Lucent Technologies Inc., the biggest U.S. maker of telephone equipment, said it settled an SEC probe of $679 million in improperly recorded sales. Lucent doesn't have to pay any penalties or restate results, and the company agreed to abide by federal-securities laws. The SEC began its investigation of Lucent after the company reported the misstated revenue to regulators in late 2000, Lucent Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Patricia Russo said. At issue was the initial booking of $679 million in sales and later adjustment of fiscal 2000 revenue to exclude that amount after customers returned some unused equipment.
IBM to fire workers IBM Corp., the world's largest computer maker, is firing some employees in its U.S. software and services units as the company seeks to match worker skills with customer needs. Less than half of one percent of workers in the units is being fired, spokesman James Sciales said. The services business has 180,000 workers and there are 35,000 in software, Sciales said. IBM is rebalancing its workforce to ensure workers have the skills customers want, Sciales said. Chief Executive Samuel Palmisano has been trying to revive sales by adding products and service offerings. Services, bolstered by the October purchase of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP's consulting unit, helped boost fourth- quarter sales 7 percent to $23.7 billion.
'Grand Theft' pays off New York-based Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. said first-quarter profit rose 45 percent because of higher revenue from the best-selling video game series "Grand Theft Auto." It raised sales and profit forecasts for the year. Net income in the quarter ended Jan. 31 increased to $50.5 million, or $1.20 a share, from $34.8 million, or 92 cents, a year earlier, the company said. The results exceeded company forecasts from December, driven by the popular sequel "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City." "Vice City," in which players can listen to Judas Priest and other 1980s pop music while running missions for drug lords, was the best-selling video game in the U.S. last year and has sold 8.5 million copies.
Novell sees slumping numbers Utah-based Novell Inc., a maker of software for managing computer networks, said it had a first- quarter loss on higher marketing costs and as sales declined 6.4 percent amid a slump in demand for business software. The net loss in the quarter ended Jan. 31 was $11.9 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with net income of $8.4 million, or 2 cents, a year earlier, Novell said. Sales fell to $260 million from $277.9 million. Novell has been expanding into new products to make up for slowing sales of its NetWare operating system software, which lost market share to Microsoft Corp.'s Windows programs in the 1990s.
Kmart executive to cooperate Kmart Corp., the bankrupt retailer seeking to exit Chapter 11 by the end of April, said the former head of its supply chain has agreed to cooperate with an investigation into the company's former management. Anthony D'Onofrio will testify and provide any documents he may have related to the investigation in return for Kmart dropping a request that he be held in contempt, according to a filing with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Illinois. Kmart said it filed seven subpoenas over several months to try to get D'Onofrio to cooperate with an investigation into the previous management and its accounting practices. Two former Kmart vice presidents were indicted yesterday on U.S. charges they overstated revenue in the first criminal case stemming from the retailer's bankruptcy.