BUSINESS BRIEFS
Intel's revenue projected to be off by about $500M
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Even after sharply reducing its outlook for the fourth quarter, Intel Corp. said yesterday it would miss its revenue projection by about $500 million, a sign that PC makers and buyers are being more tightfisted than it seemed only two months ago.
Intel shares closed down 6 percent. Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel, the world's largest chip maker, now says revenue was $8.2 billion for the last three months of 2008, a 23 percent decline from the year-ago period.
Intel shares closed down 93 cents at $14.44 yesterday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
OBAMA TO TACKLE MOUNTING 'RED INK'
WASHINGTON — Pointing with concern to "red ink as far as the eye can see," President-elect Barack Obama pledged yesterday to tackle out-of-control Social Security and Medicare spending and named a special watchdog to clamp down on other federal programs — even as he campaigned anew to spend the largest pile of taxpayer money in history to revive the sinking economy.The steepness of the fiscal mountain he'll face beginning Jan. 20 was underscored by stunning new figures: an estimate that the federal budget deficit will reach $1.2 trillion this year, by far the biggest ever, even without the new stimulus spending.
With less than two weeks to go before taking the helm at the White House, he'll deliver a speech today laying out why he wants Congress to quickly pass his still-evolving economic plan.
CITGO WILL KEEP OIL SHIPMENTS TO U.S.
BOSTON — Citgo, the Venezuelan government's U.S.-based oil subsidiary, reversed course yesterday and said it will continue shipments of heating oil to poor families in the United States.Former U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy, head of the Boston-based nonprofit that distributes the fuel, said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez intervened directly.
Citgo Petroleum CEO Alejandro Granado made the announcement in Boston, saying Citgo had found a way to continue paying for oil shipments.
TIME WARNER LOSS EXPECTED FOR YEAR
NEW YORK — Media company Time Warner Inc. said yesterday it expects a fourth-quarter charge of $25 billion to write down the value of its cable, publishing and AOL assets, leading to a loss for the year.New York-based Time Warner said its results, particularly for its AOL and publishing unit's advertising operations, have been pressured by economic conditions that are more difficult than it initially anticipated.
Time Warner's cable television arm Time Warner Cable Inc. will account for $15 billion of the charge, with the remaining $10 billion related to its publishing and AOL divisions.
PLAN ISSUED FOR MORTGAGE GIANTS
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the best option for the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could be for the mortgage giants to be run like public utilities.In what could be his last speech as Treasury secretary, Paulson said that allowing the two companies to return to their previous operating approach was not an option.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken over by the government in September and placed in a conservatorship after mounting mortgage losses put them in operating distress that was a prelude to the broader financial crisis that hit Wall Street last year.
Under Paulson's proposal, Congress would replace Fannie and Freddie with one or two private-sector entities that would purchase and securitize mortgages with a credit guarantee backed by the federal government.
RULING SPLIT ON BRATZ DOLLS' FUTURE
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A federal judge ruled yesterday that the pouty-lipped Bratz dolls may remain on store shelves through this year, but he left open the possibility that the toys' sales could be shifted from MGA Entertainment Inc. to Mattel Inc. or a court-appointed receiver.The order, filed in U.S. District Court, is a reprieve for Bratz maker MGA, which had been ordered late last year to stop making and selling the dolls.
Mattel sued MGA over Bratz in 2004 and a federal jury found last year that Bratz designer Carter Bryant developed the doll concept while working for Mattel. The same jury later awarded Mattel $10 million for copyright infringement and $90 million for breach of contract.
After the verdict, Mattel sought to block MGA from making the Bratz dolls, and a judge ordered the firm in December to end its sales and destroy all its current product after the holiday season.
