(See ITA notice for more information, including the scope of the investigation. See ITT's Online Archives or 01/29/04 news, 04012940 for BP summary of the preliminary affirmative AD duty determination on subject merchandise from China.)

The voting may have ended last week, but Europe’s telecom sector won’t know for some time how it fared in the election of members of the European Parliament (MEPs). While the balance of power in the EP remained essentially static, the greatest unknown is the makeup of the various committees that deal with telecom and Internet issues. The impact of the loss of several key privacy and digital rights supporters is also unclear.

(a) If the exporter is not a firm covered in this review, a prior review, or the original investigation, but the manufacturer is, the AD cash deposit rate will be the rate established for the most recent period for the manufacturer of the merchandise.

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a fact sheet announcing its preliminary affirmative antidumping (AD) duty determination for wooden bedroom furniture from China (A-570-890).

¹ new shipper review; bonding will no longer be permitted to fulfill AD security requirements

In its first full week available, Warner’s Oscar-winning drama Mystic River was the #1-rented DVD in the U.S., Rentrak’s preliminary Home Video Essentials data for the week ended June 13 showed Thurs. Rentrak said the title earned $7.29 million on DVD in the week for a total of $7.38 million to date. Last week’s #1 DVD -- Monster from Blockbuster’s DEJ label -- slipped to #3, earning an additional $4.32 million on DVD for a total of $9.90 million to date. The only other new DVD in the top 10 chart was Universal’s comedy Along Came Polly at #2 ($6.57 million in the week and $6.69 million to date).

Take-Two Interactive’s Red Dead Revolver for PS2 was again the #1-rented videogame in the U.S., according to Rentrak’s preliminary Home Video Essentials data for the week ended June 13. Rentrak said the title earned an additional $233,145 in its 6th week, for $1.56 million to date. The Xbox version of the game was again #5 ($129,776 in the week, $925,264 to date). Electronic Arts (EA) and Sony Computer Entertainment also each had 2 SKUs in the top 10. EA’s -- both for PS2 -- were again Need for Speed Underground at #6 (down 2 in its 30th week, $127,711 in the week, $8.50 million to date) and James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing at #10 again in its 17th week ($105,469, $3.38 million to date). Sony’s -- also both for PS2 -- were Syphon Filter: Omega Strain at #7 (down one in its 6th week, $122,502, $893,513 to date) and MLB 2005 at #9 (up 12 in its 13th week, $106,738, $1.18 million to date). There was one other Xbox title in the top 10: Vivendi Universal Games’s The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay at #4 (up 4 in its 2nd week, $136,760, $289,970 to date). The only other title in the top 10 that wasn’t for PS2 was Activision’s Shrek 2 for GameCube at #8 (up 5 in its 6th week, $110,981, $591,205 to date). PS2 titles that rounded out the top 10 were Midway’s NBA Ballers at #2 again in its 10th week ($171,197, $2.41 million to date) and Eidos’s Hitman: Contracts at #3 again in its 8th week ($153,354, $2 million to date).

¹ The ITA previously stated that all four producers are affiliated.

(a) For previously reviewed or investigated companies not listed above (including Bedini as both exporter and producer)¹, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-specific rate published for the most recent period.

Take-Two Interactive revealed more details of its purchase of handheld game developer Mobius Entertainment (CED April 9 p8) in a 10-Q SEC filing. Take-Two said the purchase price was about $4.58 million -- $3.69 million in cash and a payment of $887,000 due in March 2005. It said that, in connection with the acquisition, it recorded goodwill of $4.78 million on a preliminary basis and it was “in the process of completing the purchase price allocation.” Take-Two said it “also agreed to make additional contingent payments” of about $1.95 million “based on delivery of products, which will be recorded as additional purchase price when the conditions requiring their payment are met.” It said the pro forma impact of the acquisition for fiscal 2003 and 2004 “was not material.” Take- Two noted that Mobius was developing content for Sony’s upcoming PSP handheld game system. Separately, rival THQ said in a 10-K SEC filing that Wal-Mart was its #1 retail customer last year, represented 19% of its gross sales. It said Toys “R” Us representing 7% of sales, adding that its 10 largest customers accounted for 54% of sales vs. 60% a year ago. Other major retail accounts for THQ last year included Best Buy, Electronics Boutique, GameStop, KB Toys and Target. The publisher said that as of March 31, it had 796 full-time employees -- 609 of them in the U.S., 59 in the U.K., 56 in Germany, 21 in France, 45 in Australia, 4 in Korea and 2 in Singapore. THQ also said it now had games in development for the upcoming “Nintendo DS” dual- screen and Sony PSP handheld game systems “and will launch them when the platforms are released.”