In light of the draft agreement on Mexican tomato imports initialed Feb. 2, the International Trade Administration said it intends to terminate the previous suspension agreement from 2008 and the ongoing sunset review of Mexican tomatoes, and resume the 1996 antidumping duty investigation on fresh tomatoes from Mexico. If the new draft agreement is finalized, then the AD duty investigation would be suspended again, the ITA said.
The International Trade Administration issued the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review of pasta from Italy (A-475-818) for five companies, finding AD rates of zero to 5.11 percent. Granoro had its third consecutive zero or de minimis AD rate, qualifying the company for revocation. The title of the Federal Register notice indicated a revocation in part, but nowhere in the body of the notice did the ITA indicate the AD duty order no longer applies to Granoro. (UPDATE: David Simon, counsel for Granoro, confirmed that the AD duty order is being revoked in part for Granoro.) The new rates are effective Feb. 8, and will be implemented by CBP soon.
Zynga remains “on track to deliver” its first real money gaming titles in the U.K. in the first half of 2013, said Chief Operations Officer David Ko on an earnings call Tuesday. In October, Zynga announced a deal with real money gaming operator bwin.party in which the companies will offer real money poker and 180 other casino games in the U.K., starting in the first half of 2013 (WID Oct 26 p5). The poker and casino games will launch under the Zynga Plus Casino and Zynga Plus Poker brands, and the company will roll them out “in multiple phases across a range of platforms in the U.K., namely via Web, download, Facebook, and if we choose, mobile,” Ko said. Zynga filed an application for a preliminary finding of suitability with the Nevada Gaming Control Board in December, a “small first step toward participating in the U.S. online real money gaming market,” he said. “These are all steps that are moving us toward our long term vision in real money games,” he said. Zynga shares closed up 9.1 percent Wednesday at $2.90, a day after it reported mixed results for Q4 ended Dec. 31 compared to Q4 the prior year. Revenue was about flat at $311.2 million and Zynga narrowed its loss to $48.6 million, or 6 cents a share, from $435 million, or 1.22 a share. FarmVille 2 was Zynga’s “most successful launch in the past two years,” said CEO Mark Pincus. Zynga’s “number-one focus” in 2013 is “to deliver the best social games on mobile,” he said, calling it a “pivotal transition year” for the company as it tries to shift its dependence away from Facebook social games on computers. FarmVille 2 topped Zynga’s expectations in bookings and daily active users, said Ko. The company is “getting better at cross-promotion, especially in mobile,” he said. “When we launch a new game on iOS or Android, we're leveraging our audience of 72 million monthly active users,” he said. It’s “still early,” but Zynga’s mobile games are already “at the top of the app charts,” he said. Zynga Poker has been a “top-20 grossing app for more than 18 months,” while Words With Friends was No. 3 on the 25 most downloaded App Store apps of all time for the iPad and iPhone, he said. Zynga now has the fifth-largest daily audience in mobile in the U.S., behind companies including Google and Facebook, he said, citing comScore data. Zynga also ranked fifth in user time spent on mobile, with 10.7 billion minutes in December, he said. Zynga launched four mobile games in Q4 -- Ayakashi, Bubble Safari, Ruby Blast and Party Place -- and four new Web games: CoasterVille, CityVille 2, The Friend Game and Bubble Safari Ocean. CityVille 2 “missed our expectations,” while The Friend Game and Party Place “failed to achieve the mass-market appeal that Zynga franchises are known for,” said Ko. As a result, it’s “closing” all three games, he said.
The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for Feb. 7:
Zynga remains “on track to deliver” its first real money gaming titles in the U.K. in the first half of 2013, said Chief Operations Officer David Ko on an earnings call Tuesday. In October, Zynga announced a deal with real money gaming operator bwin.party in which the companies will offer real money poker and 180 other casino games in the U.K., starting in the first half of 2013 (CED Oct 26 p11). The poker and casino games will launch under the Zynga Plus Casino and Zynga Plus Poker brands, and the company will roll them out “in multiple phases across a range of platforms in the U.K., namely via Web, download, Facebook, and if we choose, mobile,” Ko said. Zynga filed an application for a preliminary finding of suitability with the Nevada Gaming Control Board in December, a “small first step toward participating in the U.S. online real money gaming market,” he said. “These are all steps that are moving us toward our long term vision in real money games,” he said. Zynga shares closed up 9.1 percent Wednesday at $2.90, a day after it reported mixed results for Q4 ended Dec. 31 compared to Q4 the prior year. Revenue was about flat at $311.2 million and Zynga narrowed its loss to $48.6 million, or 6 cents a share, from $435 million, or 1.22 a share. FarmVille 2 was Zynga’s “most successful launch in the past two years,” said CEO Mark Pincus. Zynga’s “number-one focus” in 2013 is “to deliver the best social games on mobile,” he said, calling it a “pivotal transition year” for the company as it tries to shift its dependence away from Facebook social games on computers. FarmVille 2 topped Zynga’s expectations in bookings and daily active users, said Ko. The company is “getting better at cross-promotion, especially in mobile,” he said. “When we launch a new game on iOS or Android, we're leveraging our audience of 72 million monthly active users,” he said. It’s “still early,” but Zynga’s mobile games are already “at the top of the app charts,” he said. Zynga Poker has been a “top-20 grossing app for more than 18 months,” while Words With Friends was No. 3 on the 25 most downloaded App Store apps of all time for the iPad and iPhone, he said. Zynga now has the fifth-largest daily audience in mobile in the U.S., behind companies including Google and Facebook, he said, citing comScore data. Zynga also ranked fifth in user time spent on mobile, with 10.7 billion minutes in December, he said. Zynga launched four mobile games in Q4 -- Ayakashi, Bubble Safari, Ruby Blast and Party Place -- and four new Web games: CoasterVille, CityVille 2, The Friend Game and Bubble Safari Ocean. CityVille 2 “missed our expectations,” while The Friend Game and Party Place “failed to achieve the mass-market appeal that Zynga franchises are known for,” said Ko. As a result, it’s “closing” all three games, he said.
The Court of International Trade remanded the final results of the 2009-10 antidumping duty administrative review of polyethylene terephthalate film, sheet, and strip from Taiwan (A-583-837) for the International Trade Administration to reconsider the 74.34 percent adverse facts available rate it assigned to Nan Ya Plastics Corp. Nan Ya, which was assigned the AFA rate because of non-cooperation in the review, challenged the ITA’s corroboration of the rate. Given Nan Ya’s lack of participation in the review, as well as a change in the rate from the preliminary to the final results, Nan Ya didn’t have a chance to argue the final rate selection before the ITA. The final results should be remanded to allow the ITA to address Nan Ya’s arguments, the court said.
The International Trade Administration published notices in the Feb. 6 Federal Register on the following AD/CV proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The International Trade Administration issued the preliminary results of its administrative review of the antidumping duty order on wooden bedroom furniture from China (A-570-890). The ITA said the two mandatory respondents, Maoji and Huansheng, did not cooperate in the review, and so it assigned the two companies to the China-wide entity. Four other companies did not qualify for a separate rate, the ITA said, and were also assigned to the China-wide entity. These preliminary results are not in effect. The ITA may modify them in the final results of this review and change the estimated AD cash deposit rate for these companies.
Clearwire said in a proxy statement it still prefers Sprint Nextel’s buyout offer, but has not yet ruled out a competing bid from Dish Networks. A special committee that is examining both offers on stockholders’ behalf will “continue to evaluate the DISH Proposal and engage in discussions with each of DISH and Sprint, as appropriate,” but “has not made any determination to change its recommendation of the current Sprint transaction,” it said Friday. Sprint offered Clearwire shareholders $2.2 billion in December for the nearly 50 percent of shares the carrier did not already own, plus (CD Dec 18 p1). Dish made a competing bid in January for Clearwire’s spectrum and up to all of Clearwire’s non Sprint-owned shares for up to $5.15 billion (CD Jan 10 p1). Dish’s proposal “is only a preliminary indication of interest and is subject to numerous, material uncertainties and conditions, including the negotiation of multiple contractual arrangements being requested by Dish (some of which, as currently proposed, may not be permitted under the terms of Clearwire’s current legal and contractual obligations) as well as regulatory approvals,” Clearwire said (http://xrl.us/bod6da). Clearwire’s proxy “makes very clear that Sprint’s definitive agreement to acquire Clearwire provides both the best value for shareholders and stability amid an uncertain future,” Sprint said in a separate statement. “We continue to believe that the DISH proposal is illusory and conditioned on many things, including the receipt of governance rights, a spectrum sale and a commercial agreement which are not actionable under our merger agreement and other agreements between Clearwire and Sprint” (http://xrl.us/bod6de).
The International Trade Administration issued a countervailing order on certain steel wire garment hangers from Vietnam (C-552-813). The order details a "gap period" of Oct. 2 -- Jan. 31 of no CV duty liability due to the expiration of the provisional measures period. Also, CV cash deposits collected between March 6 and June 3 will be refunded because of the International Trade Commission's determination of no critical circumstances.