The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a press release announcing that it is taking significant steps to enhance security by checking the backgrounds of port workers. DHS has also posted the transcript of a press conference with DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff and other security officials regarding this initiative. Both of these documents are highlighted below.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has initiated a new shipper review of the antidumping (AD) duty order on stainless steel bar from Germany with respect to the following company, which is both the producer and exporter, and review period:
New Games: The PS2 version of The Godfather from Electronic Arts (EA) was, in its 5th week, again the top- rented videogame in the U.S., according to preliminary Home Video Essentials data for the week ended April 16… EA said it extended a partnership with FIFA, making EA worldwide exclusive FIFA licensee for soccer action simulation, manager and arcade-style games across all console platforms, PC, handheld platforms, mobile phones and online formats. No terms disclosed. The announcement came as EA said it shipped 2006 FIFA World Cup in N. America, Europe and Asia on multiple platforms including Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS. It said a PSP version will follow in May.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an administrative message announcing that the April 20, 2006 end-of-day statement processing job abended due to a logic problem. As a result, final statements that were due to be routed to the trade were not generated. The generation and routing of preliminary statements were not affected. CBP anticipated that this situation would be corrected and final statements for payments received on April 20, 2006 would be generated by close of business on April 21, 2006. (Adm: 06-0489, dated 04/21/06, available at http://www.brokerpower.com/cgi-bin/adminsearch/admmsg.view.pl?article=2006/2006-0489.ADM)
The N.Y. PSC opened a general review of its telecom service quality and consumer protection rules, along with outage reporting and service-blocking regulations. The PSC said its intent is to standardize and simplify its requirements and standards. The new docket (06-C-0481) is an outgrowth of the PSC’s recent adoption of more lenient pricing rules for large incumbent carriers. The PSC said it seeks to shift its quality rules from a customer focus to a focus on network reliability. It said that competition has diminished the importance of many traditional service quality indicators, but others remain important as vital indicators of network reliability. It said that it will also be asking carriers to describe their current consumer protection policies, end-user blocking policies and outage reporting policies. The PSC said it hopes to develop preliminary drafts of new quality and consumer regulations by Aug.
A U.S. judge issued a preliminary injunction barring Protron Digital from using the “Protron” brand on products and distribution materials, declaring it creates a “likelihood of confusion” in consumers and a “presumption of irreparable harm” to Proton, the company said Mon. U.S. Dist. Judge Gary Klausner, L.A., ruled that Protron improperly used the brand name and noted Proton has fielded complaints from consumers who have confused Protron TVs for Proton models. Other buyers have come to Proton for service on Protron TVs, Klausner said. Retail ads have mislabeled Protron DVD players as Proton, he said. The injunction was granted pending issuance of a bond whose amount wasn’t available at our deadline. In Jan., Proton sued Protron for trademark infringement after a holiday season that saw Protron LCD TVs appear at some national retailers, including Sears. Since then, Protron Digital signed an agreement to merge with Digital Lifestyles Group (CED Feb 7 p6), capping discussions that began last Sept. Protron officials weren’t immediately available for comment.
Insight Communications had strong earnings in Q1, Pres. Dinni Jain said in a conference call with investors Fri. “We have never had a quarter like this,” Jain said, providing preliminary results. Insight will report Q1 earnings May 8. The numbers mark a turnaround for Insight, which claims more than 1.3 million subscribers in the Midwest, executives said. Insight, which operates cable systems in a joint venture with Comcast, achieved the turnaround by focusing on high-speed Internet and service bundles, Jain said. Insight doesn’t plan to bring a network PVR to market until results of Cablevision tests of the product are clear, he said. Insight has laid much of the groundwork for VoIP, and is planning to roll out the service 2nd half, Jain said. Boosting Insight’s marketing budget has fueled subscriber growth, Jain said: “We were very much underspending our brethren in the cable industry on sales and marketing. We made the decision to… dial up the sales and marketing staff.” Analysts suggested reduced marketing from DirecTV and EchoStar may have helped Insight’s gains, but Jain said that is hard to gauge: “It doesn’t feel like the satellite companies have pulled back from marketing. They're still putting a lot of money into print and TV.” This year, Comcast and the Carlyle Group, Insight’s majority owner, are allowed to trigger dissolution of the partnership, essentially splitting Insight’s debt and assets between the 2 companies, analysts on the call noted. There has not been any movement toward dissolution, said Jain, and even if something occurred today, the company couldn’t be wound up before late 2007.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) announced that it is initiating a changed circumstances review of the antidumping (AD) duty order on certain softwood lumber products from Canada at the request of Ivis Partners Ltd. (IVIS).
Strong high-speed Internet sales and service bundles propelled Insight Communications to strong earnings in Q1, Pres. Dinni Jain said in a conference call with investors Fri. “We have never had a quarter like this,” Jain said, providing preliminary results. Insight will report Q1 earnings May 8. The numbers mark a turnaround for Insight, which claims more than 1.3 million subscribers in the Midwest, executives said. Insight operates cable systems in a joint venture with Comcast. Insight has laid much of the groundwork for VoIP, and is planning to roll out the service 2nd half, Jain said.
New Products: Take-Two Interactive didn’t respond to a request for comment by our deadline about why it decided to shift the launch of its PS2 version of its PSP game Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories to June 6 in N. America and June 9 in Europe. Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter said in a research note that the publisher “originally planned to release the game during the April quarter.” The game was originally expected to sell for $29.99 in the U.S. but Take-Two said the price will be $19.99 instead -- likely as a reaction to slow sales of games for current-generation systems… Infinium Labs said it signed a deal with Itron Technology to manufacture the upcoming Phantom Lapboard keyboard/mouse peripheral for enhanced game playing on PCs. The terms weren’t disclosed… The PS2 version of The Godfather from Electronic Arts (EA) was again the #1-rented videogame in the U.S., according to Rentrak’s preliminary Home Video Essentials data for the week ended April 16… Tomb Raider: Legend from Eidos was again the #1- selling game in the U.K., according to Chart Track data for the week ended April 15. The only new game in the top 10 was EA’s Battlefield 2: Modern Combat at #10… EA’s The Sims 2 Open For Business Expansion Pack became the top-selling PC game in the U.S. its first month, according to NPD data for March. LucasArts Entertainment’s Star Wars: Empire at War - - Feb.’s #1 title -- slipped to #3.