Just after Hollywood Entertainment CEO Mark Wattles disclosed to the SEC that he has begun negotiations with Ultimate Electronics on “a wide range of possible transactions,” including additional investment in the financially ailing retailer, Movie Gallery announced a definitive agreement Mon. to acquire the Hollywood chain for $13.25 per share. The deal amounts to about $850 million in cash, plus the assumption of $350 million in debt.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a general notice announcing the two-year extension of the quota preprocessing program (QPP) test, in order to provide for the electronic processing of certain quota-class apparel merchandise prior to the arrival of the importing carrier, through December 31, 20061.
With interest in ultra wideband (UWB) on the rise in the U.S. and parts of Asia, Europe is wrestling with whether and how to regulate the new technology. The most vexatious issue -- how to prevent UWB frequencies from interfering with existing services on the same frequencies -- is under study by several groups and the UWB industry is pressing the European Commission (EC) to act, sources said. However, they said, resistance to UWB from some quarters, and the fact that the technology isn’t a top priority for the EC, has left UWB’s status in Europe unsettled.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its preliminary results of the following antidumping (AD) duty and countervailing (CV) duty administrative reviews:
The International Trade Administration (ITA) frequently issues notices on antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty orders which Broker Power considers to be "minor" in importance as they concern actions that occur after an order is issued and neither announce nor cause any changes to an order's duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective period.
Take-Two Interactive’s Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for PS2 was again the top-rented videogame in the U.S., Rentrak said its preliminary Home Video Essentials data for the week ended Jan. 5 showed. Rentrak said the game, in its 10th week, earned an additional $634,463, for $9.69 million total. The PS2 version of Need for Speed Underground 2 from Electronic Arts (EA), in its 7th week, was again #2 ($367,807 in the week and $2.78 million to date), while Microsoft’s Xbox game sequel Halo 2, in its 8th week, was again #3 ($329,205 and $4.02 million), the Xbox version of Need was again #4 ($243,131 and $1.76 million) and Activision’s Call of Duty: Finest Hour for PS2, in its 7th week, was again #5 ($199,912 and $1.51 million). The Xbox version of the latter was #10 ($151,405 and $1.08 million). Activision and EA were the only publishers with more than one top 10 SKU. Rounding out the top 10 were Sony Computer Entertainment’s Killzone for PS2 at #6 (up 2 in its 9th week, $169,478 and $1.36 million), LucasArts Entertainment’s Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords at #7 (up 3 in its 4th week, $161,025 and $565,984), Atari’s Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 at #8 (down one in its 6th week, $156,332 and $1.25 million) and Konami’s Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater at #9 (down 3 in its 9th week, $155,608 and $1.25 million).
Its first week available, Universal’s comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy was the top-rented DVD in the U.S., Rentrak said its preliminary Home Video Essentials data for the week ended Jan. 5 showed. Rentrak said the DVD earned $8.34 million in revenue. Fox’s I, Robot -- last week’s #1 DVD -- dropped to #2, earning an additional $7.77 million, for $29.23 million to date. The only other new DVD releases in the top 10 were Lions Gate Home Entertainment’s thriller Open Water at $4 ($6.19 million) and Columbia TriStar’s Resident Evil: Apocalypse at #6 ($5.87 million).
The ITA states that Qingdao Xiyuan failed to permit verification of its questionnaire responses and therefore did not establish its entitlement to a separate rate. As a result, the ITA is rescinding this AD duty new shipper review.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has both initiated and issued its preliminary results of the antidumping (AD) duty changed circumstances review of certain corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products from Japan.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a notice announcing that it is initiating a changed circumstances review of the antidumping (AD) duty order on brake rotors from China.