The International Trade Administration (ITA) has preliminarily determined to revoke the antidumping (AD) duty orders on industrial nitrocellulose (INC) from Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and United Kingdom.
Consumer intentions on buying TV sets stayed virtually unchanged in June from its strong percentage in May, according to preliminary data in the Conference Board’s monthly survey. Of 5,000 households polled, 7.8% said they plan to buy a TV set in the next 6 months, vs. 7.9% in May, 7.7% in April, 7.2% in June 2003. The Consumer Confidence Index jumped sharply in June to levels not seen in 2 years, the Conference Board said. “Consumers expect the economy to continue to grow at a healthy clip and to continue to generate additional jobs.”
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its final results of the antidumping (AD) duty administrative review of bulk aspirin from China for the period of July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2003. In addition, the ITA is revoking the AD duty order with respect to one company.
(a) The ITA states that Linyi Sanshan does not qualify for a separate rate; therefore, it is subject to the China-wide rate of 376.67%
Verizon asked the Hawaii PUC for expedited hearings on the proposed $1.65 billion sale of its local exchange operation to the N.Y.-based Carlyle Group and a ruling by Dec. 31. Verizon said it wanted a decision this year to ensure a smooth transition and minimize uncertainties for customers and employees. But PUC staffers said it would be very difficult to complete an investigation in 6 months because of the deal’s complex structure and the fact that it involves Hawaii’s only incumbent local exchange provider. The 29-page petition outlined the general terms of the transaction. Verizon and Carlyle said the deal will involve creation of 4 corporate operating units for running the company. They would operate under a new Carlyle holding company called Paradise Mergers that would involve a consortium of Hawaiian banks as investors with corporate board seats. The filing didn’t name the investors. Carlyle said the Hawaiian operation would be run locally and the carrier’s payroll of 1,700 might grow to handle administrative functions Verizon had moved to the U.S. mainland. It promised that the company’s senior management would all be Hawaii residents. Carlyle said it won’t seek rate increases to pay for costs of the sale transaction, but may seek a boost to recover the “tens of millions of dollars” in anticipated capital costs associated with re-establishing back-office functions in the state. The filing made no mention of infrastructure investment plans. Verizon Hawaii operates under rate-of-return regulation. PUC staffers said there’s no set deadline for completing review of the sale. But they said the review would take longer if there’s significant opposition to the sale, which would trigger more extensive discovery. The state Consumer Advocate Div. said it plans to hire a consultant to review the complex deal, plus assign a third of its staff on a part-time basis to review the sale. The division has until July 16 to file its preliminary opinion. The deal also needs FCC approval, but since it doesn’t involve Verizon’s wireless or federal- service business units, the state’s verdict is expected to be the crucial decision.
VSDA late last week continued its battle against a Wash. State videogame law that would prevent stores from renting or selling titles that depicted violence toward law enforcement officers. In oral arguments presented to U.S. Dist. Court Seattle, Judge Robert Lasnik, VSDA attorneys again claimed that the law violated the First Amendment. “Violent speech has been given full protection of the Constitution, whether it is in a videogame or on a TV show,” argued attorney Paul Smith. The VSDA and other critics of the Video Game Violence Law, as well as the law’s supporters, asked Lasnik to grant summary judgment in the case. The judge asked the law’s proponents why only violent videogames were to be regulated -- as opposed to movies and other forms of entertainment -- and was told that because games were interactive they were more harmful to young people. Lasnik declined to rule from the bench, saying he needed time to evaluate a complex area of the law in a case that might break new ground, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported. Retailers that violate the law are subject to fines as high as $500. Wash. Gov. Gary Locke (D) signed the legislation last year, but the VSDA, Entertainment Software Assn. (then called the Interactive Digital Software Assn.) and other groups quickly and successfully fought for a preliminary injunction against enforcement until the court ruled on its constitutionality (CED May 22/03 p3).
A group of Ill. CLECs asked the Ill. Commerce Commission (ICC) to allow them to participate in the ICC staff’s review of SBC tariffs to implement a roughly 15% increase in unbundled network element (UNE) rates. The CLECs in their joint petition said they wanted to review all of SBC’s cost support material to ensure SBC correctly applies the various cost elements prescribed in the ICC order. The CLECs said their preliminary review of the compliance tariffs SBC filed June 18 raised questions about whether SBC was correctly calculating costs. The ICC didn’t specify the new UNE rates, but ordered changes to UNE cost calculations that would produce an increase of roughly $3.75 monthly per line.
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.
The ITA states that the China-wide rates applies to all entries of subject merchandise except for entries from Since Hardware, Yongjian, Forever Holdings, Harvest, and Lihe.
In its first full week available, Columbia TriStar’s 50 First Dates was the #1-rented DVD in the U.S., Rentrak’s preliminary Home Video Essentials data for the week ended June 20 showed. Rentrak said the title earned $8.14 million on DVD in the week, for $8.3 million to date. Last week’s #1 DVD -- Warner’s Mystic River -- slipped to #2, earning an additional $6.89 million on DVD, for $14.24 million to date. The only other new DVD release in the top 10 was Warner’s Spartan at #8 ($1.63 million in the week, $1.67 million to date).