A round-up of other business stories
Mobile firms to reduce fees for operators
ComReg, the communications regulator, has ordered mobile phone companies to reduce the charges other phone companies must pay to connect to their networks.
The direction, which covers Vodafone, O2 and Meteor, should reduce the cost of calling mobile phones, said ComReg.
In future, the companies will have to provide the connections at cost and show ComReg that the costs are justified.
"We believe that in the interregnum an opportunity exists for operators to consider further reducing their rates to benefit their customers," said ComReg commissioner John Doherty.
US crude oil production sinks
US crude oil production in September fell to the lowest monthly level since the second World War as hurricanes Katrina and Rita disrupted oil output in the Gulf of Mexico, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said yesterday.
September oil production averaged 4.197 million barrels per day (bpd), the lowest level since July 1943, when 4.117 million bpd was produced, the EIA said. It was also the first time monthly output fell below five million bpd since April 1950, the agency said.
About 69 per cent, or just over one million bpd, in offshore oil production was still off line as of yesterday.
The EIA did not expect Gulf oil production to return to normal until the end of next March. - (Reuters)
Providence starts offshore survey
Providence Resources has embarked on a new offshore seismic survey, which should bolster the detection of mineral traces off the coast of Ireland. The first phase of the survey will target specific areas like Ardmore and Hook Head.
Refco sell-off fuels bankruptcy fears
Refco, which is struggling to survive after its former chief executive was accused of hiding bad debts to dupe investors, yesterday said a key unit no longer had enough liquidity to operate, sparking a sell-off in its bonds and fuelling fears of possible bankruptcy.
Just a day after former chief Phillip Bennett was charged with securities fraud, the commodities and futures brokerage said it was halting activities at its Refco Capital Markets unit - a fixed-income, equities and foreign exchange brokerage - for 15 days to protect its value.
Trading in Refco, which went public two months ago, was suspended ahead of the latest announcement. - (Reuters)
Digital units 'worth €120bn by 2009'
Global sales of digital music players are expected to jump to nearly one billion units a year in 2009, driven by consumers' desire for the pocket-sized devices and falling costs for flash memory components, research firm IDC said yesterday.
IDC predicted that annual sales of compressed audio players will reach 945.5 million units worth $145.4 billion (€120 billion) in 2009, up from 224.9 units worth $46.7 billion in 2004.
IDC defines these devices as everything from portable MP3 players to DVD devices and phones that can play music compressed by software. - (Reuters)
Apple share price surges by 9%
Shares of Apple Computer surged nearly 9 per cent yesterday, a day after the company unveiled an iPod that plays video and two days after the company's results disappointed some investors.
Apple unveiled the widely expected video iPod on Wednesday, but surprised investors and analysts with a deal with Walt Disney, which owns the ABC network, to sell television shows that can be watched on the new iPod. Analysts expect more such deals.
