BRIEFCASE AUSSIE TO ACQUIRE APPAREL BRANDS.Byline: - Staff and Wire Services Aussie Apparel Group Ltd. announced Thursday an agreement with Australian-based Federation Group to acquire the Hot Tuna, Xisle, Piranha piranha: see characin. piranha or caribe Any of several species of deep-bodied, carnivorous fishes in the genus Serrasalmus (family Characidae), abundant in rivers of eastern and central South America and noted for voracity. Boy and Piranha Girl apparel brands. The definitive acquisition agreement, with an effective date of Dec. 31, is valued at about $7.5 million, according to Los Angeles-based AAG AAG Association of American Geographers (Washington, DC) AAG Assistant Attorney General AAG Asociación Argentina de Golf AAG Anti-Aircraft Gun AAG Assistant Adjutant General AAG Australian Association of Gerontology . As part of the completed deal, Federation Group will retain an ownership stake in Aussie Apparel Group. Hasbro inks deal to star in movies PAWTUCKET, R.I. - Toy maker Hasbro Inc. has signed a licensing deal with a newly formed Los Angeles production company to make films featuring Hasbro products. The company, called Fat Rock Entertainment, will begin releasing the films next summer. The movies will be G-rated and shown at selected theaters in the early morning and midday. Hasbro, based in Pawtucket, has been licensing many of its brands. Transformers can be found in cobranded comics and on cobranded apparel and backpacks. In Las Vegas, gamblers can find Monopoly slot machines, and in Atlantic City, there's a retail-entertainment complex based on Monopoly, called Park Place on the Boardwalk. Mortgage rates fall for 2nd week WASHINGTON - Mortgage rates around the country fell for the second straight week, with rates on one-year adjustable rate mortgages dropping to their lowest level on record. The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dipped to 6.03 percent for the week ending Dec. 20, down slightly from the previous week's 6.04 percent, Freddie Mac Freddie Mac: see Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. reported Thursday in its weekly nationwide survey. In the middle of November, rates on 30-year mortgages plunged to 5.94 percent, the lowest level since the mortgage giant began tracking them in 1971. After that, mortgage rates edged up for three straight weeks but have gone down in the past two weeks. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, fell this week to 5.42 percent, compared with 5.46 percent in the prior week. Film studios fight DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. copying tools SAN FRANCISCO - Hollywood fought back against a maker of DVD movie copying software, accusing the company of trafficking in the tools of digital theft. When 321 Studios' first product came out, the company filed a case seeking a declaration that it did not violate federal law. Seven major motion picture studios filed the countersuit coun·ter·sue tr.v. coun·ter·sued, coun·ter·su·ing, coun·ter·sues Law To bring proceedings against (a plaintiff) in direct opposition to a suit brought against onself. Thursday in U.S. District Court against 321 Studios, makers of DVD Copy Plus and DVD X Copy. Elizabeth Sedlock, a spokeswoman for 321 Studios, says the company has sold about 150,000 copies of both software titles combined. The software is not illegal, she contends. The studios that filed the joint counterclaim A claim by a defendant opposing the claim of the plaintiff and seeking some relief from the plaintiff for the defendant. A counterclaim contains assertions that the defendant could have made by starting a lawsuit if the plaintiff had not already begun the action. are Columbia Pictures Industries Inc., Disney Enterprises Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Tri-Star Pictures Inc., Time Warner Entertainment Co. LP, Universal City Studios Inc. and The Saul Zaentz Co. SBC (1) (SBC Communications Inc., San Antonio, TX, www.sbc.com) A large, national telecommunications company that grew from a multitude of local and regional companies, including Southwestern Bell, Pacific Bell and Nevada Bell, into a single, unified brand by 2002. gets FCC (1) (Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, www.fcc.gov) The U.S. government agency that regulates interstate and international communications including wire, cable, radio, TV and satellite. The FCC was created under the U.S. OK for long distance The Federal Communications Commission Federal Communications Commission (FCC), independent executive agency of the U.S. government established in 1934 to regulate interstate and foreign communications in the public interest. on Thursday approved SBC Communications' application to enter California's long-distance market through its Pacific Bell unit. San Francisco-based Pacific Bell unit serves 75 percent of the state and has spent the past three years fulfilling state and federal requirements so it can compete in the state's $16 billion long-distance market. The state Public Utilities Commission has already backed the company's request to enter the interstate long-distance market, and now that the FCC has approved the proposal the PUC (Public Utility Commission) A regulatory body in every state in the U.S. that governs public utilities within its jurisdiction such as electricity, gas, oil, sewer, water, transportation and telephone service. Some states call it the Public Service Commission (PSC). is expected to make a final vote Dec. 30. Pacific Bell is a unit of San Antonio-based SBC Communications, the nation's second-Largest local phone company. |
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