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Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

Trio-Tech posts Q1 loss from sale

VAN NUYS - Semiconductor tester Trio-Tech International on Tuesday posted a first-quarter loss that resulted from the sale of a test facility in Dublin, Ireland.

During the 2006 fiscal first quarter, the Van Nuys-based company lost $214,000, or 8 cents per share, versus net income of $237,000, or 8 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

A year ago, the company completed the sale of its European Electronic Test Center for about $10.6 million. But the company also incurred a loss of $378,000 associated with shutting down the facility and it was accounted for in the first-quarter results.

Revenue totaled $5.7 million, down from $7.7 million.

Snyder group set to grab Six Flags 

OKLAHOMA CITY - A group led by Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder said Tuesday that it has lined up enough shareholder votes to take over amusement-park operator Six Flags Inc.

Red Zone LLC said it has delivered written consents representing more than 57 percent of Six Flags' outstanding common stock, which would be enough to oust three members of the seven-member board of the Oklahoma City-based amusement park operator. A majority of the new board would then have to vote to replace the current management team.

Snyder's investment group, Red Zone plans to dump Six Flags Chief Executive Kieran Burke and other top officers and replace them with his own slate of nominees.

The announcement was made after the close of markets Tuesday. Shares of Six Flags fell 14 cents, or 1.8 percent, to close at $7.46 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange, and rose 4 cents in after-hours trading.

Oracle suit ended for $122 million

REDWOOD CITY - A California judge on Tuesday approved an unusual legal settlement that will require Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison to donate $100 million to charity and pay an additional $22 million to the attorneys who sued him for alleged stock-trading abuses - forcing Ellison to dig deeper into his pockets than he originally wanted.

Barring an appeal, the $122 million settlement finalized by San Mateo Superior Court Judge John Schwartz closes the books on a shareholder lawsuit filed nearly four years ago on behalf of Oracle, one of the world's largest software makers.

The civil complaint revolves around a $900 million gain that Ellison generated by selling some of his Oracle stock shortly before the company's shares plummeted in 2001.

McDonald's touts Arch Card as gift

CHICAGO - McDonald's Corp. has an idea for a stocking stuffer, and it doesn't require substituting burgers and fries for the traditional holiday dinner.

The fast-food chain formally launched its new reloadable convenience card - the Arch Card - with the kickoff of a nationwide marketing campaign Wednesday, joining the growing group of restaurant operators that offer similar cards.

Many of McDonald's 13,000-plus U.S. restaurants have been offering the Arch Card for months, but the company has been waiting until the holiday shopping season to actively promote them as gift cards.

Bernanke: Limit mortgage giants

WASHINGTON - Ben Bernanke, the nominee to become the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, said Congress should limit the massive holdings of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in an effort to limit any danger their debt poses to the overall economy.

``Capping the size'' of the two mortgage companies' portfolios is ``important for controlling potential systemic risk,'' Bernanke said in a written response to a list of wide-ranging questions from Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky. Bunning's office released Bernanke's responses Tuesday.

Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, who will retire Jan. 31 after 18-plus years running the Fed, has repeatedly called on Congress to scale back the size of the mortgage giants' holdings. He has said failing to do so poses a potential risk to the U.S. financial system.