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Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

Hearing date set in moviegoer suit

An Aug. 2 hearing date was set Friday to finalize possibly a settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed against Sony Pictures Entertainment by moviegoers who saw films allegedly endorsed by a fake critic.

The judge will make a final decision about the settlement at that hearing, which had been on the court calendar for this week, but was postponed, said plaintiffs' attorney Norm Blumenthal.

Sony Pictures Entertainment allegedly advertised movies using quotes erroneously attributed to ``David Manning'' of The Ridgefield (Conn.) Press and endorsements by people who were actually Sony employees, attorneys for the plaintiffs said in a legal notice concerning the settlement.

Sony has admitted no liability but agreed to settle the action by paying the plaintiffs up to $1.5 million. In return, the members of the class will release their claims against Sony.

Consumers who purchased tickets between Aug. 3, 2000, and Oct. 31, 2001, for ``Hollow Man,'' ``Vertical Limit,'' ``A Knight's Tale,'' ``The Animal'' or ``The Patriot'' in the United States are eligible. Claims forms are available at www.gilardi.com/rezec.

Intel will release dual-core chips

SAN JOSE - After months of talking up the benefits of single chips with two computing engines instead of one, Intel Corp. said computer makers will start shipping PCs with its dual-core microprocessors Monday.

The chips will boost performance of PCs running multiple programs at once or a single program that's been optimized to work on a dual-core system. But depending on how the PC is used, some users might see a performance decrease over the fastest single-core processors.

Intel's first dual-core chip, the Pentium Extreme Edition 840, will be available in systems from Dell Inc., Alienware and others. Intel declined to release prices, but today's single-core Extreme Edition chips run about $1,000 each - nearly $400 more than the fastest Pentium 4.

The announcement is the culmination of an acrimonious race between Intel and archrival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Both promised to be the first to launch dual-core chips, and it seems Intel is beating AMD by just a few days.

Industrial output edges up in March

WASHINGTON - Output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities rose by 0.3 percent in March despite the first decline in manufacturing in six months.

The Federal Reserve said Friday that the increase in industrial production followed gains of 0.2 percent in February and no change in January. It was the best overall showing since an 0.8 percent jump in December.

Much of the strength came from a big 0.7 percent rise in output at the nation's utilities, reflecting colder weather in March. Production at factories edged down 0.1 percent last month as auto plants cut back on production, the first factory decline since last September.

Analysts said that could reflect growing worries that rising energy prices could produce another economic ``soft patch,'' repeating the slowdown that occurred in the spring of last year.

Investors to take over Brookstone

MERRIMACK, N.H. - Brookstone Inc., a retailer of high-end gadgets, on Friday said it agreed to be acquired by a group of investors comprising two Singapore companies and a domestic private equity firm for $20.50 per share, in a deal worth about $445 million.

Brookstone said the consortium is led by OSIM International, a Singapore-listed retailer of massage chairs and other health-focused products, JW Childs Associates LP of Boston, and Temasek Holdings Ltd., the investment arm of the Singapore government.

Raytheon news hits share price

BOSTON - Shares in defense contractor Raytheon Co. dipped Friday after the company placed its chief financial officer on leave and offered to settle a government inquiry into accounting practices at one of its units.

Separately, Raytheon also said Friday that it has agreed to pay $39 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit related to the July 2000 sale of its engineering and construction business to Washington Group International.

Edward S. Pliner, Raytheon's senior vice president and CFO since 2002, was placed on administrative leave, effective immediately, company spokesman James Fetig said. A second employee was also suspended, but Fetig did not identify that person except to say it was not an executive officer.