BUSINESS NOTES DOLE BACKS EU FIX TO TRADE DISPUTE.WESTLAKE VILLAGE - Dole Food Co., the world's biggest seller of fresh fruits and vegetables, said Friday it supports a European Commission European Commission, branch of the governing body of the European Union (EU) invested with executive and some legislative powers. Located in Brussels, Belgium, it was founded in 1967 when the three treaty organizations comprising what was then the European Community proposal aimed at ending a transatlantic trade dispute over bananas. The proposal calls for the temporary continuation of import quotas Import quotas are a form of protectionism. An import quota fixes the quantity of a particular good that foreign producers may bring into a country over a specific period, usually a year. The U.S. government imposes quotas to protect domestic industries from foreign competition. with the rights to import bananas distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Dole's backing of the plan is at odds with the U.S. government, which has repeatedly questioned whether it would comply with World Trade Organization rules. The federal government brought the dispute to the WTO See World Trade Organization. on behalf of Dole and other American companies. David Delorenzo, Dole's president and chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. , said the company believes the policy achieves a nondiscriminatory system for the importation of Latin American bananas to the European Union European Union (EU), name given since the ratification (Nov., 1993) of the Treaty of European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, to the European Community and, at the same time, protects imports from former European colonies This is a list of former European colonies. North America France
The 15 EU foreign ministers will discuss the issue when they meet on Monday in Brussels. - Daily News Wellpoint agrees to settle lawsuit THOUSAND OAKS - WellPoint Health Networks Inc. has settled a lawsuit in connection with the managed care company's purchase of the Cerulean ce·ru·le·an adj. Azure; sky-blue. [From Latin caeruleus, dark blue; akin to caelum, sky.] Noun 1. Companies Inc., the parent of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Blue Shield A US not-for-profit health care insurer that is a reimbursement intermediary for physicians. Cf Blue Cross. of Georgia, a company spokesman said Friday. John Cygul, a WellPoint spokesman, said the settlement provides for a $5 million payment, plus certain expenses, by WellPoint at the closing of the merger. The settlement payment will be distributed according to the terms of an order of the Superior Court of Richmond County in Augusta, Ga., after a hearing scheduled for early next month. The terms of the deal are unaffected by the settlement. In 1998, WellPoint announced it would merge with Cerulean in a transaction valued at approximately $500 million. The Cerulean Companies serve 1.7 million Georgia residents. - Daily News Swap gives KZLA new ownership KZLA-FM (93.9) has a new owner Friday after Emmis Communications Corp. swapped four St. Louis radio stations in exchange for the Bonneville International Corp.-owned station. Kate Healy, an Emmis spokeswoman, said besides the country-formatted station, the company also owns KPWR-FM (Power 106) and Los Angeles magazine. Also announced Friday was the completion of Emmis' acquisition of Sinclaur Broadcast Group Inc. for $220 million. Indianapolis-based Emmis now owns 24 radio stations that serve some of the nation's largest media markets, including Los Angeles, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and Chicago. - Daily News NetZero assumes some Free assets WESTLAKE VILLAGE - Free Internet service An ISP that provides access to the Internet without charge to the user. The service is supported by advertising which appears on a special version of the user's browser and cannot be eliminated. NetZero (www.netzero. provider NetZero announced it was taking over some of the assets of a rival free provider that filed for bankruptcy Friday. NetZero said it would acquire FreeI Networks Inc., a Seattle company that claimed more than 3.2 million registered users of its Freeinternet.com site. Hours earlier, FreeI announced it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. NetZero said FreeI customers would be referred to NetZero and likely be able to keep their e-mail addresses. - Associated Press Consumer credit use skyrockets WASHINGTON - Americans borrowed money more freely in August as they made heavy use of credit cards and financed autos and other personal items on credit. The Federal Reserve said Friday that consumer credit increased by a larger-than-expected seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted Mathematically adjusted by moderating a macroeconomic indicator (e.g., oil prices/imports) so that relative comparisons can be drawn from month to month all year. $13.4 billion in September, or 10.9 percent at an annual rate, the fastest pace since June. Many analysts had expected borrowing to grow by $10.5 billion in August. Consumer credit in July grew by $9.1 billion, or at a 7.4 percent rate, according to revised figures. That was less than the $9.4 billion the Fed previously estimated. - Associated Press |
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