QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It’s silly. If [Warren] Buffett wanted a dividend from any one of his companies, he could pick up the phone and get it right now.”
Jeff Matthews, a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholder, on the suggestion from a credit-rating agency that Berkshire, controlled by Buffett, an 82-year-old billionaire, potentially could run short of funds to pay its obligations Article, 1D
Gasoline-price dip cools consumer costs
WASHINGTON - A plunge in the cost of gas drove down a measure of U.S. consumer prices last month by the most since December 2008. Excluding the drop in fuel costs, prices were largely unchanged.
The consumer price index fell 0.4 percent in April from March, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. The main reason the index fell was that gas prices plunged 8.1 percent.
For the 12 months that ended in April, overall prices rose 1.1 percent - the smallest year-over-year increase in 2½ years.
Excluding volatile energy and food costs, “core” prices ticked up 0.1 percent last month. Core prices have risen only 1.7 percent in the past 12 months. That’s just below the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent inflation target.
Scant inflation is allowing the Fed to continue its extraordinary efforts to stimulate the economy. Worries about lower inflation or even deflation might push the Fed to step up its low interest-rate policies to stimulate more borrowing and spending and push prices higher.
“Subdued demand means that core inflation is likely to edge lower, as retailers will be forced to pass previous falls in raw material costs onto customers,” Paul Dales, an economist at Capital Economics, said in a note to clients. “The Fed may soon put more emphasis on fading inflation trends.”
Aside from sharp swings in gas prices, consumer and wholesale inflation has been mild this year.
The combination of modest economic growth and high unemployment has kept wages from rising quickly.
That’s made it harder for retailers and other firms to raise prices.
The average national price for a gallon of gasoline has fallen since reaching a peak this year of $3.79 on Feb. 28.
The average price Thursday was $3.60 a gallon, according to AAA.
Ex-workers told to keep AMD’s secrets
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. won a court order barring ex-employees who went to competing chip-maker Nvidia Corp. from disclosing trade secrets or soliciting former colleagues to join them.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Hillman said in his order that AMD may win its lawsuit claiming misappropriation of confidential information, according to a filing Wednesday in Worcester, Mass.
AMD, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., accused ex-employees of taking sensitive company documents when they went to work for Nvidia.
The former employees transferred more than 100,000 electronic files pertaining to AMD’s graphics-processor business in the days before their departure, AMD said in its complaint filed in January.
The employees also allegedly recruited other AMD workers to leave the company.
“The circumstantial evidence presented by AMD is compelling,” Hillman said in his order. “They all made copies of confidential AMD information before leaving AMD, retained that information, and immediately began working at a significant competitor.
AMD therefore has a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits with regard to its claims for misappropriation of trade secrets.”
The preliminary injunction replaces a temporary restraining order granted after the suit was filed.
“We are pleased that the court has issued a preliminary injunction against the four defendants,” Michael Silverman, a spokesman for AMD, said in an e-mail. “AMD will always protect its confidential, proprietary and trade secret information.”
Peter Mee, a lawyer for the defendants, declined to comment on the order.
Nvidia, based in Santa Clara, Calif., isn’t a defendant in the lawsuit.
The case is Advanced Micro Devices v. Feldstein, 13- cv-40007, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts (Boston).
No-roller-bag fliers board early on airline
FORT WORTH - Passengers with light loads can board earlier on American Airlines.
The airline said Thursday that people carrying just a personal item that fits under the seat - no rolling suitcases - will be allowed to board before most other passengers.
American said the change will speed up the boarding process and allow flights to take off sooner, helping the airline improve its on-time performance.
Airlines have been seeing a buildup in boarding times since they began charging fees for checked baggage as more people fight for limited space in overhead bins.
American tested the new boarding procedure at several airports earlier this year and began applying it to all flights Thursday. Passengers carrying just a personal item - a purse, backpack or computer bag that will fit under the seat - will board right after Group 1 premium passengers and before boarding groups 2, 3 and 4.
The airline said that it will let passengers check a carry-on bag at the gate at no charge. That means savvy travelers will be able to move up in the boarding order and avoid checked-bag fees - $25 for the first bag, $35 for a second on flights within the U.S. - although they’ll have to retrieve their bags at baggage claim after they land.
Kevin Doeksen, director of customer planning for American, said the change speeds up boarding, because fewer passengers stop in the aisle to hoist a bag into the overhead bins. The difference is about two minutes per flight, “which doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up throughout the day,” he said.
If the change results in fewer big bags being rolled on the plane, it could reduce the number of flights on which the overhead bins fill up.
When the bins are stuffed, gate agents or flight attendants must ask passengers in the last boarding group to surrender bags for gate-check-in.
Competition for bin space has also made travel more stressful. Passengers in the last boarding groups often creep forward and jockey for position to be the first in their group on the plane.
- The Associated Press
Business, Pages 28 on 05/17/2013