■ Entertainment
MGM's sale to Sony finalized
The sale of venerable film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to a consortium led by Sony Corp of America was completed, marking the end of MGM as an independent player in the entertainment industry. The Sony-led group paid US$12 a share for MGM, or about US$2.94 billion cash, and assumed about US$1.9 billion in MGM debt. The sale was completed on Friday. MGM will release films already in production, including the Steve Martin comedy The Pink Panther this fall. In the future, Sony plans to co-produce films with MGM. Movies already in production by the United Artists unit of MGM also will be released. But it was unclear whether Sony, which has its own independent film companies, will continue the UA label. As a result of the deal, Sony and consortium partner Comcast Corp will gain access to MGM's library of more than 4,000 movies. Comcast has said it will use the films on its video-on-demand service and as the basis for new cable channels. MGM will continue to develop and produce TV shows such as Stargate SG-1.
■ Cosmetics
Avon comes back to China
The Avon lady is coming back to China. Cosmetics giant Avon Products Inc said on Friday it had won Chinese government approval to test direct selling in three regions beginning this month. "The objective of the test is to help the government find a suitable direct selling model that would fit the needs of Chinese consumers, promote social stability and help protect consumers against illegal practices," the president of Avon China, S.K. Kao, said in a statement. China closed the door on Avon's direct selling in 1998, worried about potential fraud and abuse by sales representatives, confining the company to selling through retail outlets. But last July, Avon said it had won verbal approval from the government to once again send its famed army of sales staff directly to Chinese homes.
■ Energy
Chevron awards gas contract
ChevronTexaco has awarded a US$1.7 billion contract to build Nigeria's third natural gas-to-liquids plant to a consortium including Halliburton Co subsidiary KBR, the company said on Friday. The project, converting the natural gas that is currently flared off into fuels for a worldwide market, is expected to produce 34,000 barrels a day of diesel, naphtha and a small amount of liquefied petroleum gas, the company said. The consortium JKS -- including JGC Corp of Japan, US-based KBR and Snamprogretti of Italy -- will construct the plant using technology developed by ChevronTexaco and Sasol of South Africa, it said.
■ Employment
Canada quotes stable figures
Canada's unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage point in March to 6.9 percent of the active population, the government said on Friday in a report suggesting stable labor market conditions. "Employment continued to show little change in March as an increase of 34,000 part-time jobs was offset by a similar decline in the number of people working full time," Statistics Canada said in a statement. "With fewer people looking for work, the unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 6.9 percent." Over the first three months of 2005, employment rose 0.2 percent, or 25,000, a growth rate similar to that in the US, the agency said. The number of hours worked was unchanged in March and has edged up 0.2 percent so far this year.
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