Advertising: Mass faxer sued
A US company that is accused of sending more than 3 million unsolicited advertising faxes a day was sued Thursday for US$2.2 trillion by a group of recipients led by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Kirch. Fax.com, which reportedly has the number of every fax machine in the US, was fined two weeks ago by the Federal Communication Commission for violating federal law with the avalanche of faxed advertisements. But Kirch, who made millions of dollars as the founder of the Internet search engine Infoseek, said he believes the fine was not enough. The law allows a fine of US$500 for every unsolicited fax -- which is how the group of plaintiffs arrived at their massive figure.
Argentina: Bank limits may be lifted
Argentina is prepared to start easing eight-month-old restrictions on bank withdrawals that have contributed to the economy's collapse, a central bank official said. "The conditions are in place to begin freeing up accounts," central bank board member Guillermo Lesniewier said in a presentation at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna has resisted any plan to open accounts frozen since just before the government defaulted on US$95 billion of bonds and devalued the peso, saying it would accelerate inflation and further weaken the currency.
Nintendo: Online gaming to be offered
Nintendo Co, the world's second-largest video-game maker, will begin selling an adapter in October to enable owners of its GameCube game console to play each other over the Internet at high speeds. The maker of Pokemon video-game software will begin selling the adapter in Japan on Oct. 3 for ?3,800 (US$32). The company said it will begin selling the adapter in the US at a date to be determined later.
Steel Tariffs: Japan applauds US move
Japan applauded the US' decision to exclude more steel imports from protective tariffs, but said it still plans to lodge a complaint against Washington with the WTO next month. An Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry official said yesterday that Tokyo hadn't decided whether to avert a trade war with its closest ally by shelving plans to slap retaliatory tariffs on US steel products. Despite the US announcement Thursday that it would exempt another 178 steel products from protective tariffs imposed in March, Japan still considers the remaining tariffs a violation of WTO rules for international trade.
Stock market: SEC targets brokerages
US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt asked the New York Stock Exchange and the National Association of Securities Dealers to devise ways to stop brokerages from awarding initial public offering shares to executives in return for investment banking fees. "Hot IPO shares may have been allocated to individuals for the purpose of obtaining investment banking business," Pitt said in a letter to the organizations that was released by the SEC. Pitt asked the broker regulators to form a panel of business and academic leaders to review IPO allocations as the SEC, Justice Department and Congress investigate any misconduct by brokerages and their analysts.
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