■ Crude oilOPEC may boost supplies
A hint from Kuwait's oil minister that OPEC would consider increasing supplies if prices remained at current levels for much longer soothed energy traders Monday and cooled red-hot energy markets around the world. Light, sweet crude for February delivery slumped US$1.35 to settle at US$31.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Wholesale prices for heating oil and gasoline also fell. In London, Brent crude futures for February delivery fell US$0.50 to US$29.66 per barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange. At the retail level, though, gasoline prices remain on an upward trend as refiners pass along the high cost of crude to motorists. The Energy Department reported Monday that the average retail price of unleaded gasoline rose US$0.04 last week to US$1.44 per gallon. The average price at the pump has now gone up US$0.08 in the past two weeks.
■ United Airlines
Workers may be fired
UAL Corp's United Airlines unit told employees in a recorded message that "significant layoffs" may be needed soon, the New York Times reported. The company said it hasn't decided which employees would be fired, the newspaper said. United, which employs 81,000 people, will make a decision about the number of job cuts that may be needed over the next few weeks, the paper said. Letters will be sent to labor union leaders and nonunion employees. United told the paper that it sent the message to workers because it is required by US law to alert employees about potential job cuts or plant closings, the Times said.
■ Semiconductors
Chip sales up in November
Worldwide semiconductor sales rose almost 20 percent in November, led by demand for chips used in mobile telephones and consumer electronics, the Semiconductor Industry Association said. Sales increased to US$12.7 billion from US$10.6 billion a year earlier, the industry group said in a statement. November revenue grew 1.3 percent from October. "If you look year to year, there's pretty good progress, but the second half of last year was the heart of the downturn, so you'd better be up," said Thomas Smith, a semiconductor analyst at Standard & Poor's Equity Services. "If you look month to month, it hasn't been too exciting." Smith said he doesn't own shares in any companies he covers. Chip sales fell 32 percent last year, the industry's steepest decline, and in July had their first year-on-year increase since February 2001.
■ Tyco
Investors get reassurance
Tyco International Ltd, which has three former executives under indictment, reassured investors with a report finding no "significant" accounting fraud at the conglomerate, shareholders said. Tyco said an internal review found "aggressive accounting" was used to boost earnings in the past. No accounting irregularities were found in the current fiscal year, Tyco said yesterday in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company will take US$382.2 million in charges to adjust for accounting errors in fiscal 2002 and prior years. "We're pleased that no material fraud has been recognized at the company and it was our belief all along that there wouldn't be any material fraud uncovered," said Harold Singleton III, a vice president at Metropolitan West Capital Management.
Agencies
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