■Debt payments
Argentina forks it over
Argentina has paid outstanding debts to the World Bank of US$760 million and to the Inter-American Development Bank of US$680 million, the state news agency Telam reported Wednesday, quoting official sources. The move will free up extensive help from the two financial institutions for the economically crippled country. The payments were the direct result of the signal given last week by the IMF that it would roll over the debts of crisis-hit Argentina to prevent a default in South America's second-largest economy. The IMF had cut off lending to recession-hit and indebted Argentina more than a year ago, plunging South America's second-largest economy into deeper economic, political and social chaos. The government defaulted on part of its US$140-billion debt, floated its currency and froze bank accounts, while the IMF refused further credit, pending far-reaching economic reforms.
■ Airlines
KLM's fiscal Q3 loss slims
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines NV's fiscal third-quarter net loss narrowed as Europe's fourth- largest airline said it would ground aircraft to fight falling demand for air travel amid stagnating economic growth. KLM posted a net loss of 66 million euros (US$71 million), or 1.41 euros a share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with a loss of 94 million euros, or 2.02 euros, in the year- earlier period. Sales rose 7 percent to 1.6 billion euros. The Amsterdam-based carrier said it expects a second consecutive full-year loss as a slowing economy reduces demand for air travel and the threat of war increases oil prices. KLM has cut fares by as much as 40 percent to fight increasing competition from EasyJet Plc, Europe's No. 1 no-frills airline.
■ Cellphone chips
TI endures net loss in Q4
Texas Instruments Inc, the world's biggest maker of chips for cellular telephones, said its fourth-quarter net loss widened to US$589 million because the company wrote down an investment in Micron Technology Inc. The loss increased to US$0.34 a share from US$116 million, or US$0.07, in the same period of 2001. Sales rose 20 percent to US$2.15 billion from US$1.79 billion and exceeded a forecast the company raised last month. The shares rose 9.1 percent. Sales of chips used in wireless devices such as mobile phones and electronic organizers increased 13 percent from the third quarter, led by demand in Asia, Chief Financial Officer Bill Aylesworth said.
■ Memory Chip
Price drops may increase
The selling price of the most widely produced computer-memory chips may extend their 13 percent decline over the last week as makers such as Infineon Technologies AG sell inventory into the spot market, a chip-clearing house said. The spot price of a 256Mb, 266MHz double-data-rate dynamic random-access memory chip, fell 2.1 percent to US$4.76, after falling below US$5 for the first time yesterday, according to dramexchange.com. The Taiwan-based Web site acts as a marketplace for chipmakers seeking to sell chips they haven't shipped under contract to large customers such as Dell Computer Corp. "There is little to suggest that DDR prices will not trend down sharply due to inventory prior to the Chinese New Year," dramexchange said.
Agencies
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