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World Business Quick Take

■ Interest rates
Fed decision to be a signal
US stock investors may have reason to hope the Federal Reserve leaves its benchmark interest rate unchanged this week, rather than cutting the rate as a growing number of brokerage firms expect. Lowering the target rate for overnight bank loans would suggest corporate profit growth is deteriorating, some analysts and investors said. That would make computer-related companies such as Dell Computer Corp and retailers such as Gap Inc less appealing, in their view. "The Fed has to be careful," said Gary Schlossberg, senior economist at Wells Capital Management in San Francisco, which oversees US$110 billion. "If they move too aggressively, that can be taken as a signal of panic or concern."

■ Forex
Arroyo says sell US dollar
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo urged dollar speculators Monday to unload their overbought US currency or face criminal charges as the peso, hovering near a record low, remains vulnerable. "They should sell what they overbought if they do not want to be charged with economic sabotage," Arroyo said in a radio interview. She said while the Central Bank is an independent body, she supports a hardline stance against dollar speculators and follows her government's recommendations through Trade Secretary Mar Roxas, a member of the Monetary Board. Arroyo said dollar speculators, while once charged with the lesser crime of documentary violation, now face charges of economic sabotage.

■ Online Service
Microsoft shifts strategy
Microsoft Corp is shifting strategy for its MSN online service toward becoming an Internet portal rather than an Internet service provider, the New York Times reported on its Web site. Microsoft wants to push MSN software as a portal, a Web site where users can access other sites, in conjunction with high-speed Internet services offered by telecommunications companies such as Qwest Communications International Inc and Verizon Communications Inc, the newspaper said, citing IDC analyst Steven Harris. The company isn't planning any quick retreat from providing slower, dial-up Internet access, the newspaper said, citing Bob Visse, Microsoft's director of marketing for MSN. As more people start using high-speed Internet access, the best thing for Microsoft is to use its software as a competitive advantage, Visse told the New York Times.

■ Paid video
Yahoo to supply sports
After spending more than a year trying to figure out what sort of video programming Internet users will pay for, Yahoo is set to introduce its first subscription video service. So far, it has determined that America wants to see college basketball, investment news and the latest boiled rat recipe from CBS's Survivor. Internet users can sign up for Yahoo Platinum, which includes a variety of video and audio programming, for US$9.95 a month. A US$16.95 SportsPak adds access to some NASCAR races and, most significantly, the ability to watch live broadcasts and replays of the 56 games of the first and second rounds of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, which begin Thursday. The finals will be broadcast on television first, although replays will be available later on Yahoo's service.
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