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World Business Quick Take

■ CURRENCIES
Euro continues to climb
The euro continued its climb against the US dollar yesterday, heading further into record territory and peaking at US$1.3784. The euro surged upward against the dollar on Tuesday on concerns about the US economy that were fueled by discouraging growth forecasts from key retailers and homebuilders. It broke through the US$1.37 mark for the first time since it started trading in 1999. Overnight, the 13-nation currency went as high as US$1.3784, before settling back to US$1.3754 by early morning in Europe. That compared with the US$1.3729 it bought in New York late on Tuesday.

■ TRANSPORT
Guatemala to lose trains
The US company that runs Guatemala's only operating railroad said on Tuesday it would stop train services because government corruption had made it too difficult to operate. Railroad Development Corp (RDC), which won a concession in 1997 to revive Guatemala's abandoned 800km railroad, said the government diverted funds meant to build infrastructure and let squatters and private companies move onto land around the tracks. RDC said it planned to end the service in October. Last year, Guatemalan President Oscar Berger decreed that the privatization of the nation's locomotives, railroad cars and other rolling stock had been against the state's interest.

■ ENTERTAINMENT
Microsoft inks Disney deal
Microsoft Corp said it struck a deal to make 35 Disney movies, such as the animated hit Aladdin and the action title Armageddon, available for download on its online video game service. The high-definition movies will be available to subscribers of Microsoft's Xbox Live in the US, said Peter Moore, a corporate vice president in Microsoft's entertainment and devices division. The agreement with Disney-ABC Domestic Television will also allow Xbox 360 owners to rent films on demand as they become available from Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Miramax Films and Hollywood Pictures.

■ OUTSOURCING
Infosys profit growth slows
Indian outsourcing firm Infosys Technologies Ltd said yesterday its profit growth slowed in the quarter ending last month because of a stronger rupee and higher wages. The Bangalore-based company said its quarterly net profit rose 34.6 percent to 10.7 billion rupees (US$263 million). But that was down from the 70.4 percent earnings growth reported in the previous quarter and the 44 percent rise in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue, or total income from software services, rose 25 percent to 37.73 billion rupees. Infosys is India's second-largest software exporter by revenue.

■ ENERGY
PTT wins New Zealand deal
Thailand's top oil firm, PTT Exploration and Production, has won a first concession in New Zealand, gaining rights to jointly explore six offshore blocks, the company said yesterday. The blocks are in the Great South Basin off New Zealand's South Island, an offshore area believed to be rich in resources, PTTEP said in a statement. "This achievement is considered as a major ... expansion in the Asia Pacific region. It is PTTEP's first project in New Zealand," company president Maroot Mrigadat said. The firm said that New Zealand had encouraging unexplored potential.

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