INFLATION THREATS: Weakness in the US dollar and the possibility of further interest rate cuts may have contributed to yesterday's record high price for light, sweet crude
Oil prices surpassed US$103 a barrel for the first time yesterday as persistent weakness in the US dollar and the prospect of lower interest rates attracted fresh money to the oil market.

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OPEC member Ecuador on Thursday suspended its oil exports because a landslide cut off its main pipeline, state-run Petroecuador oil company said.

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SLOWING GROWTH: The company cited rising costs and more cautious consumers as factors contributing to the 6.4 percent drop in profits
Dell Inc's fourth-quarter profit dropped 6.4 percent and fell short of Wall Street expectations, and the personal computer maker said that more cautious spending by customers and higher costs could hurt its business.

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COLLABORATION: The operation integrated efforts in the US, Canada and China to net more than 10 people in the US$76 million scheme
US authorities announced on Thursday that they had seized more than US$76 million in counterfeit Cisco Systems computer equipment manufactured in China over the past three years.

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Two vehicles made by Hyundai cracked this year's Consumer Reports list of 10 "top picks," the first time that the influential publication has given such recognition to a South Korean automaker.

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Microsoft Corp, the world's biggest software maker, will cut the retail price of its Windows Vista operating system by as much as 48 percent to encourage customers to upgrade and cut piracy in countries such as China.

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■ AVIATION

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