COUNTERING INFLATION: The central bank boosted its key interest rate by 0.25 percentage points for the fourth time in seven months, adding pressure on Canberra
Australia's central bank raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points yesterday to a fresh 12-year high of 7.25 percent in a bid to curb inflation amid robust economic growth.

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China said yesterday that it will follow WTO rules in settling disputes with the US and Europe over restraints on access to its booming market for financial information services but had no comment on the content of the complaints.

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Samsung Electronics Co said yesterday that a liquid-crystal-display (LDC) production line it plans to build with Japan's Sony Corp will have a capacity similar to an already existing facility that makes 50,000 glass sheets a month.

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TRIAL RUN: Tokyo is so bullish on the technology that it is pushing for more homes to make the switch, but the cells' cost and limited life are slowing their expansion
Masanori Naruse jogs every day, collects miniature cars and feeds birds in his backyard, but he's proudest of the way his home and 2,200 others in Japan get electricity and heat water -- with power generated by a hydrogen fuel cell.

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Intel Corp lowered its profit forecast for its fiscal first quarter on Monday, blaming the shortfall on a steeper-than-expected drop in prices for memory chips.

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■CHEMICALS