The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Thursday, July 24, 2008: Visa survey shows foreign travel remains popular NEW YORK (AP) _ The weak U.S. dollar has not dissuaded Americans from planning trips abroad this year, but they may be heading to destinations closer to home, according to a survey released Thursday by Visa Inc. Two in three respondents said they are as willing or more willing to travel abroad than they were a year ago, and half said they are likely to travel abroad in the next year. Of that half, two-thirds said they are considering destinations closer to the U.S. than they had in years past. ___ Canon reports 13 percent drop in profit TOKYO (AP) _ Canon Inc. said Thursday its second-quarter profit fell 13 percent from a year ago as a stronger yen chipped away at the value of booming overseas sales of color copiers. The Japanese camera maker recorded a 107.84 billion yen ($1 billion) profit for April-June, down from 123.93 billion yen the same period the previous year. Quarterly sales totaled 1.106 trillion yen ($10.26 billion), down 1.9 percent from 1.127 trillion yen. ___ Nokia, Qualcomm settle long-running dispute SAN DIEGO (AP) _ The legal salvos between Nokia Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. stopped months ago, part of what officials at the wireless industry heavyweights described as a truce in a long-running battle that spanned three continents. Peace came Wednesday as the two sides prepared for a courtroom showdown. Nokia, the world's largest handset maker, and Qualcomm, the world's largest maker of chips that run cell phones, agreed to settle a high-stakes licensing dispute and drop all legal complaints against each other in the U.S., Europe and Asia. ___ Facebook to help some programmers, punish others SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Facebook Inc. is introducing more tools to help the software applications fueling the online hangout's popularity and is promising to intensify its efforts to weed out programs that violate its rules for protecting users' privacy. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's precocious chief executive, outlined on Wednesday the steps in a programmers' conference that underscored the growing influence of the Web site that he started 4 1/2 years ago in his Harvard University dorm room. ___ Amazon shrugs off high gas prices, weak economy NEW YORK (AP) _ Amazon.com Inc. doesn't seem to be bothered by high gas prices or the sputtering U.S. economy. On Wednesday, the Internet retailer reported second-quarter earnings that more than doubled and easily topped analysts' expectations. It also raised its full-year revenue projections. ___ Oil steady above $124 after steep drop SINGAPORE (AP) _ Oil prices steadied in Asian trading Thursday after shedding nearly $4 a barrel in the previous session on concerns that high fuel prices are dampening demand in the world's biggest energy consumer. A weekly report by the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration showed that gasoline demand over the four weeks ended July 18 was 2.4 percent lower than a year earlier _ offering further evidence that Americans are cutting back on fuel. ___ Hyundai Motor profit slips as sales rise SEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ South Korea's Hyundai Motor said Thursday that its second-quarter net profit declined nearly 11 percent despite higher sales, and vowed to fight high oil prices by aggressively exporting more fuel efficient vehicles. Hyundai Motor Co. earned 546.93 billion won ($542.1 million) in the three months ended June 30, the company said in a regulatory filing. That was 10.6 percent lower than the same period last year. ___ House OKs rescue for homeowners, Freddie, Fannie Continued... |