IN BRIEF
Oil prices increase to nine-month high
Crude oil rose to a nine-month high in New York on concern that U.S. refineries are failing to keep up with growing gasoline demand, and after Iran said it isn't willing to suspend its nuclear program.
Refineries operated at 89.2 percent of capacity last week, the lowest since May 4 and the lowest utilization rate in 15 years for the second week in June, an Energy Department report showed Wednesday. Iran, the Middle East's second-largest producer of crude oil, said its nuclear research is advancing. The United States and its allies accuse Iran of developing nuclear weapons.
Crude oil for July delivery rose $1.39, or 2.1 percent, to settle at $67.65 a barrel at 2:48 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest close since Sept. 5. Prices are down 2.2 percent from a year ago.
DEARBORN, Mich.
About 27,000 workers leave Ford Motor Co.
About 27,000 U.S. hourly workers have left Ford Motor Co. under buyout or early retirement offers, the automaker said Thursday.
Ford offered the packages last year in an effort to reduce its work force to match reduced demand for its cars and trucks.
Initially about 37,000 workers signed up for the offers, but not all have left the company, it said. Ford has until September to phase in the departures as it closes plants under a restructuring plan.
Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans said about half the 27,000 were not eligible for retirement, which will reduce the company's long-term retiree health care liabilities.
About 8,000 left last year and 19,000 so far this year, she said.
Lobbyist says legalized gaming to help Macau
Macau will be helped by the legalization of casino gambling in several Asian countries, said Frank Fahrenkopf, head of the American Gaming Association, an industry lobby group in the United States.
Having casinos in other Asian cities "will get more people exposed to gaming and will get more people interested in coming to Macau," Fahrenkopf, president and chief executive officer of the organization, said in an interview on the sidelines of the Asian Gaming Expo in Macau on Wednesday.
Fahrenkopf was to meet South Korean officials in Seoul on Thursday to discuss the city's plan to build a casino near its Incheon airport. He also said he will probably meet Taiwan presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou to discuss the possibility of legalizing casinos on the island.
Eastman Kodak plans improved technology
Eastman Kodak Co., trying to boost digital-photography revenue, said it will introduce new image-sensor technology that helps eliminate dark, blurry pictures.
Sensors act as the eye of the digital camera, converting light into digital signals. The improved technology is more sensitive to light and enables faster shutter speeds, which help reduce blurry images, the world's largest photography company said Thursday.
Kodak is steering away from traditional film and wants the new sensors to help increase revenue from digital imaging. The company also plans to license the technology to other companies, and camera makers will be able to test samples in the first quarter of 2008, said Chris McNiffe, general manager of Kodak's image-sensors group.
"We look for Kodak to market the technology and seek to co-develop opportunities with industry partners," Matt Troy, an analyst at New York-based Citigroup, wrote in a note to investors.
Hertz adding 3,400 Prius hybrids to fleet
Hertz Global Holdings, the second-largest U.S. car-rental company, plans to add 3,400 of Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius gasoline-electric cars to its fleet as customers seek more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Park Ridge, N.J.-based Hertz said it will spend $68 million to add the hybrid cars by 2008. The first 1,000 will be available at U.S. rental sites within the next few weeks, spokesman Richard Broome said.
NEW YORK
Bonds decline ahead of inflation report
U.S. Treasury bond prices were slightly lower Thursday, with investors unwilling to take bonds too far in either direction ahead of today's key consumer-inflation report and after the market's recent sharp drop in price.
At 5 p.m. EDT, the 10-year Treasury note was down $1.25 per $1,000 in face value, or 0.13 points, from its level at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, rose to 5.23 percent from 5.21 percent.
