IN BRIEF

SAN JOSE, Calif.

Google slates announcement about Android, incites talk

Fanning speculation that it could unveil a self-branded smartphone to challenge the way mobile devices have been sold, Google has scheduled an announcement for next week about its Android mobile platform.

Whether the event scheduled for Tuesday will involve details of Google's plans to market a heavily rumored "Google phone" -- an HTC-built prototype dubbed the Nexus One was distributed to Google employees recently -- or will be about a bundle of software services or applications built around the company's Android operating system was unclear to industry observers Tuesday.

Google, typically, was coy about its intentions in a terse invitation it released to media organizations Tuesday.

At a press event Dec. 7, Google executives hinted at new smartphone services that would be unveiled in the first quarter of 2010, including an early version of linguistic translation services that would allow a smartphone to translate between a wide variety of languages.

Japan Airlines shares fall on rumors of possible bankruptcy

Shares of Japan Airlines Corp., Asia's biggest carrier by sales, fell the most in five weeks after reports said a state-affiliated agency may seek bankruptcy for the unprofitable company.

Japan Air dropped as much as 11 percent to 85 yen and traded at 87 yen as of 1 p.m. on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It was the biggest decline among more than 1,600 companies in the MSCI World Index.

A bankruptcy is the preferred option of the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp., which is charged with rescuing the Tokyo-based carrier, the Asahi newspaper reported Tuesday, without citing anyone.

The Nikkei newspaper reported Monday that bankruptcy was among options being considered.

"Investors are dumping the shares all at once on speculation the agency will go with bankruptcy," said Minoru Matsuno, president of Value Search Asset Management Co., a Tokyo-based investment advisory firm. "The speculation is becoming more credible as many similar reports are coming out."

Outback to pay $19 million to settle sex-discrimination case

Outback Steakhouse agreed to pay $19 million to settle a sex-discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of female employees at the restaurant chain.

Outback, which is owned by private-equity investor Bain Capital LLC, didn't admit to any wrongdoing. The company determined settling the lawsuit with money provided by insurance coverage was preferable to further litigation, it said in a statement.

Outback, with 950 restaurants worldwide and eight in Southern Nevada, discriminated against its female workers by denying them equal opportunities to advance, the U.S. agency alleged. Women "hit a glass ceiling" and couldn't get promoted to management positions that offered profit-sharing, the EEOC said.

Western Alliance managers buying stake in subsidiary

Las Vegas-based Western Alliance Bancorporation on Tuesday reported that it agreed to sell managers a 75 percent interest in a subsidiary that provides investment advice and wealth management.

The managers will pay $2.7 million to the bank holding company for the ownership stake in Miller/Russell & Associates Inc. Alliance Bank of Arizona, a Western subsidiary, is lending $2.1 million to managers to use in making the acquisition.

Western also is holding company for Bank of Nevada.

Shares in the holding company gained 9 cents, or 2.3 percent, to close at $3.93 on the New York Stock Exchange.

NEW YORK

Nokia expands dispute over patents beyond Apple iPhone

Nokia Corp. is broadening a legal dispute it already has with Apple Inc. over the iPhone, saying almost all of the company's other products also violate the Finnish phone maker's patents.

Nokia said Tuesday that it has filed a complaint against Apple with the U.S. International Trade Commission, alleging Apple's iPhone, iPods and computers all violate Nokia's intellectual property rights.

At issue are key features found in Apple products, including aspects of user interface, cameras, antenna and power management technologies, Nokia said.