IN BRIEF (Page 17)

Ready to raise rates

The European Central Bank would be ready to raise interest rates again if necessary, new ECB Governing Council member Athanasios Orphanides said in a German newspaper interview. Orphanides, who has been attending Governing Council meetings for some time in the lead-up to Cyprus adopting the euro on January 1, told Handelsblatt he shared the concerns of other policymakers "who are extremely worried about inflation".

Channel for sale

US cable channel The Weather Channel is to be put up for sale and could fetch more than $5 billion, The New York Times said in an online report yesterday, quoting people briefed on the auction. A representative for the company, a privately owned cable channel, was not immediately available for comment.

Subprime takes toll

State Street Corp, one of the world's largest asset managers, said yesterday it will take a $279 million charge for legal and other costs after making bad bets on subprime mortgages and other debt, and said the head of its investment management arm has resigned.

The Boston-based company said the fourth-quarter charge equals 71 cents per share, and addresses costs related to fixed-income underperformance at its State Street Global Advisors unit.

Takeover offer

Philips Electronics has extended its $2.7 billion takeover offer for US lighting maker Genlyte Group Inc to January 16, saying not all regulatory approvals have been obtained yet.

The company still needed antitrust approval in a "small number of countries outside of North America", a spokesman said yesterday.

Tata in the lead

US carmaker Ford said yesterday that India's Tata Motors was the front-runner to buy its European brands - Jaguar and Land Rover.

"Ford is committed to focused negotiations at a more detailed level with Tata Motors concerning the potential sale of the combined Jaguar/Land Rover business," said Lewis Booth, Ford executive vice-president with responsibility for Ford Europe.

Wheat rises

Chicago wheat futures rose more than 3 percent on Thursday as strong demand and crude oil prices continued to fuel the rally from Wednesday, traders said.

Soybean and corn markets also went higher, hovering near multiyear highs. March wheat on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 28 cents, or 3.14 percent, to $9.43 per bushel by 0518 GMT.

Agencies

(China Daily 01/04/2008 page17)