Business Briefing
Inventories fall 0.8% in December
Inventories at U.S. wholesalers unexpectedly fell in December after the biggest increase in more than five years, indicating distributors had trouble keeping up with demand.
The 0.8% decrease in stockpiles followed a revised 1.6% gain in November that was the largest since July 2004, figures from the Commerce Department showed. Sales climbed 0.8%.
COURTS
Chevron fights Ecuador report
Chevron Corp. said a report proposing that the company pay $27 billion for alleged environmental damage in Ecuador should be thrown out because the court-appointed author owns a cleanup company and didn’t disclose his conflict of interest.
The company said Richard Cabrera is the majority owner of an oil field remediation company that is registered to perform work for Ecuador’s state-owned oil company, PetroEcuador. Steven Donziger, a New York lawyer for Ecuadoreans suing Chevron in the case, said Cabrera has disclosed to the court that he worked with a remediation company. He said there’s no proof that the company ever received a contract from PetroEcuador. He also said Cabrera’s firm would be barred from cleanup work under court rules.
TOURISM
Las Vegas saw 3% drop in ’09
Visits to Las Vegas fell 3% in 2009 as the “great recession dampened travel and tourism,” the city’s convention and visitors authority said.
About 36.4 million people visited Las Vegas last year, down from 37.5 million in 2008, the group said. Convention attendance tumbled 24% to 4.49 million, and average daily rates at Vegas hotels dropped 22% to $92.93.
AIRLINES
Some Southwest fares drop to $39
Southwest Airlines Co. said it will sell tickets starting at $39 each way on some routes under 500 miles.
Friday and Sunday flights aren’t included. The sale ends Thursday and covers travel from March 15 through May 25.
Delta, American, United, Continental and US Airways matched the sale prices on routes where they compete with Southwest, said Tom Parsons, CEO of BestFares.com. Fellow discount carriers JetBlue and AirTran matched on some routes.
TELECOM
Google slashes termination fee
Google Inc. is shaving $200 off the fee that it charges customers of its new Nexus One phone to break a service contract with T-Mobile, as federal regulators continue to probe such fees and the rationale for them.
Google’s “equipment recovery fee” applies to customers who break their two-year T-Mobile contract after a 14-day trial period and before 120 days.
INTERNET
Online retail sales rise 2.6%
Online retail spending in the U.S. rose to $39 billion last quarter, a 2.6% gain from a year earlier, researcher ComScore Inc. said.
Retail e-commerce spending totaled $129.8 billion in 2009, less than the previous year’s $130.1 billion. The fourth quarter saw the first increase in online sales since the third quarter of 2008, ComScore said.
-- times wire reports
