Sunday, November 05, 2006

A magistrate released the Casino Royale from federal court control Thursday.
The ship's owner settled claims from crew members, who obtained a court
order for federal marshals to seize the vessel last week. The ship has been
docked at Tampa Bay Shipbuilding & Repair Co. since April, while owners try
to get U.S. Coast Guard approval to carry passengers on the casino boat.
Microsoft Corp. has announced it will release the business version of the
long-anticipated update to its flagship operating system at an event at the
Nasdaq Stock Market on Nov. 30. In addition to Windows Vista, the company
said it also will release the Office 2007 software suite, which includes
word processing and spreadsheet programs, and Exchange Server 2007 for
e-mail and calendars. Shares of Clearwater's Lincare Holdings Inc., which
provides oxygen to at-home patients, rose Thursday after
easier-than-expected Medicare cuts in oxygen reimbursement. Lincare shares
rose $2.68 to $35.18 on the Nasdaq. On Wednesday, the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid lowered its monthly payment for oxygen to $230 from $231, far
better than the anticipated payment of$209. A bankruptcy judge granted Delta
Air Lines Inc. a deadline extension to file its plan of reorganization as it
tries to emerge from Chapter 11 by the middle of next year. The nation's
third-largest airline now has until Feb. 15, to file a plan and until April
16, to solicit approval for the plan from creditors, according to a court
document dated Oct. 31.

Twinkies baker settle federal case

Interstate Bakeries Corp., the bankrupt maker of Twinkies and Wonder bread,
said Thursday it has agreed to settle a longstanding federal investigation
into its record-keeping and accounting practices. The company also said it
has been ordered by the Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of
Enforcement to file a year and a half of delinquent quarterly and annual
reports by Dec. 31 or its stock could be delisted.

MySpace pioneer files antitrust suit

An early investor in MySpace sued the popular social networking Web site on
Thursday, claiming the company violated antitrust laws by blocking links to
his new online video-sharing venture. Brad Greenspan, chief executive of Los
Angeles-based LiveUniverse Inc., claims that last month MySpace began
deleting references on user pages to his new Web site, vidiLife.com, and has
dismantled video links and blocked users from mentioning the site. Both
sites allow users to post videos and create online profiles for swapping
media and collecting Internet penpals.