IBT Staff Reporter

Kia Motors Corp. said on Tuesday that its overseas retail sales of passenger cars and light trucks in September represented a 6.5 percent year-on-year decrease. In the United States, Kia sales rose 2 percent to 23,877 vehicles.

American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp., said on Tuesday that its September traffic fell 1.4 percent from 10.74 billion revenue passengers miles last September, to 10.6 billion revenue passengers miles. Each revenue mile is one paying passenger flown one mile.

Global steel companies have been asked to keep a steady eye on prices to ensure they do not get affected by Chinese overproduction levels.

Boeing said on Tuesday that the largest private airline company in the Czech Republic, Travel Service, has ordered two next-generation 737-900ERs for $150 million.

iRobot Corp announced on Tuesday it has received $6.9 million in new orders from the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) as well as the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).

Last week Disney announced that it was closing down its ESPN Mobile service that failed to catch on, however the some experts contend the failure is a sign of weakness in the mobile business model, rather than the service itself.

The recent spectacular drop in oil prices has taken inflation expectations down with it, along with the returns on inflation hedges including TIPS, or Treasury inflation-protected securities

Sony Corp. introduced two single-layer Blu-ray Disc recorders with a single-layer, 25-Gbyte capacity at the Ceatec 2006 electronics show in Japan.

A recent survey conducted by semiconductor industry association SEMI found that silicon wafer production is expected to rise 18 percent in 2006, indicating strong growth for the semiconductor industry as a whole.

Shareholders approved the acquisition of hard disk manufacturer Maxtor to rival Seagate in May, giving a Seagate a 5 percent growth in market share. The sudden surge, however, has triggered a price war as rivals vie to cease lost market share.

Finnish-based Nokia introduced a new standard for wireless communication on Tuesday, unveiling a new technology focused on short-range communication and low power consumption.

Nokia, the world's largest cell-phone manufacturer, announced a new service on Tuesday allowing web-developers and content producers to multicast RSS (real simple streaming) data and user generated-content to mobile phones of any manufacurer.

The economic growth for this year is expected to grow steadily at a rate of 3.6 percent, but is expected to slow to 3 percent for 2007, according to UN estimates.

Nokia today announced the release of WidSets, a phone manufacturer independent Web 2.0 service. The service automatically multicasts preferred RSS feeds and user generated content.

According to research results announced by Hibernian Life & Pensions, the beginning of new school year in Ireland marks the beginning of a 13 year spending spree for parents of children in primary and secondary education.

John Lewis Partnership today announced the launch of Greenbee, a new direct services company, which will offer financial, travel and leisure services.

Today PartyGaming Plc announced that it’s Board had decided to cancel the company’s interim dividend that was due to be paid on 31st October 2006.

Scottish & Southern Energy PLC (SSE) announced that it had been notified of a dividend reinvestment on 27th September 2006 by Halifax, the PEP Manager

A number of major PC manufacturers have issued recalls on batteries manufactured by Sony Corp in recent months, citing the potential for failures leading to hazardous explosions. Despite the growing concern, HP, decided on Tuesday that its systems are safe and that the company will not issue any recalls.

Sony's anticipated Playstation game console has faced numerous delays in the past, citing problems with its new hardware design, however experts contend the company has started full-swing production, quelling fears of further delays.

News Corp. on Tuesday said it will launch a new service to offer full episodes of its television shows on MySpace.com and the Web sites of its local Fox TV stations after they have aired.

Canon and Toshiba said on Tuesday they would start mass production of ultra-thin flat-panel TVs in early 2008, entering a market dominated by makers such as Matsushita Electric Industrial and Samsung Eletronics.

The industrial producer price index rose by 0.1 percent from July to August in the euro area, and by 0.2 percent in countries belonging to the European Union.

Gap Inc. and Banana Republic are expanding their relationship with F J Benjamin Holdings Ltd. by opening new stores in Indonesia.

Consumers will still have to wait a few years before they can swap the batteries of their cell phones for more environment-friendly fuel cells, the world's top handset maker Nokia said on Tuesday.

Skyworks Solutions, Inc., a wireless semiconductor company said on Monday it will end its baseband operations and will instead sharpen the focus on its core business. The company also announced 10 percent cut in its worldwide workforce.

The two fastest growing sectors in the semiconductor industry are digital television (DTV) and portable media players reports released this year indicate.

The choice facing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is stark: sack the Hamas-led government and risk civil war or do nothing and watch poverty and unrest deepen in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Transport and warehouse firm Christian Salvesen said on Tuesday it had grown revenues by about 7 percent in the six months to September 30, but some of its markets remained tough.