Judge bars executive from working at Apple

Judge bars executive from working at Apple

Apple Inc.'s new executive in charge of the iPod and the iPhone must stop work immediately because he may have violated an agreement with former employer IBM Corp., a judge ruled.

The executive, Mark Papermaster, left for Apple last month. IBM sued him, saying the move violated a contract in which he agreed not to work for a competitor within a year of leaving his job.

Papermaster "will immediately cease his employment with Apple Inc. until further order," U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas in White Plains, N.Y., said in an order issued after markets closed.

TOYS

Bratz doll maker pares 70 jobs

MGA Entertainment Inc. Chief Executive Isaac Larian said the maker of Bratz dolls cut 70 jobs because of "high legal fees" incurred in its lawsuit with Mattel Inc.

The Van Nuys toy maker has 1,600 employees.

Closely held MGA and El Segundo-based Mattel, the maker of Barbie, are in a dispute over the creation of the Bratz dolls.

THE ECONOMY

U.S. wholesale inventories down

Wholesale inventories held by distributors fell in September as companies cut stockpiles in the face of the economic slowdown.

The Commerce Department said inventories fell by 0.1%. Analysts had expected them to grow by 0.3%, according to Thomson Reuters. The department also revised August's reading down to a 0.6% increase from 0.8%.

Wholesale sales also dropped in September, by 1.5%, the department said, after a revised 1.6% decline the previous month.

TRANSPORTATION

Airlines improve on-time record

U.S. airlines' on-time performance and baggage handling improved in September, though the carriers overall posted a higher rate of domestic cancellations compared with the same month last year, the Transportation Department said.

Delta Air Lines Inc.'s regional subsidiary, Comair, had the worst on-time performance in September, and Hawaiian Airlines had the best.

United drops plan to raise a bag fee

United Airlines, the third-biggest U.S. carrier, dropped its plan to double the fee to check a second piece of luggage, keeping its price the same as competitors'.

The Chicago-based airline said Sept. 15 that it would increase the second-bag charge to $50 each way for flights starting Nov. 10. The rollback means UAL Corp.'s United will match most competitors by charging $15 for a first bag and $25 to check a second each way.

PHARMACEUTICALS

Amgen sets plan for bone drug

Amgen Inc. said it hoped to begin selling its bone drug denosumab next year, fueling growth as the decline in revenue from its top-selling anemia treatments bottoms out.

The company plans to file by the end of this year or early 2009 for U.S. approval of denosumab, Thousand Oaks-based Amgen has said.

INSURANCE

LandAmerica finds a buyer

LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., the third-biggest U.S. title insurer, agreed to sell itself to No. 2 Fidelity National Financial Inc. for $128 million in stock after damage from the housing slump jeopardized its independence.

-- times wire services