SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Cisco Systems has agreed to acquire the on-line meeting company WebEx Com-munications for about $3.2 billion in cash, a takeover that furthers Ciscos push beyond its core market for net-working gear and into the lucrative arena of business communications.

Cisco Systems Inc., the leading maker of routers and switches that direct data over computer networks, said Thursday it will pay $57 a share of WebEx Inc. That represents a 23 percent premium over WebExs closing price of $46.20 Wednesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Shares of WebEx soared $10.17, or 22 percent, to close at $56.37 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Cisco shares fell 6 cents to $25.79.

The acquisition has been approved by both boards and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, Cisco said. Cisco said it expects the transaction to have a neutral ef-fect on its fiscal year 2008 earnings after one-time charges are subtracted. The total purchase price will be about $2.9 billion when factoring in WebExs $300 million in cash on hand.

San Jose-based Cisco has recent-ly made a number of acquisitions branching out from its core business of supplying networking gear, namely in communications, social network-ing and other areas that help drive traffic over the network and increase demand for its core equipment.

The acquisition was Ciscos 119th since 1993 and follows several other major recent takeovers by the com-pany. Cisco is in prime position to shop around, as a surge in demand from service providers snapping up sophisticated new networking gear has left the company sitting on a mountain of cash.

CHICAGO (AP) Just as it was about to unite with its archrival from across town, the Chicago Board of Trade got a tempting offer from a new suitor Thursday.

The venerable exchange did not imme-diately respond to the $9.9 billion all-stock bid from electronic futures market Inter-continentalExchange Inc. But investors did so with relish, driving the shares of parent CBOT Holdings Inc. to a record high in anticipation of a bidding war with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and perhaps others.

With equity and derivatives exchanges in the midst of a continuing worldwide shakeup, some observers suggested the ICE bid might prompt new interest in the Board of Trade by another market giant such as the New York Stock Exchange or the all-electronic Eurex.

The question is, who else is waiting in the shadows to step forward and pick up this Chicago gem? said Brad Bailey, an analyst for Aite Group.

The unsolicited bid by Atlanta-based ICE, a relative upstart in the futures and commodities industry, comes less than three weeks before CBOT shareholders are scheduled to vote April 4 on an all-Chicago deal. Chicago Mercantile Exchange Hold-ings Inc. and its century-long rival agreed last October to unite and form the worlds largest futures exchange, with CME pay-ing $8 billion.

The proposed new combination would create a derivatives leader with about a third of the U.S. market in commodities trading. It would be smaller, however, than a Board of Trade-Merc powerhouse, which has raised concerns about the potential for a monopoly and higher prices amid care-ful scrutiny by the Department of Justice.

The new offer amounts to what at least one analyst called a semi-hostile bid.

ICEs bid very much complicates the CME bid, said Robert Rutschow of Pru-dential Equity Group in a note to inves-tors. The big winner in this seems to be CBOT shareholders, who could pressure

either a higher bid from CME, and at a minimum have more strategic options go-ing forward.

Shares of CBOT jumped $28.86, or 17.4 percent, to close at $194.95 on the New York Stock Exchange. ICE fell $3.83, or 2.9 per-cent, to $128.10, while CME shed $31.09, or 5.5 percent, to $532.88.

CBOT declined to comment on the offer, while CME issued a terse statement voicing confidence in its merger effort and avoiding the question of whether it will raise its bid. We are working toward the successful completion of our transaction, the com-pany said.

The Board of Trade is the main U.S. bond market, but it still trades grain, as it has since its founding in 1848. CME has gone far beyond its trademark live-stock contracts to become the worlds larg-

est derivatives exchange.ICE was established in 2000 as an over-

the-counter market and has since become the worlds leading electronic marketplace for energy trading. It acquired Londons International Petroleum Exchange in 2001 and bought the New York Board of Trade earlier this year for more than $1 billion, moving into other commodities such as co-coa, coffee, orange juice and sugar futures.

As under the Mercs proposal, ICE said the combined new firm would be head-quartered at the Board of Trades historic building in downtown Chicago.

Jeffrey Sprecher, ICEs chairman and chief executive, said the bid offers not only a higher price but greater assurance that it will pass muster with regulators. He said he had informed CBOT execu-tives of the offer but did not know if they would accept.

Hopefully they will see the superior nature of our proposal, Sprecher said on a conference call. A billion dollars in mar-ket value above the previous transaction,

just on price alone, is superior.Asked if the company would pursue a

hostile takeover if the bid is rejected, he said, Well just have to wait and see. He said ICE is prepared to include cash in the deal if requested.

Combining CBOT and ICE would bring $240 million in annual synergies, Sprecher said.

Several analysts suggested that the Mer-cantile Exchanges parent may still pre-vail, especially if it raises its bid.

CME has significantly more power to outbid ICE, said Richard Herr, an analyst with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. Its just a matter of how much or how quick CME wants to raise its offer to make sure its deal goes through.

Under terms of the deal, ICE would is-sue 1.42 shares for each CBOT Class A common share. That would be worth $187.34 each based on ICEs Wednesdays closing stock price, nearly an 11 percent premium to the current value of the pend-ing CME/CBOT transaction.

Name Last Chg %Chg

NYSE most activeName Last Chg %Chg

Yesterdays NumbersDOW JONES

+ 26.28 NASDAQ + 6.96

NYSE + 46.64

AMEX+ 19.39Business Finance

PAGEC6 FRIDAY,MARCH16,2007Page edited by Justin D. Beckett

B Y T H E N U M B E R S

NYSE gainers AMEX gainers NASD gainersName Last Chg %Chg

NYSE losersNameLast Chg %Chg

Name Last Chg %Chg

NASD losersName Last Chg %Chg

NASD most activeNameVolLastChg

AMEX losersNameLast Chg %Chg

AMEX most activeName LastChg%Chg

Foreign Currencies

Commodities

AMEX diary NASD diaryNYSE diary Today Yest. Today Yest. Today Yest.

Dow Jones Bond Indices

NovaStrpfC 10.20 +3.10 +43.7NovaStar 5.15 +.97 +23.2AcMtgpfA 17.02 +2.66 +18.5CBOT 194.95 +28.86 +17.4Chiqutawt 1.45 +.20 +16.0PHHCplf 31.10 +3.29 +11.8Theragen 4.85 +.51 +11.8PepBoy 17.00 +1.75 +11.5Fremont 7.40 +.74 +11.1Medifast 6.65 +.62 +10.3OcwenFn 11.72 +1.06 +9.9PXREGrp 4.90 +.44 +9.8Winnbgo 33.55 +2.99 +9.8DoralFin 1.31 +.10 +8.3Xanser 5.48 +.41 +8.1

PeapkGl 30.64 +5.02 +19.6FlightSaf 2.40 +.37 +18.2StarMarwt 1.90 +.23 +13.8StormCg 1.04 +.12 +13.0DeltaFncl 8.97 +.98 +12.3Vicon 9.75 +.99 +11.3Rentech 2.62 +.23 +9.6AmCareSn 2.14 +.18 +9.2UtdCap 33.17 +2.78 +9.1ManSang 5.55 +.45 +8.8Terremk 7.68 +.60 +8.5AMDLhrs 3.71 +.29 +8.5PHCIncn 3.48 +.27 +8.4ImageWrh 2.28 +.17 +8.1ExeterRgn 1.86 +.14 +8.1

AccHme 9.43 +3.39 +56.1MapInfo 20.00 +6.79 +51.4ColumLab 1.48 +.27 +22.3AscntSlwtB 1.11 +.20 +22.0WebEx 56.38 +10.18 +22.0Convera 3.74 +.60 +19.151job 16.91 +2.60 +18.2Micrometn 2.90 +.40 +16.0Catuity 2.47 +.30 +13.8NtnsHlth 1.61 +.19 +13.4PeerlssSyh 2.29 +.27 +13.4NeoseT 1.98 +.23 +13.1ImperInds 7.51 +.86 +12.9LookSmart 4.63 +.53 +12.9TorreyPinn 8.00 +.91 +12.8

HancFab 1.70 .41 19.4BradPhrm 17.00 2.94 14.7Valhiwi 12.00 1.00 7.7ChiMerc 532.88 31.09 5.5Alpharma 24.15 1.19 4.7Comcst29 41.10 1.90 4.4MillerInds 21.19 .89 4.0GrayTvA 8.56 .35 3.9TrinaSoln 46.49 1.87 3.9VanMool 5.42 .22 3.9JoAnnStrs 25.00 .99 3.8RMKHI 14.25 .56 3.8RMKStrt 14.17 .56 3.8Saltonh 2.37 .09 3.7PrinFnpfB 28.25 1.00 3.4

ScolrPh 2.07 1.23 37.3GenFinwt 1.35 .20 12.9ZionO&Gn 7.62 .98 11.4Think 2.57 .24 8.5ApogeeTch 1.35 .12 8.2MCFCprs 4.47 .33 6.9SYS 2.07 .15 6.8YMBiog 1.53 .11 6.7MovieStr 2.95 .21 6.6Transfwt 1.01 .07 6.5ZTrim 1.16 .08 6.5WashSvgs 8.67 .58 6.3EvolPetn 2.80 .18 6.0CortexPh 2.17 .13 5.7CoreMold 7.80 .46 5.6

eOnCom 1.04 .31 22.8DynacqHlt 1.31 .28 17.6Fibrstrs 5.37 1.03 16.1MechTch 1.37 .25 15.4USANAH 49.85 8.92 15.2Ronson 1.80 .30 14.4Golfsmithn 8.55 1.25 12.8EmisTch 3.18 .46 12.6PSITech 1.68 .22 11.6VelocityEx 1.05 .12 10.3PatrkInd 10.65 1.15 9.7SciLearn 6.70 .69 9.3SciClone 2.56 .26 9.2AscentSol 7.99 .80 9.1WaveSysrs 2.63 .25 8.7

CVSCp 437706 33.34 +1.03Pfizer 351454 24.99 +.13GenElec 338165 34.52 +.21FordM 320677 7.59 +.08Citigrp 274100 50.13 +1.05DowChm 229305 45.80 +2.42ExxonMbl 217848 70.69 .33CaremkRx 199432 62.75 +1.67TimeWarn 196644 19.44 .01WellsFgos 183758 34.10 +.45

SPDR 1162826 139.47 +.19iShR2Knya 775347 77.80 +.55SPFncl 304190 35.30 +.42SPEngy 194422 57.19 .01PrUShQQQn 101639 55.80 +.29OilSvHT 80704 139.30 +.04DJIADiam 77573 121.79 +.13SemiHTr 71096 34.34 +.08SPMatls 51903 37.45 +.70TrnsmrEx 50575 3.02 +.12

AccHme 731065 9.43 +3.39MapInfo 67508 20.00 +6.79ColumLab 19831 1.48 +.27AscntSlwtB 9829 1.11 +.20WebEx 214779 56.38 +10.18AHPCHldh 133 .52 +.09Convera 2677 3.74 +.6051job 5486 16.91 +2.60Micrometn 743 2.90 +.40Catuity 806 2.47 +.30

Advanced 2,354 2,024Declined 951 1,294Totalissues 3,433 3,454NewHighs 68 35NewLows 18 88

Advanced 717 560Declined 380 563Totalissues 1,187 1,211NewHighs 16 18NewLows 16 60

Advanced 1,879 1,647Declined 1,122 1,366Totalissues 3,151 3,164NewHighs 47 24NewLows 55 168

19853271 251831617171646 1146437127328589 37196205

3570701 5928491544257 10635074156624 7038684

9151714 163642337210831 570022916736765 22344866

Up Volume00sDown Vol 00sTotal Vol 00s

Up Volume00sDown Vol 00sTotal Vol 00s

Up Volume00sDown Vol 00sTotal Vol 00s

Metals

Settle Chg Sales Op.Int.

Settle Chg Sales Op.Int.

InterestRates

Settle Chg Sales Op.Int.

Food&Fiber

Settle Chg Sales Op.Int.

Grains&Oils

Settle Chg Sales Op.Int.

Livestock&Meats

Settle Chg Sales Op.Int.

52WeekHigh Low Index High Low Close Chg.

Foreign Stock Indices

12795.93 10683.32 DowJonesIndustrials 12188.12 12105.92 12159.68 +26.285211.42 4134.72 DowJonesTransportation 4773.78 4708.70 4758.50 +42.47501.99 380.97 DowJonesUtilities 482.88 474.59 481.48 +4.884390.42 3697.12 DowJonesComposite 4178.50 4141.31 4171.74 +24.969463.62 7708.11 NYSEComposite 9020.82 8951.08 9005.25 +46.647094.40 5992.17 US100 6778.86 6723.91 6761.34 +22.8712368.98 10024.62 NYSEEnergy 11315.60 11191.54 11248.45 33.669891.68 7930.77 NYSEFinance 9225.78 9135.99 9202.46 +60.687259.81 6268.05 NYSE 6944.17 6899.27 6935.89 +7.742179.89 1800.65 AMEXComposite 2090.13 2063.35 2082.76 +19.391851.47 1446.77 Nasdaq100 1749.58 1737.04 1744.87 +1.722531.42 2012.78 NasdaqNMSComp 2382.62 2367.74 2378.70 +6.962222.47 1770.93 NMSIndustrials 2090.36 2078.02 2088.53 +11.293456.91 3087.11 NasdaqBanks 3248.46 3218.74 3248.46 +27.834168.92 3616.50 NasdaqInsurance 3979.39 3950.74 3979.39 +30.375547.19 4193.67 NasdaqFinancial 5030.97 4965.63 5005.71 +41.281144.88 910.04 NasdaqGlobalSel 1078.67 1071.63 1076.65 +2.881164.34 914.00 NASDGlobalMkt 1083.54 1078.27 1083.48 +5.44671.47 559.02 S&P100 638.65 633.62 636.74 +1.591461.57 1219.29 S&P500 1395.73 1385.16 1392.28 +5.11870.89 710.53 S&PMidcapIndex 829.32 822.54 828.44 +5.63423.35 346.81 S&P600Smallcap 401.57 397.57 401.57 +3.931263.82 1055.27 MajorMarketIndex 1210.65 1201.34 1206.78 +5.432366.25 1874.87 ValueLineArith 2253.63 2236.06 2252.53 +15.94830.01 668.58 Russell2000 783.61 775.69 783.61 +7.9314828.76 12249.90 Wilshire5000 14138.56 14037.28 14111.75 +65.64201.34 175.93 DJBonds 200.53 200.53 200.53 +.03

512.47 412.87 Amsterdam 483.39 477.13 483.39 +10.0114652.09 8929.44 Mumbai 12543.85 12543.85 12543.85 +14.234563.04 3445.10 Brussels 4267.08 4222.64 4262.79 +66.237040.20 5292.14 FrankfurtDAX 6594.33 6495.84 6585.47 +137.776448.10 5467.40 LondonFTSE100 6133.20 6000.70 6133.20 +132.5020971.46 15204.86 HongKongIdx 19054.94 18932.46 18969.44 +132.515771.69 4615.44 ParisCAC40 5389.85 5320.37 5389.85 +93.6328940.11 16653.15 Mexico 26990.73 26685.03 26883.53 +164.2118300.39 14045.53 Nikkei225 16942.31 16760.68 16860.39 +183.503310.44 2280.67 Singapore 3094.60 3094.60 3094.60 +41.3946915.79 32847.61 SaoPaulo 43278.19 43278.19 43278.19 10.256021.90 4807.20 Sydney 5831.80 5831.80 5831.80 +104.507935.54 6257.80 Taipei(Taiwan) 7695.96 7695.96 7695.96 +125.6913433.01 10860.72 Toronto 12901.40 12808.73 12874.32 +65.5933234.00 26543.00 Milan 31156.00 31156.00 31156.00 +459.007407.77 5573.99 ZurichSPI 6955.09 6955.09 6955.09 +101.88

201.34 175.93 DJBondAverages 200.53 200.53 200.53 +.03

AustraliaDollar 1.2666 .7895BrazilReal 2.0894 .4786BritainPound .5164 1.9364CanadaDollar 1.1769 .8497ChilePeso 537.63 .001860ChinaYuan 7.7480 .1291ColombiaPeso 2200.50 .000454CzechRepKoruna 21.21 .0472DenmarkKrone 5.6291 .1776EgyptPound 5.6975 .1755EuroEuro .7554 1.3237IndiaRupee 44.125 .0227IndnsiaRupiah 9259.26 .000108IsraelShekel 4.2115 .2374JapanYen 117.62 .008502JordanDinar .7085 1.4114MalaysiaRinggit 3.5125 .2847MexicoPeso 11.1453 .089724

N.ZealandDollar 1.4372 .6958NorwayKrone 6.1393 .1629PakistanRupee 60.72 .0165PeruNewSol 3.185 .3140PhilpinsPeso 48.67 .0205PolandZloty 2.94 .3401RussiaRuble 26.1165 .0383SaudiArabRiyal 3.7495 .2667SingaporeDollar 1.5326 .6525SlovakRepKoruna 25.66 .0390So.AfricaRand 7.4155 .1349So.KoreaWon 944.29 .001059SwedenKrona 7.0005 .1428SwitzerlandFranc 1.2182 .8209TaiwanDollar 33.08 .0302ThailandBaht 32.88 .03042TurkeyLira 1.4018 .7134U.A.E.Dirham 3.6719 .2723UruguayNewPeso 24.3126 .0411VenzuelaBolivar 2145.92 .000466

$in currency currency in$

GOLD(COMX) 645.70 +4.80 ... 367976SILVER(COMX) 1298.7 +24.7 ... 113080HIGRADECOPPER(COMX)298.50 +16.30 ... 66593Gold1kilo(CBOT) 641.0 ... 4312 7517Silver1000oz(CBOT)1295.4 +21.5 1808 5270PLATINUM(NYMX) 1215.70 +14.70 ... 10745PALLADIUM(NYMX) 347.40 1.70 ... 15299

Energy

52WeekHigh Low Index High Low Close Chg.

52WeekHigh Low Index High Low Close Chg.

U.S. Stock Indices

Est. Prev

Est. Prev

Est. Prev

Est. Prev

Est. Prev

Est. Prev

Commodities:ExchangeAbbreviationsCBOTChicagoBoardofTrade;CMERChicagoMercantileExchange;NCMXNewYorkCommoditiesExchangeInc.;KBOTKansasCityBoardofTrade;MACEMidamericaCommodityExchange;NCTNNewYorkCottonExchange;NCSENewYorkCoffee,CocoaandSugarExchange;NMERNewYorkMercantileExchange.EstimatedSalesistheestimatedvolumeoftrades.PreviousOpenInterestreferstothetotalnumberofcontractsoutstanding.

LgtCrudeOil(NYMX) 57.55 .61 ... 1324183GasBlend(NYMX) 1.8816 .0467 ... 169943NATURALGAS(NYMX)6.959 .124 ... 768700HEATINGOIL(NYMX) 168.85 2.05 ... 212670Propane(NYMX) 102.00 +1.00 ... 29

TresBond30YR(CBOT)11230 02 402041 851613TresNote(CBOT) 108275 025 1203648 2295809TresNote2YR(CBOT)102105 022 192362 876789TresNote5YR(CBOT)105295 03 545669 144742330DayFedFunds(CBOT)94.750 ... 60718 611620Eurodol3Mo(CME) 94.650 ... 262733 11526260Libor1Mo(CME) 94.680 ... ... 68785

ORANGEJUICE(NYBT)198.85 +1.65 1484 32560LUMBER(CME) 230.5 7.5 1123 7550Cotton(NYBT) 53.44 .06 5377 213521Coffee(NYBT) 109.65 +.65 8922 137488SugarDom(NYBT) 20.83 +.06 2 9617SugarWorld(NYBT) 10.23 .18 23037 652472COCOA(NYBT) 1757 +16 2943 171215

CATTLE(CME) 99.05 .92 62586 298962FEEDERCATTLE(CME)105.87 .05 4183 34576Hogs(CME) 65.87 .35 31789 177682PORKBELLIES(CME) 104.70 .30 144 1499

WHEAT(CBOT) 455.50 7.75 60011 405772CORN(CBOT) 397.75 7 211105 1428877OATS(CBOT) 270 +5.50 2975 18089SOYBEANS(CBOT) 750.50 3 59394 462288SOYBEANOIL(CBOT) 30.56 +.11 13547 272139SOYBEANMEAL(CBOT)217.40 .90 19086 210111Wheat(KCBT) 479.75 7 10131 114205

Classified Advertising

241-7733

&WASHINGTON (AP) Infla-

tion at the wholesale level soared in February, pushed higher by gasoline and other energy prices and the largest increase in food costs in more than three years.

The Labor Department report-ed that wholesale prices surged 1.3 percent last month. That was the biggest increase since No-vember and more than double the 0.5 percent gain analysts expected.

Cost pressures also showed up in higher prices for cigarettes, al-coholic beverages, appliances and childrens toys and games, which rose at the fastest clip in more than two decades.

The core inflation rate, which excludes food and energy, climbed by 0.4 percent, more than forecast and double the January gain.

The worrisome inflation news comes as the economy struggles to deal with the impact of a steep slump in housing and widespread layoffs in autos and other manu-facturing industries.

Normally, the Federal Reserve would consider cutting inter-est rates to bolster a faltering economy. But analysts said the increased inflationary pressures make rate cuts highly unlikely when the central bank meets Tuesday and Wednesday

There is still a degree of in-flation in the economy and that supports the Feds policy of not easing in response to the softer economic data we have been see-ing, said Robert Dederick, chief economist at RGD Economics, a Chicago-based consulting firm.

A separate report showed that the labor market seems to be re-gaining its balance. The number of laid-off workers filing for un-employment benefits dropped by 12,000 last week to 318,000.

It was the second straight week-ly decline and eased concerns that arose after big increases in jobless claims earlier in the year.

On Wall Street, stocks managed a moderate advance, bolstered by signs of strength in corporate takeover activity. The Dow Jones industrial averaged finished the day up 26.28 points at 12,159.68.

For the financial markets, it has been a turbulent time since late February. Concern has grown about companies that special-ize in loans to people with weak credit or low incomes; the worry

is that trouble among these sub-prime lenders could drag down the economy.

Wholesale inflation jumps on food, energy

160

150

It is mandatory to include all sources that accompany this graphic when repurposing or editing it for publication.

Chart data for reference onlyF 158.6M 159.3A 160.4M 160.7J 161.5J 161.3A 161.9S 160.2O 157.8N 160.2 (p)D 161.6 (p)

J 160.6 (p)F 162.7 (p)

2007

2006

PRODUCER PRICE INDEX 031507: Chart shows the producer price index and monthly percent change; 1c x 2 7/8 inches; 46.5 mm x 73 mm; with BC-Economy; WJC; ETA 11 a.m.

(p) preliminary

152

154

156

158

162

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics APSOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Producer pricesThe Producer Price Index for finished goodsSeasonally adjusted (1982 = 100)

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics

F M A M J J A S O N D J F2007

162.7

APSOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Producer pricesThe Producer Price Index for finished goodsSeasonally adjusted (1982 = 100)

Change from previous monthFeb.Jan.Dec.

1.3%-0.6%0.9%

2006

160

150

152

154

156

158

162

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics APSOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Producer pricesThe Producer Price Index for finished goodsSeasonally adjusted (1982 = 100)

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics

F M A M J J A S O N D J F2007

162.7

APSOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Producer pricesThe Producer Price Index for finished goodsSeasonally adjusted (1982 = 100)

2006

Change from previous monthFeb.Jan.Dec.

1.3%-0.6%0.9%

APPhoto/CharlesRexArbogast,fileVernonHulsoffersasaleontheagriculturaltradingfloorattheChicagoBoardofTrade.IntercontinentalExchangeInc.onThursdaymadeanunsolicited$9.9billionallstockbidforcommoditiesexchangeCBOTHoldingsInc.,whichoperatestheChicagoBoardofTradeandwhichhasalreadyagreedtoan$8billiontakeoverbyChicagoMercantileExchangeHoldingsInc.

ICEs $9.9B bid sparks potential bidding war

SPRECHER

Cisco to buy WebEx for $3.2B

APPhoto/MelEvansAshopperreachesforamilkproductintheAcmesupermarketstoreinLawrenceville,N.J.TheLaborDepartmentreportedThursdaythatinflationatthewholesalelevelsurgedinFebruary.

NEW DELHI (AP) Voda-fone Group PLC and Indias Es-sar group on Thursday reached an agreement to jointly manage a leading Indian mobile phone company in which the British mobile carrier is buying a con-trolling stake.

Vodafone Chief Executive Arun Sarin and Ravi Ruia, vice chairman of Essar, signed the partnership deal in New Delhi, laying out the details of how both plan to run Hutchison Essar Ltd. Indias fourth- largest mobile phone company with about 24 million customers.

Britain-based Vodafone won a bid last month to buy a con-trolling 67 percent stake in Hutchison Essar, a joint ven-ture between Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecommunica-tions International Ltd. and the Essar group.

The stake that Vodafone, the worlds largest mobile phone company, is buying for $11.1

billion in cash comprises the 52 percent equity held by Hutchison Telecom and a com-bined 15 percent stake owned by two individual Indian investors.

The deal with Essar, which holds the remaining 33 percent equity, is important for Voda-fone to complete the acquisi-tion because Indian laws do not allow more than 74 percent foreign equity in telecommu-nications.

Vodafones bid to acquire Hutchisons stake is also pend-ing for approval by the govern-ment.

Under the deal between Vo-dafone and Essar, Hutchison Essar will be renamed Voda-fone Essar Ltd., the Vodafone statement said.

In due course, that the busi-ness will market its products and services under the Voda-fone brand, the statement said, without detailing any timeframe.

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) Australias national air carrier Qantas on Thursday caved in to demands by stakeholders who have the potential to block an $8.6 billion takeover bid and released a profit forecast for the next financial year.

Qantas said in a news release it expected pretax profits for the year ending June 30, 2008, to be in line with an average of analysts estimates of around $962 million.

Qantas also said its full-year result for the year ending this June would be towards the up-per end of its earlier stated forecast. The company has not put a figure on the forecast, but has predicted it will be between 30 percent and 40 percent high-er than the 479.5 million Aus-tralian dollar profit reported for 2005-06.

The statement came after pressure intensified this week on Qantas management, which is backing private investment group Airline Partners Austra-lias 11.1 billion Australian dol-lar takeover bid, to say more about the companys outlook.

The companys shares fell this week to their lowest level

since the bid was announced in mid-December as speculation mounted that it may fail, de-spite winning government and regulatory approval so far.

The talk centered around two managed funds, UBS Global As-set Management and Balanced Equity Management, which between them hold more than 10 percent of Qantas shares and therefore the power to scuttle the deal, which requires 90 percent shareholder approval.

The funds reportedly had demanded more details of the companys outlook to bet-ter assess whether the bid of 5.45 Australian dollars a share being led by Australias Mac-quarie Bank and the Texas Pa-cific Group may be too low.

Qantas has twice in recent months boosted its earnings forecast for the year ending mid-2007, but until Thursday had declined to make predic-tions beyond that.

Daily Press, Victorville, Calif. BUSINESS Friday, March 16, 2006PAGE C8 Page edited by Justin D. Beckett

Catch the Relay Fever!Join us for the

Relay For Life Kick-Off EventSunday, March 18th

Noon 6:00 p.m.

The Mall of Victor ValleyFormer location of Greenhouse Cafe Get a sneak peek of the Relay experience! Sign up your team or learn how to form a team for this

24-hour team event Register as a survivor Purchase a luminaria Learn how you can become involved as a volunteer Hear what the American Cancer Society offers Pick up Relay For Life materials

For more information, contact Kim or Tony Colver at (760) 843-9335 or Aaron Davis at (951) 300-1231

Website www.acsevents.org/relay/ca/victorville

Mark your calendars:Relay for Life of Victorville

June 2-3, 2007Victor Valley College (Football Field)

Presenting Sponsor:

Law Offices ofKyle E. Wooldridge

14 Years Experience

Family LawDivorce, Support

GuardianshipCustody955-1422

B I N G OSaturdayEvening

$250 PayoutGuaranteedWarm-ups at 5:00Buy-in for 12-Pack

$10/$10/$5

TuesdayAfternoon

Warm-ups at 12 NoonBuy-in $5 for 10-Pack

Payout $100

Specials at $1 per sheetPayouts $100/$150/$250

Hesperia Leisure League9122 3rd Ave. Hesperia 244-3223

Free Progressive BlackoutSaturday $1199 in 50 #s Tuesday $550 in 53 #s

Hot PotSaturday $250 Tuesday $500

DoorPrizes!

PUBLIC WELCOMEFull Kitchen Lots of Parking Security

SORRYNO

CHECKS

APPhoto/MarkBakerQantaspassengerjetsareparkedattheirterminalatSydneyAirport.Thegovernmenthasapprovedthe$8.6billionacquisitionofQantasAirwaysLtd.byaninvestorgrouponconditionofundertakingsagreedbyagroupofinvestors,AustralianTreasurerPeterCostellosaidonTuesday.

Qantas caves in to demands of stakeholders, issues profit forecast

Vodafone reaches deal with Essar on joint company

TheAssociatedPress/FilephotoJapanAirlinesPresidentHarukaNishimatsu,sixthleft,andJapan'sTransportationMinisterTetsuzoFuyushiba,seventhleft,posewithleadersof10memberoneworldallianceofcarriers,whichcouldsoonincludeAustralianairlineQantas.

G a i N S a N d L o S S E S

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) Wyoming will post its first in-crease in oil production in 21 years thanks to revived production from old oil fields and new production in southwest Wyoming, Don Lik-wartz, supervisor of the state Oil and Gas Conservation Commis-sion, said Thursday.

Likwartz said 2006 oil production numbers were still not final but pre-liminary numbers show that pro-duction last year through November was ahead of 2005 by 735,000 barrels.

Once the December 2006 produc-tion numbers are available, Lik-wartz said, he expects last years oil production in Wyoming to exceed 52 million barrels. In 2005, the state produced about 51.7 million barrels.

Oil production in Wyoming had been on a downward slide since 1985 when the state produced

131 million barrels.The reversal is good news for

Wyoming coffers because the state collects taxes on oil taken out of the ground.

Likwartz attributed the turn-around in production to Anadarko Petroleum Corp. reviving the Salt Creek oil field north of Casper and to new oil being found in the Jonah and Pinedale natural gas fields in southwest Wyoming.

The 100-year-old Salt Creek field had been considered all but tapped out until Anadarko began pumping carbon dioxide into the ground a couple of years ago. That forces out oil that could not be recovered by conventional drilling methods.

The CO2 injection is predicted to boost Salt Creeks production from about 5,000 barrels a day now to 30,000 barrels a day by 2010.

Wyoming will see first increase in oil production in 21 years

Winnebago2Qprofitslipsmorethan2percent

DES MOINES, Iowa Win-nebago Industries Inc., one of the nations leading recre-ational vehicle manufacturers, said Thursday that fiscal sec-ond-quarter profit edged down 2.2 percent on lower revenue. But the results beat analysts expectations and the companys shares soared nearly 10 percent.

Earnings dropped to $7.5 million, or 24 cents a share, for the three months ended Feb. 24 versus $7.7 million, or 23 cents a share, in the prior-year period.

The Forest City-based com-pany had fewer outstanding shares in this years quarter compared with the period in the previous year.

StrongbondspushBearStearnsupinfirstquarter

NEW YORK Bear Stearns Cos., Wall Streets largest un-derwriter of mortgage securi-ties, on Thursday reported first-quarter profit rose 8 percent despite turmoil in the subprime lending sector.

Its profit after paying pre-ferred dividends rose to $548.5 million, or $3.82 a share, for the three months ended Feb. 28 from $508.7 million, or $3.54 a share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose to $2.48 billion from $2.19 billion last year.

HealthcaregrowthprovideshealthyfourthatBayer

FRANKFURT, Germany Bayer AG said Thursday its fourth-quarter earnings surged, buoyed by strong growth in its health care business, and the drug and chemical maker forecast that annual group sales would rise at least 5 percent as it benefits from the acquisition of rival Schering AG.

The company said it earned $410 million in the October-De-cember period, compared with 46 million euros a year earlier, beating the $81.73 million that analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had predicted.

Sales during the fourth quarter rose 25 percent to $10.51 billion. Bayer shares rose 3.25 percent to close at $58.18 in Frankfurt.

Compiledfromwirereports

APPhoto/GurinderVodafoneChiefExecutiveArunSarin,right,andViceChairmanofEssargroupRaviRuaiduringsmileduringapressconferenceinNewDelhi,India,onThursday.