Business briefs 8/23/06

Third trial averted in Quattrone case

NEW YORK -- Former star banker Frank Quattrone reached a deal with the government Tuesday that allows his criminal case to be dismissed without a third trial. The pact would close a three-year effort to prosecute a man who earned $100 million in a single year as he commanded his investment firm's technology portfolio at the height of dot-com mania. U.S. District Court Judge George B. Daniels approved a one-year deferred prosecution agreement, calling for the charges to be dismissed if Quattrone stays out of trouble for one year.

Microsoft to push Vista this holiday season

SEATTLE -- Microsoft Corp. is considering discounts or other promotions during the holidays to entice consumers to upgrade their PCs with Windows Vista, even though the new operating system isn't due to hit store shelves until January at the earliest. Any end-of-the-year effort to spur PC purchases would likely please many retailers and computer manufacturers, who fear disappointing sales during the crucial holiday as consumers wait for the highly anticipated and long-delayed software. Vista will be the first major upgrade to Microsoft's flagship operating system since Windows XP was released in 2001.

Fuel economy top factor in purchases

DETROIT -- Fuel economy is about even with reliability as the top factors that people consider when buying a vehicle, according to a nationwide poll taken for Consumer Reports magazine. The telephone survey, taken Aug. 3 to 7 as gasoline prices remained around $3 per gallon, showed that 27 percent of likely vehicle buyers ranked gas mileage as the top factor in an automobile purchase.

-- From wire reports