Business digest 01/17/04

Judge denies injunction in razor patent case

BOSTON -- A federal judge denied Gillette's request for a preliminary injunction to block Schick-Wilkinson Sword from selling its new, four-bladed Quattro razor. Quattro hit shelves in September, but its prospects were clouded by Gillette's argument that the four-blade arrangement was too close to a three-bladed system patented by Gillette. U.S. District Judge Patti Saris said Gillette failed to meet the standard required for a preliminary injunction and that Gillette would be unlikely to prevail at trial.

Continental Airlines CEO to retire at year's end

HOUSTON -- Gordon M. Bethune, the colorful and blunt CEO who helped restore Continental Airlines Inc.'s financial health over the past decade, plans to retire at the end of the year, the airline said Friday. Bethune will be succeeded by company president Larry Kellner, according to a statement by the nation's fifth-largest carrier. The Houston-based airline also said its board will be reduced from 14 to 10 members.

Microsoft antitrust deal falling short, feds say

WASHINGTON -- One of the most important provisions of the antitrust settlement negotiated with Microsoft Corp. is falling short of the federal government's hopes that it would energize rivals of the world's largest software maker, the Justice Department acknowledged Friday. U.S. antitrust lawyers told the trial judge they are increasingly uneasy that efforts to persuade competitors to license Microsoft's Windows technology for their own software products "are not likely to spur the emergence in the marketplace of broad competitors to the Windows desktop." Government lawyers told U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in court papers that Microsoft's licensing agreements have turned out too complex and potentially too expensive for competitors.

Feds agree to buy $50 million of orange juice

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The federal government has agreed to bail out the struggling citrus industry by buying up to $50 million worth of orange juice. Florida is the source of most of the nation's orange juice and is the world's second-largest orange producer behind Brazil. The purchase is equal to two or three weeks worth of U.S. orange juice consumption, and could lead to a boost in the prices for producers. The state's citrus industry originally had requested that the government buy between $200 million and $240 million worth of juice.

Judge closes Martha Stewart jury selection

NEW YORK --A federal judge on Friday left intact her bar on reporters watching jury selection in the Martha Stewart trial, rejecting arguments that her ruling unfairly keeps the public from monitoring the case. U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum said her concern is that the domestic style maven and her ex-stockbroker receive a fair trial. Stewart is accused of lying to investigators about why she sold ImClone Systems stock just before it plunged on a negative report about an ImClone cancer drug. Juror interviews are to begin Tuesday.

-- From wire reports