Business digest 10/14/05

Chip maker Samsung to pay $300 million fine

WASHINGTON -- Samsung, the world's largest maker of memory chips for computers and other gadgets, will pay a $300 million fine to settle accusations it secretly conspired with industry rivals to fix prices and cheat customers, federal officials said Thursday. Samsung's guilty plea to a felony price-fixing charge caps a three-year investigation by the Justice Department into makers of the chips, a $7.7 billion market in the United States. Two of Samsung's leading rivals earlier paid fines totaling $345 million.

AFl-CIO chief calls for challenge to China

WASHINGTON -- America's largest labor federation is urging the U.S. government to challenge more strongly what it calls China's unfair manipulation of its exchange rate to gain trade advantages over U.S. business. Richard Trumka, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, said Thursday that American manufacturing workers are suffering because of China's illegal subsidies to businesses, manipulation of its currency and violation of its workers' rights. Officials with the Treasury Department did not respond to requests for comment.

-- From wire reports