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Corporate software company SAP must pay rival Oracle millions of dollars in interest on a $1.3 billion copyright infringement verdict, a U.S. district judge ruled this week.

Judge Phyllis Hamilton did not say exactly how much interest SAP would have to pay, but she used a methodology that SAP estimated would cost it about $16.5 million.

The court’s decision was a compromise between Oracle’s and SAP’s demands. Oracle had asked for SAP to pay $211 million in interest on the penalty, but SAP said it should not have to pay any interest at all.

Instead, the judge ruled that there was precedent for such an interest payment, which would require SAP to pay Oracle compound interest on the fine at a rate equal to the weekly average yield of the one-year Treasury bond at the time of the ruling, which was 0.3%. SAP will have to pay interest dating back to Sept. 29, 2006.

Last month, a jury awarded Oracle the $1.3 billion sum for copyright infringement by SAP’s now-defunct software maintenance unit, TomorrowNow. SAP admitted to the wrongdoing, but had offered just a $40 million settlement. The company said it would appeal the ruling if it is not overturned in post-trial motions. 

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ST. LOUIS

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin harshly reprimanded officials Wednesday over a winter weather shutdown at Moscow airports that left thousands stranded for days, and he banned high-ranking officials from taking vacations until further notice.

Icy rains covered runways and planes with a thick layer of ice over the weekend and caused a blackout at the capital’s largest airport, Domodedovo, which halted all flights for a day. Domodedovo resumed operations Monday, but a backlog of delayed flights left thousands stuck.

Dozens of flights also have been canceled or delayed in the capital’s second-biggest airport, Sheremetyevo, where national carrier Aeroflot reported severe shortages of de-icing fluid.

A stern-faced Putin told a Cabinet session that those in charge of operations at Moscow airport should “stop whining and start working.”

He also banned all Cabinet minister and regional governors from taking their New Year vacations, saying they must be easily reachable in case of blackouts and other problems caused by weather payday advances.

Airport authorities and airlines were slow to provide food and water to Russians who had been leaving for their New Year’s vacations.

Traders hiked up food and drink prices at Domodedovo to levels several times higher than the average, and gypsy cab drivers were offering rides back to Moscow for the equivalent of $350. Angry passengers complained about the lack of information about flight delays from airport authorities, and sporadic scuffles were reported.

Russian prosecutors have opened an investigation on charges of violation of passengers’ rights and summoned some airline officials for questioning.

Putin harshly criticized officials for allowing the logjam, which he said left 8,000 passengers stranded at Domodedovo alone.

“You had zero information for the public,” he said. “What kind of work is that?”

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U.S. health-insurance costs are rising more quickly than the ability of U.S. families to pay and the gap is widening, according to the Commonwealth Fund.

The CHART OF THE DAY shows that private-insurance premiums for families rose three times faster than median household income over six years, the New York-based non-profit fund said in a report. Deductibles, the amount that policy holders have to pay before insurance coverage kicks in, rose almost five times faster, the fund said.

“Families are being priced out of the market,” said Cathy Schoen, an economist with the fund, in an interview. “The consequences are less adequate insurance coverage, costlier insurance coverage, higher rates of no coverage and growing stress on the family.”

In 15 states, health-insurance premiums are the equivalent of at least 20 percent of median household income for people under 65, according to the report payday loan lenders in states. The data comes from the government’s Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

The proportion of U.S. gross domestic product devoted to health care doubled to 18 percent between 1980 and 2009, Schoen said. The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, passed this year, has the potential to benefit families by reducing pressure on wages and spending, she said.

“Holding onto health insurance is a very expensive proposition,” she said. “The rapid increase has pulled resources out of the economy.”

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Hundreds of travelers in Europe got their own special Christmas present _ an actual plane flight Saturday after spending the night curled up on hard airport floors in Brussels and Paris.

Air traffic returned to nearly normal Saturday at Paris’ main airport, where hundreds were stuck overnight and personnel handed out Christmas puppets and chocolates to stranded families.

Snowfall and severe shortages of deicing fluid meant hundreds of flights were canceled at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport and other European airports Friday. But sunny skies and two shipments of deicing fluid from the United States helped Charles de Gaulle rebound.

“There were a couple of people screaming and shouting and fighting, but we all handle stress and problems differently,” said Gigi Zagora, a 27-year-old from Johannesburg, South Africa, stuck overnight at the Paris airport. “(I sought a) certain type of peace to say, `OK, well, there is nothing I can do.’”

Flight screens showed only a few delays Christmas Day in Paris. Children who slept in terminals overnight clutched their new puppets and with other weary travelers eagerly lined up to board.

In Brussels, about 500 stranded passengers spent Christmas Eve at the airport after 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow fell early Friday, the heaviest snowstorm in the Belgian capital since 1964.

“I’ve never had such Christmas before,” said Ron Van Kooe, who slept in the terminal payday loans lenders. “It’s one not to forget, actually. But also a lesson for the future to never book a flight on this date.”

A Brussels airport spokesman said all stranded passengers should be gone by Saturday afternoon.

In Germany, the situation in the skies and on the rails improved Saturday, after Duesseldorf airport was closed for several hours Friday and many trains saw delays.

France’s top transport officials went to the airport Friday and Saturday to try to calm tensions and defuse criticism that Paris was not well prepared enough for the wintry weather.

In Paris’ Charles de Gaulle overnight, parents covered babies on cots with airport-issued blankets and jackets. The airport turned up the heat and installed all-night police and ambulance patrols for the unusual holiday vigil.

Unusually large amounts of snow in some western European cities have caused sweeping shutdowns and delays. London and Paris, not as accustomed to flying planes in below-freezing temperatures, buckled under the snow.

Shortages of deicing fluid hit airports in Ireland and Belgium as well, leading to a domino effect of delays around the continent.

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Americans increased spending in November for a fifth straight month and companies stepped up orders for equipment, more evidence the U.S. economy is gaining momentum heading into 2011.

Household purchases rose 0.4 percent after a 0.7 percent increase in October that was almost twice as large as previously estimated, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. The agency also reported a 2.6 percent gain in bookings for capital goods like computers and electronics.

Rising incomes and stock prices are giving consumers the wherewithal to boost the purchases that account for 70 percent of the world’s largest economy, improving earnings prospects for companies including Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. A drop in claims for jobless benefits reported today indicates employers are slowing the pace of firings, a step toward cutting unemployment from close to a 26-year high.

“The recovery is moving into higher gear,” said Jim O’Sullivan, global chief economist at MF Global Ltd. in New York. “The unemployment rate will gradually come down, which in turn should reduce the downward pressure on inflation.”

First-time filings for jobless insurance declined by 3,000 to 420,000 in the week ended Dec. 18, matching the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey, according to Labor Department figures released today.

Confidence Climbs

Another report today showed a measure of consumer confidence climbed to a six-month high in December. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment rose to 74.5, matching the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey, from 71.6 in November. The preliminary December reading was 74.2.

Stocks fell after a five-day rally sent the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a two-year high yesterday. The index fell 0.2 percent to 1,256.77 at the 4 p.m. close in New York. It has climbed 13 percent this year on prospects for economic growth. Treasury securities fell, sending the yield on the benchmark 10- year note up to 3.39 percent from 3.35 percent late yesterday.

Today’s reports add to a run of better-than-forecast data that have prompted economists to raise their estimates for economic growth. Retail sales increased more than forecast in November, the trade deficit shrank as exports jumped to a two- year high in October, and regional as well as nationwide figures showed factories are ramping up production.

Raising Forecasts

Economists at Morgan Stanley in New York today raised their tracking estimate for consumer spending this quarter to 4.1 percent from 3.5 percent. They project the economy will expand at a 4.5 percent pace in the October-December period, up from a prior estimate of 4.3 percent.

The extension of Bush-era income-tax cuts for two years, a reduction in the payroll tax next year and the Federal Reserve’s plan to buy $600 billion of Treasury securities are adding to the optimism.

Housing remains a weak spot for the economy as an overhang of unsold properties weighs on the market. Purchases of existing homes increased 5.5 percent to a 290,000 annual rate from a 275,000 pace in October that was slower than previously estimated, the Commerce Department said today. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected a 300,000 pace.

“While the economic environment appears to have stabilized and is perhaps improving, it looks as if the consumer continues to face challenges resulting from the macroeconomic environment such as historically high unemployment rates,” Leonard Feinstein, co-chairman of Bed Bath & Beyond, said on a conference call yesterday.

Earnings Forecast

Union, New Jersey-based Bed Bath & Beyond yesterday increased its fiscal year earnings forecast to as much as $2.90 a share from a previous forecast of as much as $2.76.

Economists forecast consumer spending would rise 0.5 percent, according to the median of 75 projections in a Bloomberg survey. Estimates ranged from increases of 0.1 percent to 0.8 percent. The revisions made October’s gain in spending the biggest since August 2009.

Inflation remained below the Fed’s comfort zone. The central bank’s preferred price measure, which excludes food and fuel, rose 0.1 percent from the prior month and was up 0.8 percent from a year earlier, matching October’s 12-month gain as the smallest on record.

The economy grew at a 2.6 percent annual pace in the third quarter, the government reported yesterday. Consumer spending rose at a 2.4 percent pace, the fastest since the first three months of 2007.

Unemployment Rate

Growth hasn’t been fast enough to bring down the unemployment rate, which rose last month to 9.8 percent. Fed policy makers last week maintained their program to buy up to an additional $600 billion in Treasury securities through June to try to bolster the economy and support prices.

“Consumer spending has moved into a period of healthy growth and we do think even if we don’t maintain the extremely strong fourth quarter pace consumer spending will grow solidly into 2011,” said Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York.

Today’s durable goods report from the Commerce Department showed that total orders dropped 1.3 percent, depressed by volatile demand for aircraft, and bookings excluding transportation equipment rose more than forecast.

Capital spending has been a source of strength for the world’s largest economy at the same time that household purchases are starting to accelerate. Manufacturing, the industry that helped pull the U.S. out of the worst recession since the 1930s, has been resilient throughout the recovery, bolstered in part by overseas demand for American-made goods.

Higher Profits

Some manufacturers are projecting higher profits as orders increase. Joy Global Inc., the maker of P&H and Joy mining equipment, last week announced a fiscal 2011 profit forecast that topped analysts’ estimates in a Bloomberg survey.

“The improving bookings rate supports our view that our mining customers will continue to increase their capital expenditure plans,” Mike Sutherlin, chief executive officer of the Milwaukee-based company, said in a Dec. 15 statement. “We continue to ramp up our production to meet this expected growth in demand.”

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Greece’s parliament approved the government’s 2011 budget that aims to cut the fiscal deficit to about half of last year’s level when it swelled to the largest in Europe and triggered a regional debt crisis.

The budget passed by a vote of 156 to 142 in the Athens- based parliament. Measures include 14 billion euros ($18.4 billion) in spending cuts and additional revenue aimed at cutting the shortfall to 7.4 percent of gross domestic product, from a projected 9.4 percent this year and meeting conditions of a 110 billion-euro bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund approved in May.

“I am not calling on you to vote for this because it leads us to the road to salvation, I call on you to vote for this because it is a punctual continuation of a plan we committed to, so we can respect the sacrifice Greek citizens made in 2010,” Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou told the country’s 300- member parliament.

Greece’s debt woes broadened into a euro-area crisis this year and governments from Lisbon to Rome have struggled to convince investors they can reduce debt and deficits enough to prevent future bailouts. The EU and IMF agreed on an 85 billion- euro aid package for Ireland last month, and borrowing costs in Portugal and Spain rose to euro-area records on concern they may be next.

Heightened Concerns

Fitch Ratings, the only rating company that still considers Greece debt investment grade, followed Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s this month in placing the country’s credit rating on review for a possible downgrade. Moody’s cited heightened concerns about whether the country will be able to reduce its debt to “sustainable levels” and a “substantial” shortfall in 2010 revenue.

The extra yield investors demand to buy Greek 10-year bonds over German bunds rose to 905 basis points yesterday, nearing the May 7 record of 1973 basis points at the time of the bailout.

Greece’s debt as a percentage of GDP stood at 127 percent in 2009, the highest in the 27-nation EU. The EU says the measure will rise to 156 percent in 2012. Greece has said debt as a percentage of GDP will peak in 2013. The European Commission forecasts the economy will contract for a third year in 2011, shrinking 3 percent, before returning to growth in 2012.

Protests

Greece’s two biggest unions staged a 3-hour walkout yesterday and transport workers held their fourth 24-hour strike this month no fax pay day loan. About 2,000 workers marched to parliament before the budget vote to protests the additional austerity measures, police estimated.

Prime Minister George Papandreou and his socialist Pasok party came to power in October 2009 and soon revealed that the deficit was twice what the outgoing government had estimated. Papandreou who campaigned on pledges of higher spending and wage increases, has managed to maintain much of his popular support even as he implements the deepest austerity measures in decades, triggering regular protests by unions, Pasok’s voting base.

During the final budget debate, Papandreou said the government has had three goals since it was elected: to save the country from bankruptcy, stabilize the economy and proceed with necessary structural reforms. He said those who still talk about a Greek default are being “unfair” and that the memorandum has given it the needed stability to proceed with necessary changes and return to growth in 2012.

Top Pick

Papandreou was still the top pick to run the country according to 42 percent of Greeks surveyed in a poll by Public Issue published in Kathimerini newspaper on Dec. 12. That compared with the 43.9 percent support he had in the 2009 elections. Sixty-six percent of respondents said the economic situation in Greece would worsen, the poll showed.

The government has said it expects a 4 billion-euro shortfall in tax revenue this year even after raising taxes and beginning a crack-down on tax evasion. Greece has lowered pensions and wages to offset the lag, which is hurting efforts to cut a deficit that swelled to 15.4 percent of GDP in 2009, the largest of any euro area state in the currency’s history.

Other measures to cut the deficit to 17 billion euros include increasing the lowest sales-tax rate to 13 percent from 11 percent, extending a levy on profitable firms and freezing pensions. To boost growth, Greece will reduce the tax on non- distributed corporate profits to 20 percent from 24 percent as well as give the key tourism industry a cut in value-added tax, reducing the rate to 6.5 percent from 11 percent.

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The Senate’s top Republican says he and the Democratic leader have agreed on a spending measure to keep the government running through March.

Passing the bill _ known as a “continuing resolution” _ would prevent the government from running out of money for daily operations and forcing a shutdown.

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky tells CNN’s “State of the Union” that he and Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada have a deal on the measure faxless cash advance. The budget year began Oct. 1 but Congress hasn’t passed any of its annual spending bills.

Last Thursday, Democrats pulled back a $1.3 trillion spending bill after Republicans decided not to support it. Republicans complained about special projects in the bill, its overall cost and the lack of time for debate.

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FedEx says its fiscal second-quarter earnings tumbled on rising costs and one-time charges, but is raising its prediction for the full-year as holiday shipments are beating its expectations.

Its results missed Wall Street estimates, however. Its shares fell more than 2 percent in pre-market trading.

The Memphis, Tenn., company said Thursday its net income rose to $283 million, or 89 cents per share, in the September-November period. That’s down 18 percent from $345 million, or $1.10 per share a year ago.

It earned $1.16 per share excluding one-time costs such as the integration of its trucking operations and higher maintenance expenses. But that was below analysts’ forecasts of $1.31 a share.

Revenue rose 12 percent to $9.63 billion. Thomson Reuters says analysts expected $9.7 billion.

FedEx now expects to earn $5 to $5.30 a share for the year. It previously expected $4.80 to $5.25. Analysts expect $5.21 a share

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Sales at U.S. retailers probably climbed in November for a fifth consecutive month as holiday shopping got under way, a sign consumers will play a bigger role in the recovery, economists said before a report today.

The projected 0.6 percent gain would follow a 1.2 percent October rise in purchases, according to the median of 77 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Other figures may show wholesale costs were contained and inventories rose.

Customers snapped up discounts at chains like Target Corp. and Macy’s Inc. during the Thanksgiving weekend, the traditional kick-off to the busiest sales season of the year. Even as the world’s largest economy gains momentum heading into 2011, high unemployment and the risk of a prolonged drop in prices remain concerns for Federal Reserve policy makers set to meet today.

“The holiday season is off to a pretty good start,” said Drew Matus, senior U.S. economist at UBS Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. “Consumers are in a much better place than they were last year or even six months ago, and they’re going to take the lead in the recovery in 2011. High unemployment is a headline that will be there for some time.”

The Commerce Department’s sales figures are due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. Economists’ estimates ranged from increases of 0.1 percent to 1.3 percent. Excluding auto dealers and gasoline stations, sales likely accelerated.

Also at 8:30 a.m., the Labor Department may report the producer price index rose 0.6 percent in November from the prior month, according to the Bloomberg survey median. Excluding food and fuel, core prices were probably up 1.2 percent from November 2009, the smallest year-over-year gain since June.

Holiday Inventory

Inventories climbed 1 percent in October as companies stocked shelves for the holidays, the survey median showed. The Commerce Department figures are due at 10 a.m.

Retailers began cutting prices earlier in November than the past few years and continued through Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Sales at stores open at least a year climbed by the most in eight months from November 2009, industry reports showed.

Target and Costco Wholesale Corp. led the sales gains for discounters last month, while teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and department stores Macy’s and J.C. Penney Co. also posted better-than-forecast increases.

Purchases are broadening out beyond holiday gifts and clothing. Home Depot Inc., the world’s largest home-improvement retailer, lifted its full-year profit forecast on stronger fourth-quarter demand for plumbing and electrical items and Christmas trees.

Sales ‘Strength’

“As we look at November into December, we see strength across the store,” Chief Financial Officer Carol Tome said Dec. 8 by telephone from an analysts’ meeting in Boston. The Atlanta- based company had a “terrific Black Friday.”

The National Retail Federation has forecast the November- December holiday sales gain will be the biggest since 2006. A Bloomberg survey taken Dec. 2 to Dec. 8 showed economists raised 2011 projections for consumer purchases, the biggest part of the economy, to 2.6 percent from 2.3 percent estimated last month.

Investors have driven up retailer shares this year as spending accelerated. The Standard & Poor’s Supercomposite Retailing Index has gained 25 percent this year, compared with an 11 percent advance for the broader S&P 500 gauge.

While recent gains in consumer sentiment bode well for retail sales, the unemployment rate, which in November reached a seven-month high of 9.8 percent, remains a hurdle.

Fed policy makers, who meet today for the final time this year, may reiterate the strategy to buy an additional $600 billion of Treasuries through June to try to trim joblessness and avert deflation, or an extended drop in prices.

Bloomberg Survey ============================================================== Retail Retail PPI Core Sales ex-autos PPI MOM% MOM% MOM% MOM% ============================================================== Date of Release 12/14 12/14 12/14 12/14 Observation Period Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. ————————————————————– Median 0.6% 0.6% 0.6% 0.2% Average 0.6% 0.7% 0.6% 0.3% High Forecast 1.3% 1.5% 1.2% 0.8% Low Forecast 0.1% 0.2% 0.2% -0.1% Number of Participants 77 71 76 73 Previous 1.2% 0.4% 0.4% -0.6% ————————————————————– 4CAST Ltd. 0.4% 0.5% 0.8% 0.4% ABN Amro Inc. 0.5% — 0.6% 0.1% Action Economics 0.7% 0.7% 0.6% 0.3% Aletti Gestielle SGR 0.4% 0.4% 0.5% 0.2% Ameriprise Financial 0.5% 0.6% 0.5% 0.2% Banesto 0.5% — — — Bank of Tokyo- Mitsubishi 0.7% 0.8% 0.8% 0.4% Bantleon Bank AG 0.7% 0.8% 0.6% — Barclays Capital 0.5% 0.5% 0.7% 0.4% Bayerische Landesbank — 0.5% — — BBVA 0.7% 0.6% 0.5% 0.3% BMO Capital Markets 0.6% 0.7% 0.6% 0.3% BNP Paribas 0.6% 0.6% 0.7% 0.2% BofA Merrill Lynch Research 0.5% 0.6% 0.8% 0.2% Briefing.com 0.4% 0.4% 0.5% 0.1% Capital Economics 0.8% 0.8% 1.0% 0.4% CIBC World Markets 0.8% 0.8% 0.3% -0.1% Citi 0.5% 0.6% 0.6% 0.4% ClearView Economics 0.9% 0.7% 0.5% 0.2% Commerzbank AG 0.6% 0.8% 0.8% 0.1% Credit Agricole CIB 0.5% 0.6% 0.5% 0.2% Credit Suisse 0.7% 0.9% 0.9% 0.4% Daiwa Securities America 0.7% 0.8% 0.6% 0.4% DekaBank 0.6% 0.6% 0.5% 0.1% Desjardins Group 0.5% 0.6% 0.7% 0.1% Deutsche Bank Securities 0.6% 0.7% 0.5% 0.2% Deutsche Postbank AG 0.6% 0.8% 0.6% 0.4% DZ Bank 0.6% 0.6% 0.4% 0.1% Exane 0.4% 0.5% 0.4% 0.2% First Trust Advisors 0.6% 1.1% 0.8% 0.5% FTN Financial 0.8% 0.5% 0.3% -0.1% Goldman, Sachs & Co. 0.5% 0.7% 0.6% 0.4% Helaba 0.7% 0.7% 0.6% 0.2% HSBC Markets 0.4% 0.7% 0.5% 0.2% Hugh Johnson Advisors 0.6% 0.6% 0.4% 0.1% Ibersecurities 0.5% — — — IDEAglobal 0.6% 0.7% 0.3% 0.1% IHS Global Insight 0.4% 0.8% 0.9% 0.4% Informa Global Markets 0.4% 0.6% 0.4% 0.1% ING Financial Markets 0.6% 0.7% 0.5% 0.2% Insight Economics 0.4% 0.6% 1.1% 0.2% Intesa-SanPaulo 0.4% 0.5% 0.7% 0.4% J.P. Morgan Chase 0.6% 0.7% 0.9% 0.3% Janney Montgomery Scott 1.3% 1.5% 0.3% 0.0% Jefferies & Co. 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 0.3% Landesbank Berlin 0.3% 0.2% 0.5% 0.2% Landesbank BW 0.7% — 0.5% — Maria Fiorini Ramirez 0.6% 0.6% 0.5% 0.4% MF Global 0.3% 0.5% 0.4% 0.3% Moody’s Analytics 0.8% 0.9% 0.7% 0.4% Morgan Keegan & Co. 0.5% 0.5% 0.4% 0.1% Morgan Stanley & Co. 0.3% 1.0% 0.5% 0.1% National Bank Financial 0.6% 0.6% 0.5% 0.2% Natixis 0.5% 0.6% 0.5% 0.2% Newedge 0.8% 0.9% 0.6% 0.2% Nomura Securities Intl. — 0.7% 1.0% 0.4% Nord/LB 0.5% 0.5% 0.4% 0.2% Pierian Capital 0.5% 0.4% 0.2% 0.4% Pierpont Securities LLC 0.5% 0.7% 0.8% 0.5% PineBridge Investments 1.0% — 0.8% 0.4% PNC Bank 0.5% 0.6% 0.8% 0.3% Raiffeisen Zentralbank 0.6% 0.6% 0.8% 0.2% Raymond James 0.4% 0.6% 0.5% 0.1% RBC Capital Markets 0.8% 0.9% 0.7% 0.3% Scotia Capital 0.5% 0.7% 0.5% 0.1% Societe Generale 0.8% 1.0% 1.2% 0.8% Standard Chartered 0.6% — 0.6% 0.2% State Street Global Markets 0.6% 0.7% 0.6% 0.3% Stone & McCarthy Research 0.4% 0.5% 0.8% 0.1% TD Securities 0.3% 0.4% 0.5% 0.2% Thomson Reuters/IFR 0.9% 1.0% 1.0% 0.4% Tullett Prebon 0.5% — 0.5% 0.2% UBS 0.8% 1.0% 0.7% 0.5% Union Investment 0.7% — 0.8% — University of Maryland 0.6% 0.6% 0.4% 0.1% Wells Fargo & Co. 0.1% 0.4% 0.3% 0.3% WestLB AG 0.5% 0.6% 0.6% 0.2% Westpac Banking Co. 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.3% Wrightson ICAP 0.7% 0.8% 0.6% 0.2% ==============================================================

To contact the reporter on this story: Shobhana Chandra in Washington at schandra1@bloomberg.net

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