BlackBerry-makers announce layoffs
TORONTO – Struggling BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion warned Tuesday that it will have an operating loss in its current March-June quarter and said there will be significant layoffs this year.
RIM also said in a release that it has hired J.P. Morgan and RBC Capital Markets to help the company evaluate various strategies, including opportunities to partner with other companies and license software as well as other alternatives.
Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM’s stock was halted in after-hours trading Tuesday. When trading resumed, shares fell more than 10 percent, or $1.20, to $10.03.
SpaceX signs first contract for new rocket
HAWTHORNE, Calif. – Space Exploration Technologies says it has signed its first commercial contract for a new rocket that will be more powerful than the one that launched the company’s Dragon capsule to the International Space Station last week.
The Hawthorne, Calif., company known as SpaceX said Tuesday it will loft a satellite for the communications services company Intelsat, using a Falcon Heavy launch vehicle.
Such launches cost $83 million to $128 million.
SpaceX says its Falcon Heavy will be the most powerful rocket in the world.
Nextel network could be shut down by June 2013
NEW YORK – Sprint Nextel Corp. on Tuesday said it will shut down the Nextel network as early as June 30 next year, cutting off service for its characteristic walkie-talkie-like Nextel phones.
The Overland Park, Kan., phone company bought the Nextel network in 2005, and has lost money every quarter for the last four years as it’s struggled with the cost of running two incompatible wireless networks.
There were 5.4 million phones active on the Nextel network at the end of March.
China, Japan to trade directly, eschew dollar
TOKYO – Japan and China will start direct trading between the yen and the yuan on the inter-bank foreign exchange markets in Tokyo and Shanghai on Friday, Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said Tuesday.
The Japanese and Chinese currencies now are mainly exchanged using the U.S. dollar. The yen-yuan direct exchange system could benefit private companies, as it is expected to cut exchange transaction fees and simplify procedures, likely leading to the expansion of bilateral trade.
Development in Spain cause euro to tumble
NEW YORK – The euro plunged to a 22-month low Tuesday after the Egan-Jones Ratings Company downgraded Spain’s debt.
The euro fell to $1.2487 late Tuesday from $1.2539 late Monday. The euro fell as low as $1.246 earlier, its lowest point against the dollar since July 2010.