Technology

Vonage to pay Verizon $58 million

Verizon sued Vonage last year for infringing on five patents that it said Vonage uses to make its Internet telephone service network functional. The eight-person jury found Vonage infringed on three of the five patents.

The jury found in its verdict that Vonage’s infringement was not willful. That means Verizon cannot collect triple damages, which can be awarded in patent infringement cases.

Internet phone company Vonage must pay Verizon Communications $58 million for infringing on three patents that enable the upstart’s low-cost telephone service, a jury ruled Thursday.

The judgment is far less than the $197 million that Verizon had requested, and it was more in line with what Vonage had suggested — if the Holmdel, N.J.-based company was found liable./AP

Jury rules against Gateway execs

Four years after federal regulators first accused two former Gateway executives of manipulating earnings, a jury found the men liable for violating fraud and record-keeping laws and making false statements, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday.

The jury ruled Wednesday in the civil trial against former chief financial officer John J. Todd and former controller Robert D. Manza.

Gateway ousted both men in early 2001. The company was not named in the current case, although it has promised the SEC it would not violate securities laws in the future, Lee said.

The SEC accused the executives of booking sham sales and relying increasingly on loans to customers with shaky credit during that time to close the gap between Wall Street’s expectations and actual results./AP

Employment

Jobless claims post unexpected increase

The number of newly laid off workers filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims rose to 338,000 last week, after adjusting for seasonal variations, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week.

Analysts had been forecasting that claims would drop last week. The increase pushed the four-week moving average for claims to 335,250, the highest level since the week of Oct. 29, 2005./AP

Economy

ECB lifts interest rate to 3.75 percent

With Gallic sangfroid the European Central Bank’s president Jean-Claude Trichet signaled to markets that the bank’s quarter-point interest rate hike on Thursday likely was not its last.

In a move aimed at keeping growth in check and inflation at bay, the European Central Bank raised its key interest rate a quarter of a percentage point to 3.75 percent on Thursday.

Monetary policy in the euro zone — the 13 countries with 317 million people that account for more than 15 percent of global gross domestic product — continues to be “on the accommodative side,” or growth stimulating, he told reporters after the bank announced the rate increase.

The move means that consumers in the euro zone will see their mortgage and auto payments rise even as many unions agitate for across-the-board salary increases./AP

Stocks climb on signs of stability

Wall Street extended its recovery from last week’s big plunge, rising Thursday after several stable sessions helped buttress investor sentiment and allay some concerns about the economy.

Thursday’s advance helped investors speed past lackluster retail sales figures and focus on more promising comments about March sales. Investors also grew more confident following gains in markets in Europe and Asia.

The dollar was mixed against major currencies and fought its way higher against the yen, easing some concern about whether global liquidity would tighten./AP

Restructure

La-Z-Boy rolls out restructuring plan

 La-Z-Boy Inc. plans to close three plants, consolidate three others into one facility and eliminate 500 jobs, or 4.4 percent of its overall work force, in a restructuring plan that the furniture company says will eventually save $11 million a year.

The company plans to close upholstery manufacturing facilities in Lincolnton, N.C., and Iuka, Miss., and a rough mill lumber operation in North Wilkesboro, N.C.

La-Z-Boy has 11,300 employees, including 8,000 employees in its North American upholstery manufacturing facilities./AP

Laura Champine, an analyst with Memphis, Tenn.-based Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc., said Thursday’s announcement was necessary and not unexpected. La-Z-Boy has been shutting down plants as sales have declined for several years — as have its competitors./AP

Earnings

Costco profits decline

Warehouse retailer Costco Wholesale Corp. said Thursday its fiscal second-quarter profit dropped 16 percent, hurt in part by costs associated with revamping its consumer electronics return policy.

Net income for the quarter ended Feb. 18 fell to $249.5 million, or 54 cents per share, from $296.2 million, or 62 cents per share a year ago.

Last week, Costco announced a new return policy for consumer electronics devices including televisions, computers, cameras, camcorders, digital music players and cell phones. In the past, the company gave customers unlimited time to return those items, but the new policy shortens that window to 90 days./AP