China Offers Chilling Analogy on Trade War

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Feb 10, 1995

HONG KONG _ In analyzing the threatened trade war between the United States and China, a Chinese government-controlled newspaper this week reached for a chilling analogy. China, it said, wouldn't flinch under threat of U.S. trade sanctions any more than it did 40 years ago, when it took on U.S.-led forces in Korea. Now, as then, the Chinese "do not want to fight. But should America insist on fighting, then China would by necessity have to go on to the end," the editorial in the Hong Kong daily Ta Kung Pao said. Delta Caps Travel Agent Commissions

ATLANTA _ Delta Air Lines dropped a bombshell on travel agents Thursday, announcing a cap on commissions as part of its cost-cutting campaign. Delta traditionally has paid agents 10 percent of the price of a ticket. Beginning today, the Atlanta-based airline will cap payments at $50 for a round-trip domestic ticket costing more than $500, and $25 for any one-way domestic fare of $250 or higher.

Delta officials acknowledged that the move would anger travel agents. But they said it was a necessary part of the financially troubled airline's effort to become profitable again. "They're not going to be happy, but our job wasn't to make travel agents happy," said Vincent Caminiti, Delta's vice president for sales. "We think $50 is a reasonable return on writing a ticket." The airline suggested travel agencies could recoup lost revenue by charging travelers a transaction fee.

"I'm all for taking out costs in any business. But all this did was transfer the costs to us," said Travis Tanner, president of Carlson Wagonlit Travel, a large agency based in Minneapolis. "Is this the right thing for the industry? No." Still, Tanner said the cap was preferable to simply reducing the commission percentage rate on all domestic tickets, a move Delta considered but rejected. Delta cut commission rates on international tickets from 10 percent to 8 percent last fall. Little Change Foreseen in Corporate Travel Expenses

NEW YORK _ Corporate travel and entertainment expenses likely won't change this year, despite a projected reduction in air fares for business travelers, said an industry study released Thursday. A 2 percent to 4 percent decrease in business air fares in 1995, atop a 10 percent reduction last year, will be offset by increased lodging and car rental costs, American Express Travel Related Services Co. said. Meal and entertainment costs are expected to rise 1 percent to 2 percent.

Airline tickets typically account for about half of corporate travel and entertainment spending, while meal and entertainment costs make up 25 percent. American Express said lodging expenses are to increase 3 percent to 5 percent and car rental expenses by 5 percent to 6 percent.

The air fare reductions are due to successful cost-cutting efforts by airlines and competition from low-cost carriers. Low fare carriers are expect to capture 18 percent of the business for short-haul travelers, American Express said. Last year, competition from low-fare carriers pushed down the average price for full-coach tickets on short haul routes by about 70 percent, American Express said. Apple Sues Microsoft, Intel

Apple Computer Inc. has sued Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp. for allegedly copying parts of a popular Apple software program used to display video, graphics and sound on computers. Apple said Thursday it is seeking damages against the two companies and was demanding that they stop distributing several products, mostly for developers writing software for the Windows operating system. Apple said those products use software code that Apple markets as QuickTime, a program commonly included with software and CD-ROMs to allow them to display video.

Microsoft said it could not comment immediately on the suit. At Intel, spokesman John Thompson said: "As far as we're concerned, frankly, it's not enough lines of code to argue about, and we'll rewrite it. We'll go re-engineer the code. It's a few weeks' worth of work." At the same time, he said, Intel denies illegally copying Apple's code.

The companies had been in discussions about the dispute before Apple filed suit. Apple said its lawsuit focuses on "several thousand significant lines of programming code from Apple's QuickTime for Windows that accelerate digital video in the Windows system and give the impression of continuous motion," with a smoother and more video-like quality than using Windows alone. Apple said it added Microsoft and Intel to a suit it filed Dec. 6 in US District Court in San Jose, Calif. against The San Francisco Canyon Co. Apple said that in April 1992 it contracted with San Francisco Canyon to assist in converting QuickTime for the Apple platform to run on the Windows platform. In July 1993, Apple said, San Francisco Canyon signed a separate deal with Intel to deliver a program to accelerate the processing of video images on the Windows platform. Canyon delivered a product to Intel in August 1993 which contained code that it "copied verbatim" from Apple's QuickTime for Windows, Apple alleged. Intel, in turn, contributed the code to Microsoft for a joint development program called Display Control Interface, Apple said. CS First Boston Considers Big Layoffs