UPI NewsTrack Business

Microsoft to cut retail Vista prices

REDMOND, Wash., March 1 (UPI) -- Microsoft Corp. plans to cut prices on some of its versions of Windows Vista, hoping to increase sales of the company's flagship computer operating system.

The Seattle Times reported Microsoft will cut Vista prices up to 40 percent. The discounted prices, which apply only to standalone versions sold at retail stores, will take effect with the launch of Microsoft's Vista upgrade soon, the newspaper said.

Brad Brooks, Microsoft's corporate vice president in charge of global marketing of Windows to consumers, would not specify a date for the upgrade release.

Last year, Vista sales at U.S. retailers reportedly accounted for nearly 4 percent of total non-games PC software sales by dollar volume.

Some analysts were surprised by Microsoft's decision to cut Vista prices, CNET News.com reported.

"I can't remember a big price cut like this," said analyst Chris Swenson, who tracks retail software sales for NPD Group. "It's very unheard of."

Gartner analyst Michael Silver, said the Redmond, Wash.-based company's price cut is puzzling.

"I guess at the end of the day anything that makes Vista a little bit more accessible is probably a good thing," he said. "The whole notion of upgrading PCs has sort of fallen by the wayside."

Wickes Furniture liquidating inventory

CAROL STREAM, Ill., March 1 (UPI) -- Wickes Furniture, Inc. Saturday began liquidating inventory at 38 of its stores by order of a U.S. federal bankruptcy judge, the company said.

As a part of the company's $75 million liquidation plan, the retailer plans discounts of up to 50 percent at stores in California, Illinois, Indiana and Nevada.

Closing sales will start later this month at five stores in Oregon, a company statement said.

The liquidation is being managed by a joint venture comprised of Hilco Merchant Resources LLC, SB Capital Group LLC, Tiger Capital Group LLC and Planned Furniture Promotions, Inc.

"Anticipating that today's value-conscious consumer will respond very positively to these outstanding savings on quality home furnishings, we expect this will be a short sale," said Hilco president Michael Keefe.

Carol Stream, Ill.-based Wickes filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Feb. 3.

Gazprom vows to cut gas supply to Ukraine

MOSCOW, March 1 (UPI) -- Russia's natural gas monopoly Gazprom could reduce supplies to Ukraine by 25 percent this month, a spokesman said.

RIA Novosti reported Saturday that negotiations between Gazprom and Kiev over natural gas prices have been unsuccessful.

"Negotiations with Ukraine on Thursday and Friday produced no results. The (country's) debt for gas consumed in 2007 has not been paid in full," Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said.

Kupriyanov accused Ukraine of using without permission about 1.9 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas, worth some $600 million.

"To ensure its economic interests, Gazprom will cut supplies to consumers in Ukraine by 25 percent on March 3 at 10:00 a.m. Moscow time," Kupriyanov said.

Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Turchinov said Wednesday that Kiev had paid more than $1 billion it owed to Gazprom from last year. In all, Ukraine owed $1.5 billion for natural gas supplies in 2007 and 2008, Novosti reported.

British banks write off record bad debts

LONDON, March 1 (UPI) -- Banks in Britain have written off a record amount of household debt in the last year as British families struggled against a sluggish economy.

The Daily Telegraph said in 2007 lenders wrote off $13.53 billion in individual debt, the largest total since records began in 1993.

A credit crunch is driving banks to raise mortgage rates and forcing them to put increased pressure on borrowers to pay their bills, the newspaper reported.

"This is certainly a sign that households are already struggling. The debt burden is high, and you would expect write offs to rise as a result," said Alan Clarke, an economist at BNP Paribas.

"But it's still early days and there's more bad news in the pipeline. We haven't yet seen arrears starting to bite, and if these numbers look bad now, they'll look even worse in a year's time. There are plenty more dead bodies out there," Clarke added.

Figures from the Bank of England show that banks classified $ 4.18 billion as bad debt in the final quarter of 2007. Of that $3.19 billion was household debt, the Telegraph reported.