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Business today: Prices, inflation rise sharply in March

By Wire services
Published April 20, 2006

Consumer prices rose sharply in March, reflecting higher costs for everything from gasoline to clothes and hotel rooms.

Perhaps most troubling, core inflation, which does not include energy and food, rose at the fastest pace in a year. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that its Consumer Price Index rose by 0.4 percent last month, up steeply from the modest 0.1 percent gain in February. Excluding energy and food, core inflation rose by 0.3 percent in March, the biggest gain since a similar increase in March 2005. This acceleration reflected higher prices paid by renters, the biggest jump in clothing costs in seven years and a large increase in airline ticket prices.

Oil prices leapt above $72 a barrel Wednesday, settling at a record high for the third straight day after a government report showed shrinking U.S. gasoline supplies and traders fretted about nuclear tensions between Iran and the international community. Supply constraints in Iraq, Nigeria and the Gulf of Mexico are also pushing oil prices higher. Analysts are predicting more pain at the pump this summer for motorists, who so far appear to be only lightly tapping the brakes on demand. Light sweet crude for May delivery climbed as high as $72.40 a barrel before settling at $72.17 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, an increase of 82 cents from the previous day.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is making genuine changes aimed at growing and keeping customers happy, chief executive Lee Scott said Wednesday, rejecting charges from union-backed critics that the world's largest retailer was just pulling a publicity stunt. Scott said a raft of initiatives at the company launched over the past six months would help the business and its millions of customers. "We did not become one of the most successful companies in the world by doing things the same way for 44 years. We have succeeded by sticking to our core values while always looking to improve," Scott said.

A federal jury in Texas returned a $133-million verdict against Microsoft Corp. and Autodesk Inc. for infringing on two software patents owned by a Michigan technology company. The lawsuit, filed in 2004 by z4 Technologies of Commerce Township, Mich., claimed Microsoft and Autodesk used two z4 patents in their Office and AutoCad software programs without paying royalty fees. Jurors agreed Wednesday to order Microsoft to pay $115-million and Autodesk to pay $18-million. One patent is a method and apparatus for securing software to reduce unauthorized use, while the other involves a method for securing software to decrease software piracy. A Microsoft spokeswoman said the company was disappointed in the decision, which could be appealed.

[Last modified April 20, 2006, 02:03:24]