Wikinews:Briefs/Business/December 21, 2005

December 21, 2005

US wholesale prices fall by 0.7%
The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods declined 0.7% in November. The Index rose 0.7% in October and rose 1.9% in September. The drop in price for finished goods is due to energy prices, which fell by 4% percent. The Index is seasonally adjusted.

US Patent office may back Blackberry
The five patents in the lawsuit between NTP and Research In Motion, the seller of Blackberry may be struck down. Both companies said that the US Patent office will reject the five patents held by NTP. The final rulings are expected to come by mid-February.

China is now the sixth largest economy
China has raised its GDP estimate after a year long survey. China has outplaced Italy becoming taking sixth largest economy in the world. World economists now calculate that China's economy will be larger than the economy of the United States, the current largest economy. Economists also predict that China will pass France and the UK by the end of 2006. Service industries such as telecommunications, retailing, and real estate accounted for 93% of the revision. Economists also say that this means that China's growth is more sustanable than previously thought which means pressure will mount on China on other issues including its currency valuation and trade negotiations.