Economy grows in first quarter
The economy overcame war worries and bad weather to eke out a
small gain in the first quarter of the year, easing fears the
nation was headed into another recession.
The Commerce Department reported Friday that the nation’s
gross domestic product ““ the broadest measure of economic
health ““ grew at an anemic 1.6 percent rate from January
through March.
That was only slightly better than the 1.4 percent GDP increase
in the final months of last year and far below the 4 percent from
July through September of last year.
There were growing concerns in February that the country could
be headed for a double-dip recession, especially if the impending
war interrupted oil supplies and triggered terrorist attacks.
With the war in Iraq over without the worst-case scenarios and a
recent rebound in sales of new homes and consumer confidence
figures, many analysts expect the economy to strengthen in months
ahead.
Entertainment firms to appeal file sharing
decision
Record companies and movie studios have indicated they will
appeal a federal judge’s decision not to sanction two firms
providing Internet services which allow users to share music and
movies.
Grokster Ltd. and StreamCast Networks were both absolved of
claims they could be held accountable for the illegal copying of
files conducted by users of their services.
Grokster distributes file-sharing software by that name, and
StreamCast distributes Morpheus.
The ruling is a major blow to both the recording and movie
industries, which have been aggressively filing lawsuits and
pushing new laws to stem the illegal copying and distribution of
their works.
The recording companies and movie studios said they were
disappointed by Friday’s ruling, and stressed that the public
should not consider the ruling a green light for piracy.
Despite the rampant copying and trading of music, file-sharing
services maintain they do not condone copyright infringement.
Reports from Daily Bruin wire services.