China ends plan to build MD-90 jets: China has scrapped plans to build 20 MD-90 twin-engine jets under licence due to a lack of demand, a Boeing Co. official said. Marta Newhart, a spokeswoman for Seattle-based Boeing, said Aviation Industries of China recently told the manufacturer to halt shipment of components under the MD-90 "TrunkLiner" programme beyond the initial three assembly kits already delivered. Under a deal negotiated by McDonnell Douglas Corp before it was acquired by Boeing last year, China had plannedto build 40 of the narrow-body jets for use by its domestic airlines. That was later cut in half in a renegotiated $1.6 billion 1994 deal that was trumpeted by the Clinton administration and included the purchase of 20 US-built MD-80s and MD-90s.

Mirage posts 31 per cent drop in earnings: Mirage Resorts Inc, citing bad luck at its casino tables and costs for the upcoming opening of a new hotel and casino, reported a 31-per cent drop in second-quarter profits. The hotel and casino company reported net income of $33.8million, or 18 cents per share on a diluted basis, for the quarter, on sales of $354.1 million. A year earlier, the company earned $48.9 million, or 25 cents a diluted share, on sales of $373.8 million. The earnings fell short of Wall Street expectations of 22 cents per share, according to First Call. Mirage said its winnings from table game play fell to 16.8 per cent of the total wagered from 20.1 per cent in the year-earlier period.

Seinfeld signs Universal album deal: ComedianJerry Seinfeld, who ended his nine-year hit TV "Show About Nothing" in May, has signed a record deal with Universal Records, company officials said. Universal will release Seinfeld's first album, entitled "I'm Telling You For The Last Time," on September 22. The album will be recorded during Seinfeld's upcoming HBO comedy special that will be taped on August 9 from New York City's Broadhurst Theatre. The show will feature Seinfeld returning to his roots as a stand-up comedian. Seinfeld's transition from stand-up comedian to comic television actor earned him the 1992 and 1993 American Comedy Award, 1994 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, and five Emmy nominations.

Exxon Valdez verdict upheld: A federal judge has upheld a 1994 jury verdict that ordered Exxon to pay more than $5 billion in damages for the 1989 Valdez oil spill. US district court judge H Russel Holland, in a ruling rejected Exxon's request for a new trial. Exxon had contended that one of the jurors, Rita Wilson ofAnchorage, was coerced into concurring with the other jurors in the case. The oil giant alleged one of the marshals assigned to guard court proceedings committed eight counts of misconduct that could have affected Wilson's decision. In the 1994 trial, the jury ordered Exxon to pay about $287 million in compensatory damages to commercial salmon and herring fishermen, plus $5 billion in punitive damages for behaviour that led to the 1989 oil spill.

Repairing gutted Jakarta malls to cost $770m: Rebuilding malls damaged or gutted during the wave of riots, looting and arson that swept through Jakarta in mid-May will cost at least 10 trillion rupiah ($770 million), a city official was quoted on Tuesday as saying. The Indonesian Observer quoted Jakarta's deputy governor for administrative affairs, Abdul Kahfi, as saying renovation of the gutted malls was badly needed to restore confidence and staunch continued income losses, but repairs on many malls had not even begun. Many merchants are trying torestart their businesses, some in temporary sites in fields, he was quoted as saying. Indonesia's largest supermarket company Hero has said 16 of its Jakarta supermarkets were damaged in the riots, and eight have since re-opened. The nations largest retailer, PT Matahari Putra Prima, has said six Jakarta outlets were burned and two more damaged during the unrest.

Suzuki to boost output of motorbikes: Suzuki Motor Corp said on Tuesday it will boost domestic production of large motorcycles mainly due to strong demand from Europe. A spokesman for Suzuki said the company would increase output of motorcycles with engines of 251 cc and over to 190,000 units in the year to next March, up 20 per cent from the previous year. Demand from Japanese in their 30s and 40s was also rising, he said. Suzuki, Japans third-biggest motorcycle maker, will shorten a planned 11-day summer holiday in August by two days to meet growing demand.