"It's a wonderful opportunity for us. We couldn't have dreamed of getting a better partner," Peter Parnes, one of the founders of Marratech, told TT.

Marratech, founded in 1998, makes software for electronic conferences.

Kim, vice president of marketing for the memory division at Samsung, agreed to plead guilty to a single count of price fixing. As part of his plea agreement, Kim agreed to pay a $250,000 criminal fine and to assist prosecutors in the ongoing investigation. The entry of the plea agreement and sentencing is currently scheduled for April 25, 2007. The plea and recommended sentence must be approved by the court.

Kim agreed to plead guilty to the charge contained in an indictment filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco in October 2006. Kim was charged with participating in a conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing the prices of DRAM to be sold to certain original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of personal computers and servers, in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

To date, the court has imposed criminal fines totaling more than $730 million against the DRAM cartel members, which is the second-largest total amount of fines ever imposed in a U.S. criminal antitrust investigation. A total of 18 individuals and four companies have been charged as a result of the Department's ongoing antitrust investigation into the DRAM industry.

In November 2005, Samsung pleaded guilty to participating in the price- fixing conspiracy and was sentenced to pay a $300 million criminal fine in November 2005. A second Korean manufacturer, Hynix Semiconductor Inc., pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $185 million criminal fine in May 2005.

In October 2004, German manufacturer Infineon pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $160 million criminal fine. In January 2006, Japanese manufacturer Elpida Memory pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay an $84 million fine.

Of the 18 individuals that have been charged in the DRAM investigation, 15 individuals have been convicted. Kim is the first of three defendants charged in the October 2006 indictment to plead guilty. A trial against Kim's co- defendant Gary Swanson, senior vice president of memory sales and marketing for Hynix Semiconductor America Inc., is scheduled for Sept. 10, 2007.

A third defendant charged in the October 2006 indictment, Young Bae Rha, a Korean national and the vice president of sales and marketing for Samsung's memory division, remains at large.

Kim is the sixth Samsung executive to agree to plead guilty and agree to a prison sentence in the DRAM investigation. In April 2006, Sun Woo Lee and Yeongho Kang pleaded guilty to participating in the price-fixing conspiracy while they worked for Samsung or its subsidiaries in the U.S.

The Italian State invited expressions of interest for the purchase of (i) a shareholding of not less than 39.9% and no more than 49.9% in Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane S.p.A. ("Alitalia") and (ii) 1,207,147,404 convertible bonds issued under the debenture loan known as "Alitalia 7.5% 2002-2010".  Non-binding offers were to be submitted by 16 April 2007.

Mayer, Brown Rowe & Maw and Italian co-counsel Tonucci & Partners, with which it has an established independent alliance, worked with Roland Berger, strategy consultants, to advise Aeroflot and its consortium partner, UniCredit Banca Mobiliare S.p.A.

Brussels based partners Kiran Desai and Edward Borovikov, assisted by Nunzio Bambara, led the team for Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, whilst Rome based partners Marco Nicolini and Giorgio Alù assisted by Andrea Rosi and Francesco Fiore based in Milan led the team for Tonucci & Partners.

www.mayerbrown.com

During a similar time frame in 2005, Republicans raised 62 million dollars through their national and congressional committees, and Democrats about 32 million dollars. At the end of the first quarter of 2003, the Republican advantage was bigger: 54million dollars to the Democrats' 19 million dollars.

The Democrats' fundraising gains were most evident at congressional level. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) raised 13.7 million dollars to the National Republican Senatorial Committee's 7 million dollars. The DSCC also ended March with nearly triple the money in the bank -- 9.5 million dollars to 3.45 million dollars.

The House picture was not much better for Republicans. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee collected 19 million dollars between January and March and had 9.8 million dollars in the bank. The National Republican Congressional Committee raised 15.8 million dollars in the quarter and had 2.5 million dollars to spend.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) was the lone saving grace for Republicans' financial hopes, raising 24.6 million dollars in the period -- nearly 10 million dollars more than the DNC. The RNC closed March with 12.8 million dollars, against the DNC's 6.9 million dollars.

In the presidential race, leading Democrat candidates also enjoyed a money advantage over their Republican rivals.

From January to March this year, Democrat Senators Hillary Clinton, of New York, and Barack Obama, of Illinois, raised 26 million dollars and 25.7 million dollars respectively for their presidential campaigns. The only Republican candidate who raised more than 20 million dollars during the three-month period was Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, who raised 20.7 million dollars.

Gonzales had gone to Capitol Hill Thursday with just one mission: to placate Republican and Democratic senators dissatisfied with his account of how eight federal prosecutors were fired.

Apparently, he failed. For the first time, Republicans on the Judiciary Committee broke ranks and said it might be best if Gonzales stepped down.

"It is generous to say the attorney general's communications about this matter have been inconsistent," Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., told Gonzales in a packed hearing room Thursday. "The consequence should be the resignation of the attorney general."

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said in an interview after the hearing, "There are some problems that he just hasn't handled well, and it might just be best if he came to a conclusion that the department is better served if he's not there."

Some of the committee's biggest questions went unanswered: How exactly did the Justice Department settle on the eight prosecutors who were fired? Does Gonzales have command of his agency?

"You have been a forceful witness, and you have had a lot of staying power," Sen. Arlen Specter, the ranking Republican on the committee, said near the end of Gonzales' seven hours of testimony.

"But we haven't gotten, really, answers," added Specter, R-Pa. "I urged you to put on the record the details as to all the U.S. attorneys you asked to resign so that we could evaluate. And you have not done that."

Specter threw Gonzales a thin lifeline, declining to call for his resignation but making it clear that he thinks there's little argument for Gonzales keeping his post.

"His ability to manage the department has been severely undercut by the way he has handled these resignations and by the way he has handled his news conferences, his press statements and his testimony before the committee," Specter said.

Essar Global Ltd, India's leading industrial company, has signed an agreement to acquire Minnesota Steel LLC, a U.S.-based iron ore firm, local media reported Thursday.

According to Daily News Analysis published in Mumbai, the deal will cost Essar Global 80 million to 90 million dollars.

The Minnesota Steel LLC controls 1.4 billion tons of iron ore in the Mesabi Iron Range in northeast Minnesota in the United States.

"Our investment in Minnesota Steel is exciting as it gives us a cornerstone in the North American market. From this we will further expand our global steel business," said Shashi Ruia, Essar Global chairman.

Moreover, the deal marked the first step of Essar Global to setup steel making facility with an annual capacity of 1.5 million tons and investment of 1.65 billion U.S. dollars.

The facility will include iron ore mining, ore processing, direct reduction and steel making on a single site.