Microsoft Corp. failed to win approval for its Office software file format to be considered an international standard, losing a closely watched vote that reflects the software giant's broader battles in Europe and around the world.

Voting on the file format, called Open XML, closed Sunday at the International Organization for Standardization, or ISO. To become a standard, Open XML needed to meet two criteria; it missed both -- albeit narrowly in one case. File formats are the rubrics used to turn bits of data into business letters, spreadsheets and presentations.

A spokesman at ISO, the primary international body that ratifies standards on everything from the size of nuts and bolts to the technical specifications of computer codes, declined to comment, saying the group was preparing an announcement about the vote.

The standards struggle -- which has pitted Microsoft against open-source advocates and traditional rival International Business Machines Corp. – is important because it speaks to the issue of who should control the digital codes used to store billions of documents. Microsoft sought to have its document formats adopted as a standard in part to allay concerns that it keeps rivals from developing competing office software.

The vote isn't the end of the line for Microsoft. The standards issue now enters another phase during which the company has a chance to convince disapproving countries to change their minds. In a statement, a Microsoft executive, Tom Robertson, said he was "extremely delighted" that 74% of the countries voted to support Open XML as a standard. Microsoft needed 75%. Microsoft fell shorter in the other requirement, that two-thirds of a key group of countries vote yes. According to people familiar with the matter, 53% in the key group did so.

The approval of the Open XML format has been a central plank in Microsoft's platform to convince governments and regulators that it is playing nice in the markets for computer software it dominates.

The ISO vote comes at a critical time for the Redmond, Wash., company, which is awaiting a ruling in a European antitrust case, due Sept. 17, that is expected to have broad ramifications for regulators' approach to the company. In Europe, authorities are also mulling a separate antitrust complaint alleging that Microsoft has used its Office file formats to block competitors from the market. Without knowing exactly how a Word document is formatted, for instance, a rival has a hard time selling software that works with Word documents.

Microsoft has also faced resistance from some government bodies worried that by storing documents in the Office format, they'll be forever locked in to buying Microsoft software to decode them. Microsoft has pressed for the new format's acceptance as a open standard in part to defuse these concerns.

Critics charge that standardization would put an international imprimatur on a format that, while nominally open, is still largely directed and controlled by Microsoft.

The balloting has been contentious. Opponents have charged Microsoft with packing national committees from Italy to Kenya with its allies in order to win votes at ISO. Microsoft accuses IBM of stirring up opposition. There are 104 countries at ISO; it appears many abstained in the vote.

Those opposed to Open XML say it isn't really open at all -- that it is actually so complex and so loaded with Microsoft-specific features that no one but Microsoft can use it fully. Critics also allege technical failings and say the format needlessly duplicates an existing format, called Open Document, used by IBM and many open-source programmers.

Microsoft says it has opened up the Office formats to encourage competition and interoperability, not squelch it. Open XML should be a standard in addition to Open Document, Microsoft argues, because Open XML allows for more features.

A Thai court issued arrest warrants yesterday for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife over their alleged violations of stock-trading laws.

It is the second set of warrants issued in the past month against Thaksin, who has been living abroad since he was ousted in a bloodless coup almost a year ago. The other case involved conflict of interest related to the sale of Bangkok real estate.

Sunai Manomaiudom, director-general of the Department of Special Investigation, said the Bangkok Criminal Court had issued the warrant at his agency's request.

Thaksin has denied all allegations against him, and has said he will not return to Thailand until after new elections are held at the end of this year.

Thaksin was deposed last September after the country fell into a political crisis due to mass demonstrations demanding he step down because of alleged corruption and abuse of power.

He became a billionaire in the telecommunications sector before entering politics and serving as prime minister since 2001. A controversial business deal by his family, the sale early last year of its telecommunications company Shin Corp to a Singapore state investment company, was a major cause of public discontent.

The new warrants for Thaksin and his wife, Pojamarn, involve charges of violating regulations requiring disclosure of corporate information to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

Pichit Chuenban, a lawyer for Thaksin's family, said he would inform the former prime minister of yesterday's court action, and advise him not to return to fight the case for the time being "because the situation in the country is not normal."

"We think he should return only after we have an elected government," Pichit said. Thailand is currently administered by an interim civilian government, but a military council exercises power behind the scenes and is intensely hostile toward Thaksin.

Sunai had earlier said Thaksin and other family members controlled nearly 80 percent of SC Asset, a real estate company, both directly and through nominee companies, and sold their interests to outside parties last year.

They are charged with violating disclosure rules, both by failing to report their ownership and failing to report the sale of shares.

Each violation of the exchange's regulations carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a fine of US$15,500.

Sunai said Thaksin is also suspected of violating a law on Cabinet members holding company shares, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a US$31,000 fine.

The patent application covers a system that would allow consumers to pay for services via text message.

Dubbed 'GPay', the service would involve sending an SMS to Google which would then pay the retailer and charge the cost to the consumer.

"We file patent applications on a variety of ideas that our employees come up with. Some of those ideas later mature into real products or services, and some do not," a Google spokesperson told The Times.

The search firm has already worked with mobile phone providers, including LG, to ensure that its search page is included for mobile internet users.

There have been persistent rumours that Google is planning shortly to launch a cheap internet-enabled mobile phone.

Another law firm has filed an investor suit against Motorola Inc., claiming executives didn’t tell the market how bad things were last fall as sales began to slow.

Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler LLP filed suit last Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of investors who bought Motorola shares between July 19, 2006, and Jan. 4.

Motorola’s shares peaked at $26.30 on Oct. 13. On Monday, the stock price was below $17 per share.

The suit claims Motorola did not disclose problems with its product line and geographic challenges in Europe that led it to miss its forecasts in the third and fourth quarters.

Named in the suit are CEO Edward Zander; Ron Garriques, former head of mobile devices; David Devonshire, former chief financial officer; Greg Brown, then-executive vice-president of networks; Daniel Moloney, president of connected home solutions; Richard Nottenburg, chief strategy officer; and Padmasree Warrior, chief technology officer.

“We will vigorously defend ourselves against these claims,” a Motorola spokeswoman said.

Executives, excluding Mr. Zander, sold more than $26 million worth of stock during the period, according to the suit.

The Schiffrin law firm is based in Radnor, Pa. Last month, the law offices of Bernard Gross, based in Philadelphia, and Brodsky & Smith of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., each filed suit, also seeking class-action status.

"We're very pleased he came forward and accepted responsibility for his actions," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Tate London.

Nickels, who smiled after the hearing and accepted hugs from well-wishers, declined to comment. He is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour on Dec. 14.

Nickels' attorney, Jeffery Robinson, said Nickels had expressed a desire to plead guilty since he was charged.

Nickels, who had worked his way up from dealer to pit boss at the Nooksack Tribe's casino, was accused of accepting $5,000 to introduce one of the ring's alleged co-conspirators to two of his friends who were dealers at the casino, according to a federal indictment unsealed in May.

Nickels was charged at that time with one count of conspiracy and four counts of theft of funds from a gaming establishment on Indian lands.

Federal prosecutors agreed to drop the four theft charges in exchange for his guilty plea on the conspiracy charge.

The mayor said in a statement that the case has proved to be "a difficult time for our family.

"Jake today is taking an important step in accepting responsibility for his actions. Although this brings us closer to resolution, it's not over. We love him and will stand by him throughout."

"It is not the responsibility of the Federal Reserve — nor would it be appropriate — to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their financial decisions," Bernanke said. "But developments in financial markets can have broad economic effects felt by many outside the markets, and the Federal Reserve must take those effects into account when determining policy."

President Bush, meanwhile, said the economy was strong enough to deal with turbulence on Wall Street.

Bush, speaking in the Rose Garden, said he was briefed on the financial markets by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

"The markets are in a period of transition as participants reassess and reprice risk," the president said in a rare comment about Wall Street. "This process has been unfolding for some time and it's going to take more time to fully play out. As it does, America's overall economy will remain strong enough to weather any turbulence."

Many believe the odds are growing that the Fed will cut its most important interest rate, now at 5.25 percent, by at least one-quarter percentage point on or before Sept. 18, its next regularly scheduled meeting. The Fed hasn't lowered this rate in four years.

The Fed "will act as needed to limit the adverse effects on the broader economy that may arise from the disruptions in financial markets," Bernanke told an economics conference here.

On Wall Street, stocks rose after the Fed chief's remarks. The Dow Jones industrials were up around 90 points in late-morning trading.

To guide the Fed in terms of what its next move will be, Bernanke said policymakers will pay especially close attention to the "timeliest indicators" as well as information gleaned from businesses and banks around the country. Economic data that was taken before the credit markets really seized up in August will be much less useful to policymakers to assess the country's economic health, he explained.

It was his first speech — and his most extensive comments — since the credit crunch took a turn for the worst in August. The carnage in credit markets and the turmoil on Wall Street pose the biggest test of Bernanke's skills since taking the Fed helm 19 months ago.

President Bush was announcing steps Friday to aide homeowners who are having trouble making the payments on risky mortgages.

The Fed's most important interest rate, called the federal funds rate, has been at 5.25 percent for more than a year. Any reduction to this rate would mean lower interest rates for millions of people and businesses. That's why it is the Fed's main tool for influencing economic activity.

After listening to Bernanke's speech, John Makin, principal at Caxton Associates Inc., believed the Fed was moving "a tiny bit closer" to a rate cut.

In his remarks to a high-profile conference here on housing sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Bernanke discussed some of the steps the Fed has taken so far to deal with the credit crunch.

While problems were triggered largely by heightened concerns about higher-risk "subprime" mortgages made to people with blemished credit histories or low incomes, Bernanke said "global financial losses have far exceeded even the most pessimistic projections of credit losses on those loans."

To stabilize wobbly markets, the Fed on Aug. 17 sliced its lending rate to banks by a half percentage point to 5.75 percent. It also has pumped billions of dollars into the financial system to help banks and other institutions get through the credit hump and carry out their business.

The Fed's main concern, however, is the extent to which these problems might short-circuit economic growth.

"The further tightening of credit conditions, if sustained, would increase the risk that the current weakness in housing could be deeper or more prolonged than previously expected, with possible adverse effect on consumer spending and the economy more generally," Bernanke said.

The fear is that if credit continues to become harder for people and businesses to get, spending and investment will be crimped. That could hurt overall economic growth. In a worst-case scenario, the country could slide into a recession. Credit is the economy's life blood. It allows people to finance big-ticket purchases such as homes and cars and can help businesses bankroll expansions and other things that can boost hiring.

After a five-year boom, the housing market went bust last year; problems are expected to persist well into next year as builders try to whittle down a glut of unsold homes.

During the housing slump, a combination of higher interest rates and weaker home values clobbered homeowners, especially those with blemished credit histories or low incomes holding higher-risk "subprime" loans.

With squeezed homeowners finding it impossible to make their mortgage payments or pay them in a timely fashion, foreclosures and delinquencies are soaring and are expected to get worse. Lenders have been forced out of business, and hedge funds and other big investors in subprime mortgage securities also have taken a big financial hit.

Very low initial "teaser" rates jumping to much higher rates as they reset are socking some homeowners. Analysts estimate 2 million adjustable-rate mortgages will reset this year and next. Steep prepayment penalties have made it difficult for some to get out of their mortgages. Some overstretched homeowners can't afford to refinance or even sell their homes.

Most of the carnage has been in the subprime market, but problems have spread to other more creditworthy borrowers. That has sent investors into periods of panic in recent weeks, causing stocks on Wall Street to careen wildly.