Study to examine Ohio energy parks

The Ohio Air Quality Development Authority is embarking on a 12-month study to determine the feasibility of Ohio constructing industrial coal-gasification parks that could provide fuel sources for clusters of industrial operations.

The study, to be funded by a grant of $118,436 in Ohio Coal Development Office funds, will be conducted by Energy Industries of Ohio, based in Independence.

The project will be co-funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory.

The study will try to determine the best sites for such industrial parks, try to quantify energy savings for companies and secure preliminary commitments for initial engineering of gasification parks.

The parks could produce a range of fuels, including electricity, synthetic natural gas, process heat, chemical feed stocks and other synthetic fuels from Ohio's coal.

Southwest Airlines to cut 200 flights

Southwest Airlines Co., which had resisted the kinds of capacity cuts being made by other carriers, will eliminate nearly 200 flights early next year as it struggles with high fuel costs and a weakening economy.

The move raised doubts about the company's publicly stated goal of growing modestly in 2009 despite the airline industry's troubles.

Southwest is the only major U.S. carrier to earn a profit in the first half of the year — it has not lost money in a quarter since early 1991.

Jury favors Mattel on Bratz copyright

Mattel Inc. said a federal jury unanimously awarded it $100 million damages from MGA Entertainment and its CEO, Isaac Larian, for copyright infringement and other claims related to the Bratz line of dolls.

MGA Entertainment owns the Little Tikes toy company, with operations in Hudson.

MGA, based in Van Nuys, Calif., said in an Aug. 7 petition to the appeals court that it would face financial ruin if found liable for damages in the amount Mattel sought, according to the filing.

U.S. pork produce posts quarterly loss

Smithfield Foods Inc., the nation's largest pork producer and processor, swung to a loss in its fiscal first quarter due in part to a $20.1 million write-down in the value of commodity contracts.

Like many other food makers, Smithfield is hurting from high costs for key ingredients like grain and fuel. In the quarter, the company saw a 39 percent rise in corn costs and a 33 percent jump in soybean meal in the same period last year.

To help push prices up, meat producers including Smithfield are cutting supply. The company has already said it will make such cuts and on Tuesday it said Butterball LLC, its joint-venture turkey operation, will evaluate cutbacks as well.

Disney's lobbying costs $1.5 million

The Walt Disney Co. spent $1.5 million lobbying the federal government in the second quarter, according to a recent disclosure form.

The company's subsidiary, Disney Worldwide Services Inc., lobbied on a range of legislation, including acts to prevent illegal downloading on college campuses, to prepare the nation for the switch to digital broadcast television and to protect children online.

It also lobbied on thrill ride safety, the tax treatment of filmmaking costs and promoting tourism.

U.S. battles China on farm policies

The United States has challenged China to justify the legality of its tax, subsidy and export rules for farm products such as pork and wheat in what could signify new tensions between the two trading giants.

Most commercial disputes between Washington and Beijing have focused on manufacturing and services, but an American letter posted Tuesday on the World Trade Organization's Web site lists some new complaints over Chinese agricultural policies.

China will have a chance to respond at a WTO meeting Sept. 17-18, when the Asian country's next ''transitional review'' will be taken up.