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    Sunday, July 31, 2011

    Reuter site - Senate blocks Reid debt plan, bipartisan deal close

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    Senate blocks Reid debt plan, bipartisan deal close

    Sun, Jul 31 13:52 PM EDT

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate defeated a Democratic proposal to raise the debt ceiling on Sunday as lawmakers closed in on a deal that would be acceptable to both parties.

    By a vote of 50 to 49, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's plan fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance in the 100-member body.

    Elements of Reid's plan are likely to surface in the bipartisan deal which could be completed this afternoon. The Senate is poised to move quickly once that deal is reached.

    "The arrangement that is being worked on with the Republican leader and the administration and others, is not there yet," Reid said on the Senate floor after the vote. "We're hopeful and confident it can be done."

    Reid told lawmakers not to wander too far from the Capitol in case he calls another vote.

    "I would not suggest a ballgame," he said.

    Under normal Senate rules, a final vote on any deal could be delayed until Wednesday, one day past the deadline set by the Treasury Department to ensure the United States does not default on its obligations.

    But any deal could include provisions to ensure that Congress acts before then, a Democratic aide said.

    (Reporting by Andy Sullivan, Lesley Wroughton and David Morgan; editing by Vicki Allen)

    Reuter site - Amazon flies high, may rise 25 percent more: Barron's

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    Amazon flies high, may rise 25 percent more: Barron's

    Sun, Jul 31 11:44 AM EDT

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc shares, just below their all-time high, could rise 10 percent to 25 percent if its capital spending translates to fast growth in its retailing, Kindle e-readers and cloud-computing businesses, Barron's said in its August 1 edition.

    On July 26, the online retailer posted a 51 percent jump in quarterly revenue to $9.91 billion, while saying profit fell 8 percent to $191 million, or 41 cents per share.

    The profit decline was smaller than analysts expected, however, and Amazon shares reached an all-time high of $227.20 the next day. They closed Friday at $222.52. A 25 percent increase from their projects to a $278.15 stock price.

    Barron's said investors often worry about a disconnect between higher revenue and lower profit.

    But it said Seattle-based Amazon has a 14-year history of driving higher revenue at the expense of margins by investing aggressively in technology, distribution and real estate.

    It said Amazon was now spending money to build fulfillment and distribution centers, build data centers for its Amazon Web Services cloud unit, and expand its Kindle franchise.

    The newspaper said that while Amazon stock trades at close to an "unthinkable" 107 times expected 2011 profit, it may be "pragmatic" to compare Amazon with Wal-Mart Stores Inc 20 years ago, when the latter's revenue grew 35 percent to $44 billion.

    It quoted an analyst as saying Amazon's revenue could in 2011 increase 43 percent to $49 billion, but that "it's better" than Wal-Mart because its storeless business model could result in higher long-term economic returns.

    (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, editing by Maureen Bavdek)

    Friday, July 29, 2011

    Reuter site - Hulu accused of infringing program guide patent

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    Hulu accused of infringing program guide patent

    Fri, Jul 29 12:28 PM EDT

    WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - Rovi Corp sued Hulu, accusing the online video site of infringing patents that cover electronic program guides.

    Rovi, created from Macrovision Corp's acquisition of Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc in 2008, provides technology that powers the streaming services provided by Blockbuster On Demand and Best Buy Co Inc's CinemaNow, according to the complaint, filed on Friday .

    Rovi licenses its technology to Apple Corp, Microsoft Corp and Comcast Corp, among others, and said Hulu's infringement "presents significant and ongoing damages to Rovi's business."

    Rovi said it is seeking compensation for lost license revenue and treble damages.

    Hulu did not immediately reply to a request for a comment.

    Hulu has been put up for sale by its owners, which include Walt Disney Co, News Corp, Comcast Corp's NBC Universal and Providence Equity Partners.

    A dozen potential buyers have entered preliminary sale talks, including Google Inc and Microsoft, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.

    The case is Rovi Corp et al v Hulu LLC, U.S. District Court, District of Delaware, No. 11-00665

    (Reporting by Tom Hals; additional reporting by Paul Thomasch in New York; editing by John Wallace)

    Reuter site - Nokia slips from 1 to 3 in smartphone sales

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    Nokia slips from 1 to 3 in smartphone sales

    Fri, Jul 29 02:13 AM EDT

    By Tarmo Virki, European Technology Correspondent

    HELSINKI (Reuters) - Apple and Samsung Electronics ended struggling Nokia's 15-year reign at the top of the smartphone sales rankings in the second quarter, researchers said on Friday.

    Nokia has dominated the smartphone market ever since its 1996 launch of the Communicator model, but competition from its two nearest rivals and a slump in its own sales sent it straight from first to third place in the three months to June as growth in the sector starts to slow.

    Apple sold a record 20.3 million iPhones in the quarter despite the fact that its iPhone 4 model is now more than a year old. Usually success of smartphone models does not last so long.

    Apple unveiled its sales last week, but on Friday analysts also estimated Samsung sold 19 million smartphones in the quarter, well ahead of Nokia's 16.7 million as it was able to benefit from booming demand with smartphones using Google's Android software.

    "Samsung's Galaxy portfolio has proven popular, especially the high-tier S2 Android model," said Neil Mawston, analyst at Strategy Analytics."

    Strategy Analytics estimated smartphone market volume grew 76 percent from a year ago in the second quarter. ABI Research was somewhat more cautious estimating market grew 62 percent.

    SLOWDOWN WORRIES

    Growth on the overall cellphone market slowed too in the April-June period, as sales of basic phone models dropped for the first time in seven quarters due to consumers reining in spending, research firm IDC said on Friday.

    IDC said strong smartphone demand boosted the market to still grow 11.3 percent from a year ago to 365.4 million phones, but this was a clear slowdown from the 16.8 percent growth seen in the previous quarter.

    Strategy Analytics estimated the total market at 361 million cellphones in the quarter.

    In a Reuters poll, 29 analysts' average forecast for the total market stood at 374 million phones.

    IDC said sales of simpler so-called feature phones fell 4 percent from a year ago due to conservative spending and continued shift to smartphones, most visible in developed markets, such as the United States, Japan and Western Europe.

    “The shrinking feature phone market is having the greatest impact on some of the world's largest suppliers of mobile phones," analyst Kevin Restivo said in a statement.

    “Stalwarts such as Nokia are losing share in the feature phone category to low-cost suppliers such as Micromax, TCL-Alcatel and Huawei."

    Struggling Nokia, still the world's largest phone maker by volume, saw its phone sales shrinking 20 percent from a year ago. This helped Samsung to close the gap to the Finnish firm in the overall cellphone market to the lowest level ever.

    Some analysts already forecast for Samsung to become the world's largest cellphone vendor next year.

    ( Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Andrew Callus)

    Thursday, July 28, 2011

    Reuter site - RIM embeds its BBM chat in work and play apps

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    RIM embeds its BBM chat in work and play apps

    Thu, Jul 28 00:05 AM EDT

    By Alastair Sharp

    TORONTO (Reuters) - Research In Motion wants software developers to use its popular instant messaging tool within their applications to enable friends to play games, share and discuss news, and decide where they will eat dinner.

    Describing BlackBerry Messenger -- widely known as BBM -- as one of the world's largest mobile social networks, RIM on Thursday took the covers off an update that it hopes will prod more developers to write code for its devices.

    The company's BlackBerry App World pales in comparison with those for Apple and Google, which garner much more interest from independent developers.

    Some 45 million people use BBM -- which allows BlackBerry users with data plans to instantly pass text messages, pictures and other files without incurring charges from their network carrier -- and 70 percent of them use it daily.

    "That lends itself to a different type of experience," said Alistair Mitchell, RIM's vice president for the BBM platform and integrated services. "We're trying to transpose that so it's available to our third-party developers globally."

    RIM's director of developer relations, Mike Kirkup, said the simplest use of the updated BBM tool would require just three lines of code while developers could, with a bit more work, choose to route all their traffic through RIM's servers.

    Kirkup said developers that integrate BBM could expect existing users to spend more time on the app and for it to encourage more viral distribution.

    "For every developer, getting people into your app more and getting more people to find your app are the two major problems they stay awake thinking about every single day," he said.

    Among the apps making first use of BBM integration are location services Foursquare and Poynt, news website Huffington Post and augmented reality browser Wikitude.

    "This is a good transition for the company but it's not without competition from competitors big and small," said Josh Martin, an analyst of apps at Strategy Analytics.

    Online social network Facebook boosts more than half a billion users. Google, whose Android software for smartphones has stolen share from BlackBerry, quickly garnered a huge following with its Google+ social product launched last month and offers its own Google Talk chat application.

    And Apple will soon launch iMessage, a tool similar to BBM for use on iPhones, iPads and some iPods.

    "Is the next BBM alone the answer -- certainly not -- but taken with other offerings it could create the foundation for an improved experience," Mitchell said.

    RIM bought social gaming company Scoreloop in June to help it expand Messenger and enable more interaction in existing mobile games.

    Reuter site - Skyfire unveils app for Flash videos on iPhone

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    Skyfire unveils app for Flash videos on iPhone

    Thu, Jul 28 12:06 PM EDT

    HELSINKI (Reuters) - Private-equity backed video technology firm Skyfire, best known for its mobile browser, has unveiled an application for watching Flash videos on Apple's iPhones.

    Apple has been a strong opponent of Adobe's Flash technology, criticizing its power management, among other things, and it has embraced a newer set of tools for building web applications known as HTML 5.

    Many Internet pages running applications using Flash technology have had to create special versions for Apple devices.

    Users of Skyfire's new VideoQ application can send links to videos from their browsers to watch them in the app, which Skyfire hopes to build into a video entertainment hub.

    VideoQ will at first be available in North America only, but Skyfire plans to expand its reach later.

    California-based Skyfire, whose investors include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Matrix Partners and Trinity Ventures, said its mobile browser has been downloaded 8 million times so far.

    (Reporting by Tarmo Virki; Editing by Will Waterman)

    Sunday, July 24, 2011

    Reuter site - Verizon iPhone sales dash hopes; shares fall

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    Verizon iPhone sales dash hopes; shares fall

    Fri, Jul 22 19:05 PM EDT

    By Sinead Carew

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Communications may have the iPhone, but the blockbuster smartphone has yet to pay off in its battle against AT&T Inc.

    In the second quarter, Verizon Wireless, the No. 1 U.S. mobile service, signed up 1.3 million fewer iPhone customers than AT&T, dashing high hopes of investors who sent its shares down almost 3 percent.

    On top of this, Verizon Wireless customers spent less per month than expected as the company changed its data service price plans, further disappointing Wall Street on Friday.

    While Verizon Wireless added three times more net subscribers in the quarter than AT&T, it only activated 2.3 million Apple Inc iPhones compared with 3.6 million activations at AT&T.

    "AT&T has done a much better job of hanging on to iPhone customers than anybody expected," said Credit Suisse analyst Jonathan Chaplin.

    There was simply not enough good news in the report to justify Verizon's richer valuation than AT&T's, said Chaplin, who said Verizon shares have been trading at about 14 times 2012 earnings estimates compared with AT&T's 12 multiple.

    Verizon Wireless' 1.9 percent growth in average monthly revenue per user (ARPU) was well behind Chaplin's expectation for 2.9 percent.

    "Without the share gain in the smartphone category driving the ARPU, which would drive earnings per share growth, it's difficult to get enthusiastic about the (Verizon) shares at this valuation," Chaplin said.

    AT&T may leapfrog Verizon Wireless and become the top U.S. mobile service next year if regulators approve its plan to buy Deutsche Telekom unit T-Mobile USA.

    WRONG KIND OF SUBSCRIBERS

    And while the subscriber numbers were strong on the surface "they were the wrong kind of subscribers," Chaplin said. Subscribers using devices such as the iPhone spend more on data services on a monthly basis than other wireless customers.

    Verizon Wireless said it would now take it a quarter longer than expected to increase its smartphone user base to 50 percent of is subscribers. It blamed the delay on the launch of the next iPhone a quarter later than it had expected. Verizon said it now expects to sell the next version of iPhone in the autumn.

    Still, Verizon Wireless, owned by Verizon and Vodafone Group Plc, added 1.3 million net subscribers in the quarter compared with the average expectation for about 930,000, according to seven analysts contacted by Reuters.

    Stifel Nicolaus analyst Chris King was impressed with Verizon's customer growth and its sale of 1.2 million high-speed wireless devices for the new 4G network it is building.

    While some investors had worried that the relatively expensive iPhone would hurt Verizon's profit margins, King said its wireless service margin of 45.4 percent was well ahead of his expectation for 43.9 percent.

    Verizon's quarterly profit was $1.61 billion, or 57 cents a share and was ahead of the average analyst estimate of 55 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

    Revenue rose 2.8 percent to $27.53 billion, ahead of Wall Street expectations for $27.42 billion.

    Also on Friday, Verizon named Chief Operating Officer Lowell McAdam as chief executive, starting August 1. McAdam, the former CEO of Verizon Wireless, is replacing Ivan Seidenberg, who will remain chairman. The move follows its succession plan announced late last year.

    Seidenberg has led Verizon since its inception in 2000 and before that he was CEO of Verizon's predecessor companies. The executive, who started out as a cable splicer's assistant at New York Telephone, has worked at the company for more than 40 years.

    Verizon shares were down $1.06 or 2.8 percent at $36.51 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, after falling as much as 3 percent shortly after the market opened.

    (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bangalore and Sinead Carew in New York; Editing by Joyjeet Das, Derek Caney and Phil Berlowitz)

    CNN - Authorities: Man accused in Norway terror attacks confesses

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    Authorities: Man accused in Norway terror attacks confesses


    The man accused of killing at least 93 people in Norway has said he carried out the bombing and mass shooting, authorities said Sunday, as an ashen-faced and openly weeping King Harald V led the nation in mourning.

    The suspect has not pleaded guilty, and said he acted alone with no accomplice, acting National Police Chief Sveinung Sponheim told reporters Sunday.

    A person wounded in the shootings on Utoya island died Sunday, Oslo University Hospital spokesman Jo Heldaas told CNN, adding one to the previous death toll of 92.

    Also on Sunday, police conducted an operation in the eastern Oslo area of Slettelokka in connection with the bombing, police spokesman Anders Frydenberg told CNN.

    The raid came as Norwegians gathered at a cathedral in the capital, just a few hundred meters from where the bomb exploded Friday, to mourn the victims of the attacks.

    Police have not identified the suspect, though local television and newspaper reports have identified the man in custody as 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik.

    Attorney Geir Lippestad, who claimed to represent Breivik, told TV2 late Saturday that his client "is ready to explain himself" on Monday when it is anticipated he will make his first court appearance. Breivik believed the terrorist attacks were "horrible," but "in his head (they) were necessary," Lippestad said.

    CNN was unsuccessful in its attempts to reach Lippestad for comment.

    The revelation came as a 1,500-page manifesto purportedly written by Breivik surfaced.

    Norwegian authorities would not confirm that the man in their custody wrote the manifesto, saying it would be part of the investigation.

    "The manifesto was released on the same day the atrocities happened," Sponheim said.

    "It's also new to us. We will look into the details of the manifesto."

    The document, apparently compiled over a period of nine years, rants against Muslims and their growing presence in Europe, and calls for a European civil war to overthrow governments, end multiculturalism and execute "cultural Marxists."

    While they have arrested only one suspect, Sponheim said authorities have not ruled out the possibility that someone else was involved in the shooting at a political youth retreat on Utoya island. Statements from witnesses to the mass shooting "make it uncertain if it was more than one person," Sponheim said.

    At least four people have not been accounted following the shooting on Utoya island that left at least 86 people dead, and authorities are searching the waters for victims who may have drowned trying to escape the shooter.

    Authorities also are searching for bodies of victims in the bomb attack in downtown Oslo where an explosion badly damaged a number of government buildings as well as the majority Labour Party office.

    "We know that there are remains of bodies in the ruins of the buildings. And it's a bit of a jigsaw puzzle and a very difficult search. There are body parts in the buildings," Sponheim said.

    Seven people have been confirmed dead from the bomb attack. Police said that the explosive was in a car.

    At least 97 people were wounded in the attacks -- 30 in the blast and 67 in the mass shooting, Sponheim said. The identities of the victims will be released once all the next-of-kin have been notified, he said.

    Police declined Sunday to confirm the hospital statement that one of the wounded died, making it unclear if there are now 96 wounded survivors.

    At the service Sunday, billed by the church as a "Mass for grief and hope," Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg called the attacks "incomprehensible."

    "Soon, names and photographs will be released. The enormity of the evilness will surface in all its horror, and that will be a new test for us all," Stoltenberg said.

    "In the middle of all the tragedy, I am proud to live in a country that has managed to stand tall."

    Other new details emerged Saturday about the attacks.

    An employee at a Norwegian agricultural cooperative told CNN that the man identified in media reports as the suspect bought six tons of fertilizer from her company in May.

    Oddmy Estenstad, of Felleskjopet Agr, said she did not think the order was strange at the time because the suspect has a farm, but after Friday's explosion in Norway's capital, Oslo, she called police because she knew the material can be used to make bombs.

    "We are very shocked that this man was connected to our company," said Estenstad. "We are very sad about what happened."

    Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday offered his "fervent prayers for the victims and families, invoking God's peace upon the dead and divine consolation upon those who suffer."

    "At this time of national grief he prays that all Norwegians will be spiritually united in a determined resolve to reject the ways of hatred and conflict and to work together fearlessly in a shaping a future of mutual respect, solidarity and freedom from for coming generations," according to a statement released by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone on behalf of the pope.

    Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed U.S. solidarity with Norway.

    "The United States strongly condemns any kind of terrorism no matter where it comes from or who perpetuates it, and this tragedy strikes right at the heart of the soul of a peaceful people," she said in a statement.

    Together with Norway's king, queen and crown prince, Stoltenberg visited with victims' family members and survivors of the attacks at a hotel.

    Saturday, July 23, 2011

    Reuter site - Analysis: Aging PC giants see writing on the wall

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    Analysis: Aging PC giants see writing on the wall

    Fri, Jul 22 14:30 PM EDT

    By Noel Randewich

    SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Silicon Valley's old guard is waking up to the fact that the era of consumer PC may be in its twilight, accelerating the need to invest and adapt to rapidly changing tastes.

    This week's earnings from the giants of technology had one thing in common: they underscored yet again how consumers are increasingly shunning desktop PCs and going mobile.

    Intel, which had argued that pessimistic expectations about the market were out of whack, reduced its 2011 PC forecast. Microsoft Windows sales, that reliable indicator of PC market strength, fell short of expectations for the third straight quarter.

    And Apple Inc, which single-handedly showed with its iPad that many consumers are more than happy with an unladen, light and mobile computer, obliterated all estimates by selling a whopping 9 million tablets.

    "The desktop, at least for consumers, probably doesn't have a great future, and the iPad and similar tablets can deliver a lot of the functionality of a laptop," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management.

    Worldwide shipments of smartphones are already overtaking PCs, and by 2015, more than 300 million tablets will ship -- not far behind 479 million PCs expected to be made, according to IHS iSuppli.

    To be sure, there's time left for PCs. Adoption and sale continue to grow rapidly in emerging markets and among corporate users. But even there, increasingly powerful smartphones are entrenched and tablets are creeping in.

    Research in Motion's Playbook -- despite poor reviews as the minnow of the tablet market -- became the first to win U.S. government certification.

    Judging by share performances, Wall Street is taking notice as well. Shares of Apple reached a record this week and are up 21 percent in 2011. Intel has gained 10 percent, a bit better than the broader market, but Microsoft is down about 3 percent.

    In January, the board of Advanced Micro Devices, frustrated about the company's lack of progress in mobile computing, forced out then-Chief executive Dirk Meyer. It is still searching for a candidate to spearhead a major push into mobile.

    "It's important for us to keep our eyes and ears wide open. This compute space is evolving and our technology is evolving so that we can take it beyond the traditional segments we serve today," AMD Chief Financial Officer Thomas Seifert, standing in as CEO, told Reuters.

    HYPER-COMPETITIVE

    Amid economic uncertainty and boding poorly for the rest of the year, PC sales edged up just 2.3 percent in the second quarter, according to tech research firm Gartner, well below earlier projections.

    Top executives argued that personal computers still shine. But they also say they're hurrying to adapt to changing consumer preferences, with Microsoft stepping up its mobile strategy by creating future versions of Windows just for tablets.

    ARM Holdings' energy-efficient technology now all but dominates mobile computing, but Intel and AMD are increasing their focus on processors suited for smaller devices. They're pushing manufacturers to use their chips to build laptops that are in many ways touchscreen tablets.

    The market for processors used in smartphones and tablets is about $6.7 billion this year, MKM Partners analyst Daniel Berenbaum estimates. That's just 12 percent of Intel's expected 2011 revenue, but that proportion is growing.

    Intel is speeding up plans to use its most cutting-edge technology to manufacture chips aimed a mobile devices, and Chief Executive Paul Otellini said this week the company would be "hyper-competitive" in getting its silicon into tablets running Microsoft's upcoming version of Windows.

    "In the next generation it's going be hard to tell the difference between a tablet and a netbook," said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Kevin Cassidy. "To me a tablet is just a netbook that has a solid-state drive and a touchscreen."

    For now, PC-reliant companies can take comfort in under-saturated markets like oft-mentioned China -- the world's second-largest PC market and one where millions remain unfamiliar with computing in general.

    In the second quarter, PC shipments in the United States fell 5.6 percent, year over year, while China's PC market grew 10.9 percent, according to research firm Gartner.

    Despite reducing its 2011 PC sales outlook, Intel's revenue forecast for the September quarter came in higher than expected. For a second quarter, analysts underestimated the demand for PCs in China and other emerging markets.

    Consumers in the United States and Europe often have at least one PC at home and increasingly choose to buy gadgets like tablets over a new laptop. But millions of families in developing countries are increasing their incomes and are reaching the point of being able to buy a computer.

    And despite falling Windows sales, Microsoft's Office sold well in the second quarter, underscoring the importance of PCs to corporations, something unlikely to change radically soon.

    For now, investors should heed Intel's consistently estimate-beating quarterly results and not sell the company's stock based on worries about what the PC market and mobile markets will look like in a decade, Berenbaum argued.

    "What's going to happen in 10 years? I have no idea, but the market doesn't know either and the market isn't going to be able to discount what's going to happen in 10 years. This market can barely discount 10 minutes," Berenbaum said.

    (Editing by Edwin Chan and Steve Orlofsky)

    Thursday, July 21, 2011

    CNN - NFL owners agree to deal with players

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    NFL owners agree to deal with players


    National Football League owners approved a 10-year labor and revenue-sharing agreement with players, who were considering the terms Thursday evening.

    Owners, meeting in Atlanta, agreed by a 31-0 vote to end the current lockout. Team facilities could be open by Saturday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, if players approve the deal.

    Player representatives were engaged in a conference call Thursday night in which they were discussing the proposal and the recertification of the NFL Players Association, which dissolved after the lockout began in March.

    Representatives for the league's 1,900 players, who have several days to ratify the proposal, were reviewing possible sticking points.

    New Orleans Saints player Heath Evans, referring to the collective-bargaining agreement, tweeted: "The owners tried 2 slip many things n2 the CBA 'they' voted on that were NEVER agreed 2!"

    NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said after the owners' vote that there was no joint agreement. SI.com said it obtained an e-mail Smith wrote to player representatives, indicating workers' compensation and other issues remain unresolved.

    The proposed collective-bargaining agreement would last through the 2020 season.

    "I do feel good" about the prospects of resolving the situation, Falcons player representative Coy Wire told CNN before Goodell announced the terms.

    Carolina Panthers majority owner Jerry Richardson called the compromise "fair and balanced."

    The proposed agreement includes a new rookie compensation system, a salary cap of $142.4 million per club in 2011 and additional retirement benefits, according to the NFL.

    In a bid to reduce injuries, the pact limits practice times and full-contact practices. Clubs receive credit for actual stadium investment and up to 1.5% of revenue each year.

    Current players can remain in the player medical plan for life, under the owners' plan. They also will have enhanced injury protection benefit of up to $1 million of a player's salary for the year after his injury and up to $500,000 in the second year after his injury.

    The first preseason game -- the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, between the Chicago Bears and St. Louis Rams -- has been canceled because of the delay in opening camps, Goodell said. It had been scheduled for August 7.

    The regular season is set to open on September 8.

    The owners call for the free-agent signing period to begin Wednesday.

    The league's owners imposed the lockout on March 11, suspending the labor deal in place at the time in hopes of creating a new financial structure.

    Players Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and seven others subsequently filed an antitrust lawsuit against the league on behalf of other current and eligible NFL athletes. A judge in early April joined that action with another filed by retired players.

    Since the lockout, the two sides have faced off in courts and around conference tables. The major issues have revolved around how to divide the billions of dollars of revenue reaped via the league each year, rules of free agency, a possible rookie wage scale, retirement benefits and a host of other matters.

    The heart of the issue between the players and the owners was how to divide the league's $9 billion in revenue.

    Under the old agreement, NFL owners took $1 billion off the top of that revenue stream. After that, the players got about 60%.

    The owners said the old labor deal didn't take into account the rising costs related to building stadiums and promoting the game. The players argued that the league has not sufficiently opened up its books to prove this.

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