SYDNEY, Sept. 20--AsiaNet/InfoQuest NZ IDOL... SYDNEY: Centrebet says that Nik Carlson is odds on to win NZIdol after Rongo Brightwell's elimination. Nik's odds-onbetting price means that Centrebet thinks he is more likelythan not to triumph. http://www.centrebet.com ALCAN ACQUIRES... ADELAIDE: Alcan Inc. has announced that it has acquired thecapsules and closures distribution businesses of ClassicPackaging and Nellie Products. TAEUS EXPANDS... COLORADO SPRINGS: TAEUS International Corporation, thepremiere provider of engineering-based intellectual propertyprofessional services, announces its new office in Tokyo,Japan. http://www.TAEUS.com ELEMENT SIX... ASCOT: Element Six announces reaching a significantmilestone in its diamond electronics program with thefabrication of a diamond-based Schottky-barrier diode capableof operating at 1700 V and >10 A/cm2. NEW FUND... WASHINGTON, D.C.: Grameen Foundation USA will announce a newglobal program that will make as much as $50 million availablein credit guarantees to poverty-focused microfinanceinstitutions that provide tiny loans to help poor people tostart, sustain or grow very small, self-sustainingbusinesses. www.gfusa.org STOCK SPLIT... SAO PAULO: On August 23 2005, Banco Itau Holding FinanceiraS.A. announced to the Market that the Special General Meetingheld on August 22, 2005, had decided to split the company'sstock, with the aim of raising its liquidity by adjusting thequotation to a more attractive level for trading onexchanges. http://www.itau.com FANNIE MAE... WASHINGTON, D.C.: Fannie Mae will redeem the principalamount of MTNR securities issues amounting to a total of US$25million on September 29, 2005 at a redemption price equal to100 per cent of the principal amount redeemed plus accruedinterest. http://www.fanniemae.com TENDER OFFERS... WASHINGTON, D.C.: Fannie Mae announced that it will conductcash tender offers for the repurchase of up to $19.2 billion ofcallable debt securities during the week of September 19,2005. http://www.fanniemae.com ANIMAL RELIEF... TORONTO: The Humane Society of Canada has launched a globalappeal for donations to buy food, bottled water, veterinarysupplies, rescue equipment and to transport them to the areashardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. www.hsckatrinarelief.org www.humanesociety.com MARKETING PARTNERSHIP... INDIANAPOLIS: Indiana Innovation Network and InnoCentiveInc. have announced the formation of a new marketingpartnership to educate researchers and corporations as to howbest these organizations can help drive innovation andtechnology to market. http://www.indianainnovation.com http://www.innocentive.com MOBILYGEN LAUNCHES... SANTA CLARA: Mobilygen, the leader in low power H.264 codecICs for mobile devices, has launched the MG1264 with theindustry's lowest power consumption. http://www.mobilygen.com (AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agencies distributing unedited, translated news releases for worldwide clients. Visit www.asianetnews.net for full-text versions.)