SYDNEY--17 Jan--AsiaNet/InfoQuestFOURIER LAUNCHES... ROSH HAAYIN: Fourier Systems, a worldwide leader of compactportable data logging devices and accessories for theindustrial market, announces the launching of a new product. www.fouriersystems.com APPOINTMENT ANNOUNCED... VICTORIA: Peter Gustavson, FCA, Chief Executive Officer ofCustom House, the largest non-bank foreign exchange company inNorth America and one of the largest in the world, is pleasedto announce the appointment of Peter Ciceri to the new positionof President. www.customhouse.com AUTO SALES... TOKYO: Global automotive forecasting and advisory firm CSMWorldwide expects Japanese light vehicle sales in 2007 to run asluggish course amid the country's economic recovery. Sales areforecast to plateau, marginally up 0.3 per cent to 5.43 millionunits, which would be the second lowest level, which trails theprevious year, in the past two decades. CARICOM VISA... PORT-OF-SPAIN: Caribbean countries have reached out toEuropean tour operators who have expressed concerns about theprocess for issuing the CARICOM Special Visa, assuring the touroperators that measures will be implemented to make the processmore convenient for their clients. www.caricomvisa.com www.caricomimpacs.org www.caricom.org CARIBBEAN VISA... PORT-OF-SPAIN: The hosting of an international event such asthe Cricket World Cup 2007 necessitates the enactment ofmeasures that go beyond national concerns. Therefore, Caribbeancountries hosting the event for the first time are duty boundto ensure measures are in place to safeguard nationals andvisitors alike. www.caricomvisa.com www.caricomimpacs.org CARIBBEAN VISITORS... PORT-OF-SPAIN: The Ten Caribbean Community (CARICOM) MemberStates have agreed to operate as a Single Domestic Space aspart of regional security for the world's third-largestsporting event, Cricket World Cup 2007. www.caricomimpacs.org www.caricom.org MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS... LONDON: A unique educational trip to India organised by theUK's Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society in conjunction with the MSSociety India will see leading neurologists, MS specialisttherapists and nurses share their knowledge with health careprofessionals in the country. www.mssociety.org.uk ALTAIR ANNOUNCES... TROY, Michigan and TORINO: Altair Engineering, Inc., aleading global provider of technology to strengthen clientinnovation, announced it has entered into an agreement toacquire controlling interest in Hicare Srl, a privately heldbusiness intelligence software company headquartered in Torino,Italy. www.altair.com www.altair.com/hicare www.hicare.com TELECOMMUTERS' CAREERS... LOS ANGELES: More than half (61 per cent) of 1,320 globalexecutives surveyed say they believe that telecommuters areless likely to advance in their careers in comparison toemployees working in traditional office settings, according tothe latest Trends@Work Quiz from Futurestep, Korn/FerryInternational's outsourced recruitment subsidiary. www.futurestep.com FANNIE MAE... WASHINGTON, D.C.: Fannie Mae will redeem the principalamount of MTN securities issues amounting to a total of US$10million on January 23, 2007 at a redemption price equal to 100per cent of the principal amount redeemed plus accruedinterest. Fannie Mae will also redeem US$50 million MTNsecurities issues on January 26, 2007. www.fanniemae.com PROGEN ANNOUNCES... BRISBANE/TAIPEI: Progen Industries Limited and MedigenBiotechnology Corporation (Medigen) announced they have agreedterms to conclude the Agreement of Strategic Alliance(Strategic Alliance) between the two companies. MICREL LAUNCHES... SAN JOSE, California: Micrel Inc., an industry leader inanalog, high bandwidth communications and Ethernet ICsolutions, has launched the MIC68220, a compact dual 2A LDOregulator aimed at powering FPGA and microcontrollerapplications including broadband modems, routers, set-topboxes, home entertainment systems, storage networks, wirelessbase stations, and car infotainment systems. www.micrel.com KUWAIT FINANCE... KUALA LUMPUR: Kuwait Finance House and its wholly-ownedsubsidiary, Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Berhad has startedthe year on a high note, with wins in four categories of theIslamic Finance News Awards - Best Banks Poll 2006. www.kfh.com.my PEROT SYSTEMS... BANGALORE: Perot Systems Corporation announced thatLinklaters, one of the world's leading law firms, has signed amulti-year contract with the company for use of its Lab-on-Hireservice to have flexible, cost effective applicationdevelopment services. www.perotsystems.com www.prnewswire.com/comp/122686.html www.sec.gov NEW VICE-CHANCELLOR... LONDON: The City University, London, famed for its linkswith the City and for its graduate employability record, hasappointed Professor Malcolm Gillies as its newVice-Chancellor. www.city.ac.uk U-BLOX EXTENDS... THALWIL, Switzerland: u-blox AG, the leading Swiss providerof innovative GPS receiver technology, announced that it hasextended its AssistNow A-GPS service. The new AssistNow Offlineservice provides A-GPS assistance data that enables instantpositioning over extended time periods without the need formobile connectivity. www.u-blox.com www.u-blox.com/technology/assistnow/ www.u-blox.com/news/assistnow_offline.jpg (AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agencies distributing unedited,translated news releases for worldwide clients. Visit www.asianetnews.net forfull-text versions.)