SYDNEY--30 Jan--AsiaNet/InfoQuestDRAG CAR... LOS ANGELES: HKS USA, Inc., the premier manufacturer and supplier ofautomotive performance systems, Tuesday announced that parent company, HKS Co.,Ltd., has decided that it will retire the legendary HKS All-Wheel-Drive (AWD)R33 Drag GT-R after nearly a decade of racing. http://www.hksusa.com SEMI APPOINTS... SAN JOSE, Calif.: SEMI Monday announced the appointment of Hyun-Dae (H.D.)Cho to the position of president of SEMI Korea effective April 1, 2007. http://www.semi.org DIABETES TREATMENT... MELBOURNE: Living Cell Technologies Ltd Tuesday announced its DiabeCell Type1 diabetes treatment has been approved for a Phase I/IIA clinical trial inRussia designed according to FDA guidelines and monitored by a Boston-basedContract Research Organisation. PLATTS LAUNCHES... LONDON: Platts, the world's leading provider of energy and commoditiesinformation, Tuesday launched Steel Markets Daily, which provides pricebenchmarks, news, and market commentary on steel, one of the world's moststrategic commodities. http://www.platts.com http://www.steeldaily.platts.com http://www.mcgraw-hill.com NEW CEO... FAIRPORT, N.Y.: Constellation Brands, Inc., a leading internationalproducer and marketer of beverage alcohol products, has announced theappointment of Jon Moramarco to the newly created position of chief executiveofficer for Constellation International. http://www.cbrands.com BAHRAIN BRANCH... MANAMA: PFC Energy International, part of PFC Energy, a strategic advisoryfirm in global energy, has announced the establishment of a local branch inBahrain, pending final registration procedures. http://www.pfcenergy.com LINKEDIN RAISES... PALO ALTO, Calif.: LinkedIn Corporation, creator of the world's largest andmost effective business network, Monday announced that it has secured $12.8million in funding from Bessemer Venture Partners (Bessemer), CEROMA COLLABORATES... CAESAREA: CeRoma Ltd. has signed an agreement with IBM to collaborate in thedevelopment, manufacture, marketing, and sale of high-definition digital mediaintegrated circuits optimized for multiple applications such as set-top box(STB), internet protocol television (IPTV), digital television (DTV) andmultiple transmission standards. FANNIE MAE... WASHINGTON, D.C.: Fannie Mae will redeem the principal amount of onesecurities issue of US$500 million on Feb 8, 2007 at a redemption price equalto 100 percent of the principal amount redeemed plus accrued interest. http://www.fanniemae.com ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTS... SAN DIEGO: The Open Group, a vendor- and technology-neutral consortiumfocused on open standards and global interoperability within and betweenenterprises, Monday announced the launch of a new professional association forenterprise architects. http://www.opengroup.org http://www.aogea.org https://www.aogea.org/membership NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT... TOKYO: In response to the accelerating threat of nuclear weaponsproliferation, Buddhist leader Daisaku Ikeda has called for renewed efforts fordisarmament. www.sgi.org (AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agencies distributing unedited,translated news releases for worldwide clients. Visit www.asianetnews.net forfull-text versions.)