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The 168-year-old maritime group P&O has kept its independence for a few more days pending a possible appeal court hearing today.

Eller, which provides cargo-handling services to 90 percent of cruise ships at the port of Miami, had argued that U.S. concerns about a United Arab Emirates company owning significant operations at six major U.S. seaports could substantially harm its business. P&O runs shipping terminals in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.

Justice Nicholas Warren dismissed a last-minute appeal by U.S.- based Eller & Co. as he gave the required go-ahead for DP World's $6.8-billion US acquisition of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co.

He stressed that the compromise could not be finalised until Nicholas Warren QC reported back to the society on whether non-GAR policyholders are entitled to compensation for financial loss they have suffered as a result of the GAR liabilities. \"If he concludes that they do, this will have to be factored into the scheme because there is only one pot of money. This may mean that GAR policyholders receive a lower up-lift for giving up their GARs than if Nicholas Warren concludes that non-GARs do not have claims.\"

Nicholas Warren QC and Thomas Lowe were hired by Equitable - using policyholders' money, at a cost so far of pounds 200,000 - to investigate the possibility of challenging the Lords' ruling from July last year. Mr Warren will continue to investigate the strength of any potential claims that could be made by non-GAR policyholders over the next few weeks, but Equitable Life could not say at what cost.

The society aims to reach a compromise with its guaranteed annuity rates (ARs) policy holders - which are expected to cost Equitable pounds 1.5 billion - to give up their rights in exchange for an increase to the size of their policy. An Equitable spokesman said yesterday that details of the compromise could not be finalised until Nicholas Warren QC reported back to the society on whether non-guaranteed annuity rate (GAR) policy holders were entitled to compensation for financial loss they have suffered as a result of the GAR liabilities. 'This may mean that GAR policy holders receive a lower uplift for giving up their GAR's than if Nicholas Warren concludes that non- GAR's do not have claims.'

Mr [Christopher Niebel] and his Stockport and Birminghambased company, Tetrus, texted on an 'industrial scale', using unregistered Sim cards to send hundreds of thousands of unwanted messages. Despite claims to the contrary by lawyers representing the ICO, those texts were unlikely to have caused the 'substantial damage' or 'substantial distress' to recipients necessary to justify the fine. The ICO argued at the tribunal that recipients would have suffered damage because they would be charged for replying 'stop', by their phone memory being filled and by time being wasted. Judge [Nicholas Warren] said it was unlikely anyone would have suffered 'substantial' damage and that it would take a very short period of time to 'give a tut of irritation' and delete a spam message.

The largest ship repairer in the country, Burgess Marine has acquired Small and Co Marine Engineering, based at the port of Lowestoft in Suffolk. Having 50 employees, Small & Co runs a dry dock and a 70m layby berth at Lowestoft s port, which belongs to ABP. According to Mr [Nicholas Warren], Small & Co employees would be integrated into the Burgess team.

Last July, the House of Lords ruled that Equitable had to pay out extra sums to this group which could cost them pounds 2.6bn. The ruling forced Equitable to pay no bonuses to any policy-holders for seven months last year and has strongly hindered its prospects of strong investment returns. Equitable would not say what level of compensation policy-holders since last January would be in line for, but the structure might be to return to them all of the money they have invested in Equitable, plus interest. Mr [Nicholas Warren QC] may also say there is a more tenuous case of mis- selling to policy-holders who joined the society after 1994. This was when Equitable started to try to discourage GARs from using the guarantee by paying them smaller terminal bonuses.

Masonic services for [Warren A. Nicholas Jr.], 81, will be held at 4 p.m. today, at Burnett-Dane Funeral Home, 120 W. Park Ave. (Route 176), Libertyville. Born June 2, 1922, in Libertyville, he passed away suddenly, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2003, at Condell Medical Center. Interment will be private in Lakeside Cemetery. Warren was a fifth generation resident of Lake County. He was a 1940 graduate of Libertyville High School and was the scoreboard operator for football and basketball games at Libertyville High School since 1958. For all his services, Nick was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame and the Illinois Athletic Director's Hall of Fame.