Apple stock, iPhone production fall

TECHNOLOGY

Oracle releases patch for Java

Oracle says it has released a fix for the flaw in its Java software that raised an alarm from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last week.

Late Thursday, the federal agency recommended that Internet users disable Java software in Web browsers to avoid potential hacking attacks.

Java allows programs to run within websites and powers some advertising networks. Users who disable Java may not be able to see portions of websites that display real-time data such as stock tickers, news, weather updates and ads.

Oracle said the patch was released Sunday. The company recommends that users update Java immediately. The patch sets Java's default security level to "high" so it prompts users and gives them a chance to decline malicious software before it loads onto their computers.

Apple falls with iPhone demand

Apple shares declined to the lowest price in 11 months after the Nikkei newswire reported that production of the iPhone was cut on weak demand.

Apple shares closed Monday at $501.75, down 3.6 percent. It was the lowest share price since February 2011, and down more than $200 from its record close of $702.10 in September.

Apple ordered about half the 65 million iPhone 5 displays it originally estimated for this quarter, Nikkei said, citing an unnamed executive at a component maker.

Manufacturing curbs have been widely known since December, according to Steven Milunovich and Mark Moskowitz, analysts at UBS and JPMorgan Chase, respectively.

Last month, Apple cut production by about 30 percent, which may be the result of inventory rebalancing or lower consumer demand, Milunovich wrote in a research report Monday.

Order cuts may also be due to suppliers becoming more adept at building the latest iPhone, reducing the need for Apple to order excess parts, Moskowitz noted.

ENERGY

Fire at Chevron refinery Sunday

A fire Sunday at Chevron Corp.'s El Segundo (Los Angeles County) refinery, California's largest, reportedly damaged equipment associated with the plant's fluid catalytic cracker.

The blaze, which ignited at around 6 p.m., damaged the selective catalytic reduction plant, a unit that removes particulates from gas produced by the catalytic cracker, which processes vacuum gas oil into gasoline or lighter crude products.

The El Segundo refinery can process 279,000 barrels of feedstock a day. It supplies 40 percent of the jet fuel to Los Angeles International Airport and 20 percent of the region's gasoline, according to the San Ramon energy giant.

Tesoro finishes repairs at plant

Tesoro Corp.'s Golden Eagle refinery in Martinez has completed repairs to a fuel converter unit and is expected to return it to full operation within in two to three days, a person with direct knowledge of the work said.

The unit, known as a hydrocracker, was shut Friday to unclog piping and was prepared for restarting Monday, said the person. A spokeswoman at the company's headquarters in San Antonio declined to comment on the unit's status.

The Golden Eagle refinery reportedly can process 170,000 barrels of feedstock a day. It refines crude from Alaska, California and foreign sources. The plant reported a "major unit shutdown" on Friday in a filing with Contra Costa County regulators.

Source: http://feeds.sfgate.com/click.phdo?i=1e52b7960ec3c72b89789a473171eb37

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