Also

* EchoStar Communications Corp. said its Dish Network satellite TV service will increase basic rates by $2 a month effective Feb. 1. The increase is to cover rising programming costs and the introduction of new channels, the company said.

* A federal judge ruled that OpenTV Corp. may pursue patent infringement allegations against Liberate Technologies and said OpenTV didn’t cause consumers to infringe a Liberate patent related to interactive television. OpenTV still must face allegations it used another Liberate invention without permission.

* Edison International Inc. said its financing unit’s fourth-quarter profit will be reduced by $35 million after two aircraft leases were made worthless when United Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection.

* Immune Response Corp., which is trying to avert a bankruptcy filing, named John Bonfiglio chief executive. Bonfiglio, 48, served as chief operating officer of Cypress Bioscience Inc. Former CEO Dennis Carlo resigned from the Carlsbad, Calif., company in September.

* Charter Communications Inc. will offer high-speed Internet subscribers access to Microsoft Corp.’s MSN 8 Web service under a co-branded marketing agreement.

* Hewlett-Packard Co., the world’s third-largest computer services company, will move more consulting and integration work to countries where costs are lower, including India and China. No other details were provided.