by , 9:30 AM EST, December 1st, 2005

Apple Computer plans on spending about 67 percent more on capital expenditures in 2006 than it did in 2005, according to the company's most recent SEC filing. In addition to discussing growth plans, it also detailed the status of current and pending law suits.

Planned Spending
Apple projects that is will spend roughly US$390 million for capital expenditures in fiscal 2006, compared to $260 million in fiscal 2005. $210 million of that will be used for further expansion of its retail segment, with the remainder to support normal replacement of existing capital assets, along with enhancements to the company's general information technology infrastructure.

Apple's projected spending falls in line with previous statements the company has made about the planned addition of more retail stores in 2006.

Legal Battles
The Beatles recording lable, Apple Corps, lawsuit against Apple Computer alleging a breach of a 1991 contract over use of the Apple name, is set for a court date during the week of March 27, 2006.

Apple has reached an undisclosed settlement with Tiger Direct over the use of the term "Tiger." Tiger Direct claimed that Apple infringed on the use of the "Tiger" trademark with Mac OS X 10.4.

Other cases were also listed, many of which have previously been covered by The Mac Observer, including the recently filed law suit that alleges the iPod nano scratches too easily.

Looking Forward
Strong iPod and iMac G5 sales, coupled interest in new Intel-based Macs scheduled to ship some time in 2006, have financial analysts speculating that Apple will continue to show positive growth. That, in turn, will likely fuel the growth of the retail store segment, along with Internet sales.

The stock market seems pleased with Apple, as well. Its stock is currently trading in the pre-market at $68.70, up 0.88 (1.30%) from yesterday's closing at $67.82.