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Chavez threatens coffee producers
Jan 6 2006 10:43PM (CT)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened on Friday to nationalize coffee producers if they refuse to sell the product at government-controlled prices.
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San Diego pension fund officials indicted
Jan 6 2006 10:24PM (CT)
SAN DIEGO (AP) - A federal grand jury indicted five current and former San Diego pension fund officials Friday on 20 counts of fraud and conspiracy in an investigation of the city's troubled finances.
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Ohio agency releases equity funds report
Jan 6 2006 6:26PM (CT)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Private equity funds managed for the state insurance fund for injured workers grew 4.5 percent since the investments began in 1998, according to a report the state released Friday over the objections of some private fund managers.
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Judge approves United payments to Disney
Jan 6 2006 6:20PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - United Airlines won court approval Friday to pay $150 million to settle billions of dollars in claims from aircraft leasers, including Walt Disney Co.
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Bond market off to booming start in 2006
Jan 6 2006 6:11PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The corporate bond market is off to a booming start in 2006, as the usual new-year pick up in finance issuance is supplemented by a surge in companies scooping up dollars to fund merger and acquisitions and to buy back shares.
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Consumer confidence declines in January
Jan 6 2006 6:07PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Consumer confidence took a big hit in early January, losing ground that had been gained following the devastating hurricanes and energy price spike in the fall.
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Chrysler to increase production capacity
Jan 6 2006 6:06PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group is planning to increase its annual production capacity by as much as 43 percent by next year, a spokesman said Friday.
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Airline to use runway crash-avoidance gear
Jan 6 2006 6:03PM (CT)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Lufthansa Airlines will install a runway collision-avoidance system developed by Honeywell International Inc. on its fleet of about 250 planes, Honeywell said Friday.
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Judge: Wittig may go back to prison
Jan 6 2006 5:52PM (CT)
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Former Westar Energy Inc. chief David Wittig risks being thrown back in prison, a federal judge said Friday, unless Wittig's attorneys show how he and his wife have managed their finances for the past 1 1/2 years.
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Treasury prices end week under pressure
Jan 6 2006 5:41PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. Treasurys closed out the week Friday under modest pressure after a mixed jobs report caused prices to bounce around.
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American Airlines execs expect bonuses
Jan 6 2006 5:41PM (CT)
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - Executives at American Airlines are expecting April stock-based bonuses that could top $1 million for some officials because shares of parent AMR Corp. have risen despite heavy losses at the nation's largest carrier.
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GM, Ford focus on auto show amid troubles
Jan 6 2006 5:37PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - The union picketers outside this year's North American International Auto Show will be one sign that all is not well in Detroit. The show comes at a difficult time for General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., who are in the midst of restructuring after billions of dollars in losses in 2005.
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Best Buy, Circuit City holiday sales jump
Jan 6 2006 5:27PM (CT)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Retailers who wondered where their customers went during a so-so holiday season might have tried looking in the TV aisles at Best Buy and Circuit City.
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Krispy Kreme, franchisee resolve dispute
Jan 6 2006 5:24PM (CT)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. and its largest franchise operator have settled their dispute over a decision by the doughnut company to terminate the franchisee's license, which had temporarily barred the firm from selling doughnuts under the famous brand name, both companies said Friday.
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Software error led brokers to fail test
Jan 6 2006 5:22PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Almost 2,000 people trying to qualify as stockbrokers were flunked in last 14 months because of a software error in a test program, the NASD said Friday.
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Chrysler Group to recall 265,000 sedans
Jan 6 2006 5:16PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group said Friday it would recall about 265,000 sedans after receiving dozens of complaints about engine fires.
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EMC plans to eliminate 1,000 jobs
Jan 6 2006 5:08PM (CT)
BOSTON (AP) - EMC Corp. said Friday it plans to eliminate 1,000 positions but added that it will see a net gain in total employment by year's end as the company moves to emphasize data services and software amid pressure to cut costs in the data storage hardware business.
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Homebuilders post order declines in 4Q
Jan 6 2006 5:02PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Two more homebuilders _ M.D.C. Holdings Inc. and Brookfield Homes Corp. _ reported year-over-year declines in home orders in the fourth quarter, offering another sign that the housing industry is weakening.
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Repligen joins patent lawsuit over drug
Jan 6 2006 5:01PM (CT)
WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) - Repligen Corp. said Friday it has joined the University of Michigan in a lawsuit alleging a newly approved rheumatoid arthritis drug from Bristol-Myers Squibb Corp. violates a patent.
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Lanoga sold to Fidelity Investments unit
Jan 6 2006 5:00PM (CT)
BOSTON (AP) - Lanoga Corp., the nation's third-largest professional building materials dealer, is being sold to the private equity arm of Fidelity Investments under a deal announced Friday.
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Friday's commodities roundup
Jan 6 2006 4:58PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Fund buying enabled gold futures to surge to 3 1/2-week highs Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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Oil prices rally; gas regains some ground
Jan 6 2006 4:57PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Crude-oil futures rallied more than $1 a barrel on Friday and the price of natural gas regained some ground after sinking a day earlier to its lowest level in four-and-a-half months.
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Judge tentatively OKs Sony BMG settlement
Jan 6 2006 4:53PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A judge Friday tentatively approved a proposed settlement of lawsuits against Sony BMG Music Entertainment that would give millions of consumers free music downloads to compensate them for flawed software on CDs.
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Appeals court upholds Stewart conviction
Jan 6 2006 4:34PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A federal appeals court Friday upheld the conviction of celebrity homemaker Martha Stewart for lying to investigators about selling stock that plunged in price soon after her trade. Stewart completed her sentence in the case last summer but pursued the appeal anyway.
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Correction: Delta-Bankruptcy story
Jan 6 2006 3:19PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - In a Jan. 5 story about Delta Air Lines Inc.'s hearing in bankruptcy court, The Associated Press erroneously reported that the company's legal battle with retired pilots was due to definitions of qualified and non-qualified pension payments. Those definitions are set by law and not subject to legal challenge.
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U.S. weekly oil, gas rig count down by 7
Jan 6 2006 2:50PM (CT)
HOUSTON (AP) - The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States decreased by seven this week to 1,464.
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Vought Aircraft CEO Risley to resign
Jan 6 2006 2:12PM (CT)
DALLAS (AP) - The chief executive of Vought Aircraft Industries Inc. will resign Jan. 31 and be replaced by an executive from British defense contractor BAE Systems Inc.
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Glaxo seeks preliminary vaccine approval
Jan 6 2006 2:05PM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - GlaxoSmithKline PLC Friday said it is seeking preliminary approval in Europe to market a vaccine against pandemic influenza, which experts fear may be triggered by bird flu.
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Circuit City revenue up on flat-panel TVs
Jan 6 2006 1:38PM (CT)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Circuit City Stores Inc., the nation's second largest chain of consumer electronics stores, said Friday its overall December revenue climbed 12.1 percent due to a sharp holiday strategy, strong flat-panel TV sales and higher average purchases.
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Best Buy Dec. sales rise on late shoppers
Jan 6 2006 1:38PM (CT)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Best Buy Co. Inc., the nation's largest consumer electronics retailer, said Friday that late-shopping customers and higher average purchases boosted December sales by 12 percent overall, and it said fourth-quarter earnings would be near the top of its earlier guidance. Best Buy shares rose more than 6 percent in morning trading.
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London share prices end at 4 1/2 year high
Jan 6 2006 1:34PM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - Share prices in London reached their highest level in 4 1/2 years Friday, closing at 5,731.8 on strong performances from the aerospace and oil sectors.
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World Bank suspending $124M in Chad loans
Jan 6 2006 1:07PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The World Bank is suspending $124 million in loans to Chad in a dispute over the African nation's decision to change its rules on the use of oil revenues to reduce poverty, Paul Wolfowitz, the bank's president, said Friday.
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Airbus says 2005 orders close to Boeing's
Jan 6 2006 1:04PM (CT)
PARIS (AP) - Airbus won a surge of plane orders in December, bringing it close to U.S. rival Boeing Co.'s record tally for 2005, a spokesman for the European aircraft maker said Friday.
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Cartel office stands by merger concerns
Jan 6 2006 12:56PM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - Germany's Federal Cartel Office is standing by its concerns over the planned takeover of a major broadcaster by publisher Axel Springer AG, and wants the merged company to give up either a mass-circulation newspaper or one of ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG's television channels, Springer said Friday.
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Bulgaria calls critical of Gazprom actions
Jan 6 2006 12:39PM (CT)
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) - Bulgaria's national gas provider said Friday that a request by Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly OAO Gazprom to renegotiate its gas contract was "unacceptable."
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Goldman Sachs declines to be specialist
Jan 6 2006 12:16PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc. declined to take part in the process used to choose the New York Stock Exchange "specialist" firm that will handle the Big Board's own stock, a spokesman for the investment bank said Friday.
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Judge dismisses suit vs. Clear Channel
Jan 6 2006 12:10PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A federal judge in Manhattan threw out a lawsuit Thursday against Clear Channel Communications Inc., alleging one of its radio stations violated federal laws designed to curb unwanted telemarketing calls.
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Federal-Mogul: plan may slash 4,500 jobs
Jan 6 2006 12:03PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - Auto supplier Federal-Mogul Corp., which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001, said Friday that it is developing a three-year restructuring plan that may cut around 4,500 jobs, or 10 percent of its work force.
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Newcastle Partners sues Whitehall Jewellers
Jan 6 2006 11:18AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Investment fund Newcastle Partners LP has filed a lawsuit against Whitehall Jewellers Inc., claiming the jewelry chain is trying to stymie Newcastle's takeover efforts.
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Verizon completes $8.5B purchase of MCI
Jan 6 2006 10:33AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Verizon Communications Inc. completed its $8.5 billion purchase of MCI Inc. on Friday, giving the big local phone company a national fiber-optic network and business-services unit with which to compete with the hefty rival created by the recent takeover of AT&T Corp. by SBC Communications Inc.
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Blockbuster to pay $140,000 to settle suit
Jan 6 2006 10:15AM (CT)
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Blockbuster Inc. has agreed to pay $140,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by New Jersey that charged its "no late fees" program was misleading and incomplete, state officials said Friday.
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Reckitt Benckiser gets EU OK on Boots buy
Jan 6 2006 10:00AM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - EU regulators cleared Reckitt Benckiser PLC's proposed 1.9 billion pound ($3.4 billion) acquisition of the consumer health-care division of Boots Group PLC on Friday, meaning the deal could be completed in the next few months.
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South Korea worried about won's impact
Jan 6 2006 9:55AM (CT)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea's government is worried that a further surge in the value of the nation's currency could hurt the economy, a senior finance official said Friday.
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BMW, others pay fuel economy fines
Jan 6 2006 9:49AM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Automakers, led by BMW AG and DaimlerChrysler AG, paid nearly $32 million in penalties in 2005 for failing to comply with fuel economy regulations, according to government figures released this week.
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Dollar drops on U.S. jobs data
Jan 6 2006 9:32AM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - The dollar dropped against the euro and other currencies Friday as U.S. data showed job growth slowing in December and falling well short of economists' expectations.
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Camry named best-selling car in U.S. again
Jan 6 2006 8:02AM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - Jeannine Anderson's Honda Accord served her well for 13 years before she decided to give it to her son-in-law. But when the self-described Honda fan was hunting a new car, she decided to consider the Toyota Camry, a car her late husband had wanted and one whose stellar reputation she knew from reading Consumer Reports.
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IBM to freeze $48B pension plan in 2008
Jan 6 2006 7:43AM (CT)
BOSTON (AP) - Furthering corporate America's move away from pensions, International Business Machines Corp. said Thursday it will freeze its $48 billion pension plan in 2008 and instead enhance its 401(k) benefits for its 125,000 U.S. workers.
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Euro-zone unemployment stable in November
Jan 6 2006 7:33AM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Unemployment in the 12 nations using the euro currency held steady at 8.3 percent in November, the same as the previous month, the EU statistical agency Eurostat said Friday.
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Japanese stocks rise, dollar up vs yen
Jan 6 2006 7:03AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - The Tokyo stock market's main index edged higher Friday for the third straight day, with gains led by the electronics, retail and glass sectors. The dollar was higher against the yen.
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Howard Stern to get $220M in Sirius stock
Jan 6 2006 6:08AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. will give Howard Stern 34 million shares of stock _ worth about $220 million at today's prices _ because the company has met agreed-upon targets for gaining new subscribers under its 2004 deal with the shock jock.
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Cuellar: Sealed border would hurt farmers
Jan 6 2006 5:29AM (CT)
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - West Texas cotton ginner Larry Nelson foresees a struggle to find enough workers to process the fluffy fiber if immigration reform leads to shutting the border with Mexico.
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Mexican plant keeps Hitachi in Mexico
Jan 6 2006 12:58AM (CT)
GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) - Beyond the gate of what appears to be a massive colonial-style Mexican estate lies one of the world's most sophisticated assembly lines.
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Judge bars publication of blood project
Jan 6 2006 12:43AM (CT)
SAN DIEGO (AP) - A judge has barred a newspaper from publishing information obtained under the California Public Records Act about a synthetic blood substitute undergoing testing, saying it would compromise the drug maker's trade secrets.
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