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Icahn: Time Warner should become 4 cos.
Feb 7 2006 11:59PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Financier Carl Icahn stepped up his campaign against Time Warner Inc. Tuesday, releasing the results of a study proposing that the media conglomerate be broken up into four companies.
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Pfizer explores options for OTC drug unit
Feb 7 2006 11:00PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Pfizer Inc. said Tuesday it is exploring various options for its nearly $4 billion over-the-counter drug unit, including selling or spinning off the business which includes Listerine mouth wash, Visine eye drops and Lubriderm skin lotion.
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Janitorial contractor to pay back wages
Feb 7 2006 9:32PM (CT)
DENVER (AP) - A janitorial service contractor and others have agreed to pay nearly $1 million in back wages and interest to thousands of workers in six states for alleged overtime pay violations, the U.S. Labor Department said Tuesday.
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Mexico says it could fine or close hotel
Feb 7 2006 9:17PM (CT)
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico issued a formal complaint on Tuesday against an American-owned hotel that expelled Cuban representatives attending a meeting with U.S. energy executives, saying the company violated investment and trade protection laws.
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Delta creditors push for jet maintenance
Feb 7 2006 9:03PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A trustee for Delta Air Lines Inc. bond investors asked a bankruptcy court judge Tuesday to force the carrier to ensure proper maintenance of jets that are pledged as collateral for debt.
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Japanese stocks slip, dollar lower on yen
Feb 7 2006 8:36PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Tokyo stocks edged lower early Wednesday, sliding for a second day as investors locked in profits from a fresh five-year high hit earlier this week by the main index. The dollar was lower against the yen and euro.
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Gilead criticized for AIDS drug supply
Feb 7 2006 8:21PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - An international humanitarian group on Tuesday accused the biotechnology company Gilead Sciences Inc. of breaking its promise to make its effective AIDS drug widely available throughout the Third World.
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Apparel maker Liz Claiborne to cut jobs
Feb 7 2006 8:15PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Apparel maker Liz Claiborne Inc. said Tuesday it will cut about 500 jobs and close about 20 stores as part of a restructuring program.
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Cisco Systems second-quarter profit down
Feb 7 2006 8:09PM (CT)
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Networking gear provider Cisco Systems Inc. posted lower net profits in its fiscal second quarter, hampered by stock-option expenses, as sales rose on strong business orders.
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Witness: Top Enron execs knew of changes
Feb 7 2006 7:58PM (CT)
HOUSTON (AP) - Enron Corp.'s former investor-relations chief grew tense Tuesday when challenged about his testimony that suggested former CEO Jeffrey Skilling participated in schemes to hike earnings estimates or minimize how much revenue stemmed from asset sales.
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GM to slash executive salaries, dividend
Feb 7 2006 7:32PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - General Motors Corp., which says a return to profitability will require sacrifices from all involved, announced plans on Tuesday to rein in white-collar pension and health care expenses, slash the dividend and trim executive salaries _ moves some analysts say suggest it might seek benefit cuts from union workers.
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Amazon.com unit exec takes post at Google
Feb 7 2006 7:29PM (CT)
SEATTLE (AP) - The head of Amazon.com Inc.'s online search effort is leaving to join Google Inc., the latest in a series of high-profile hires for the search engine leader.
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Organic flowers become blooming industry
Feb 7 2006 7:26PM (CT)
WATSONVILLE, Calif. (AP) - Along a fog-blanketed swath of coastline waiting to burst forth with vivid colors, there are signs of the yesterdays, todays and tomorrows of the flower industry.
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Naimi sees growing global demand for oil
Feb 7 2006 7:04PM (CT)
HOUSTON (AP) - Saudi Arabia's oil minister said Tuesday that today's soaring oil prices were not sustainable long-term, but that prices must be between $45 and $50 a barrel for petroleum producers to meet global demand, which he estimated would grow by 1.4 million barrels per day over the next year.
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Lawyers switch tactics for Vioxx retrial
Feb 7 2006 7:02PM (CT)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Lawyers switched legal tactics for the retrial of the first federal Vioxx case, working to convince jurors that manufacturer Merck & Co. ignored safety in favor of sales, rather than opening with medical testimony.
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WTO: EU broke international trade rules
Feb 7 2006 7:00PM (CT)
GENEVA (AP) - The WTO has ruled that the EU broke international trade rules by stopping imports of genetically modified foods, officials said Tuesday.
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Cummins accepts SEC cease-and-desist order
Feb 7 2006 6:59PM (CT)
COLUMBUS, Ind. (AP) - Cummins Inc., a diesel-engine maker, agreed to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges Tuesday that it had violated financial reporting laws.
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Group files challenge to Wal-Mart law
Feb 7 2006 6:51PM (CT)
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - A national retail industry trade association filed suit Tuesday challenging a Maryland law designed to pressure Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to spend more money on health care for its employees.
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Walt Disney shares rise on ABC radio sale
Feb 7 2006 6:31PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Shares of The Walt Disney Co. rose 7 percent Tuesday, a day after the media conglomerate beat earnings forecasts and said it would sell its ABC radio stations and network.
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Anti-tax group challenges Sarbanes-Oxley
Feb 7 2006 6:27PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - A law that reshaped the accounting industry after a wave of corporate scandals is being challenged on constitutional grounds by pro-business conservatives.
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Diebold CEO reviews fate of e-voting unit
Feb 7 2006 6:25PM (CT)
NORTH CANTON, Ohio (AP) - Diebold Inc.'s new chief executive, determined to cut $100 million in costs over three years, said he is reviewing whether the company should continue investing in its embattled electronic voting business.
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Homebuilders shares fall on Toll reduction
Feb 7 2006 6:21PM (CT)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Shares of homebuilders took a hit on Tuesday after Toll Brothers Inc. said new orders fell in the first quarter and home deliveries this year would be weaker than expected.
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Boots-Alliance Unichem merger gets U.K. OK
Feb 7 2006 6:19PM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - British antitrust regulators gave provisional approval Tuesday to the 7 billion pound ($12.2 billion) merger of drugstore chains Boots Group PLC and Alliance UniChem PLC.
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Bonds fall on weak sale of 3-year notes
Feb 7 2006 5:58PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Bonds edged mostly lower Tuesday, after foreign buyers largely avoided the first leg of the February debt refunding.
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Yankee Candle shares up on target boost
Feb 7 2006 5:45PM (CT)
BOSTON (AP) - Shares of Yankee Candle Co. Inc. rose Tuesday, a day after Avondale Partners LLC boosted its price target for the stock by 17 percent.
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Tuesday's commodities roundup
Feb 7 2006 5:41PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Precious metals fell Tuesday on large-scale profit-taking, including liquidation from funds.
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Ford offers severance option to workers
Feb 7 2006 5:29PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - Ford Motor Co. is offering buyouts of $100,000 each to workers who lose their jobs to plant closures if they agree to give up all benefits except their pensions.
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Oil prices decline as supply fears ease
Feb 7 2006 5:17PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Crude-oil prices fell more than $2 a barrel Tuesday after the U.S. Department of Energy lowered its global oil demand estimate, and as traders expect the agency to report an increase in U.S. oil inventories Wednesday.
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Automakers to debut big trucks in Chicago
Feb 7 2006 5:07PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - High gas prices may be giving consumers monster headaches, but automakers are betting that hasn't curbed their appetite for monster trucks.
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Ex-Gemstar CFO to settle charges with SEC
Feb 7 2006 4:54PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The former chief financial officer of Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. will pay more than $1.3 million to settle civil charges that she participated in a scheme to inflate the company's licensing and advertising revenue.
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Coca-Cola 4Q earnings slide to $864M
Feb 7 2006 4:42PM (CT)
ATLANTA (AP) - The Coca-Cola Co. benefited from strong sales and growth in noncarbonated offerings, but its profit fell 28 percent in the fourth-quarter due in part to certain one-time tax issues. Its shares rose Tuesday as the world's largest beverage maker beat expectations.
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Chiron cleared in SEC investigation
Feb 7 2006 4:40PM (CT)
EMERYVILLE, Calif. (AP) - Federal regulators won't sanction biotechnology company Chiron Corp. for failing to deliver half the nation's flu shots two years ago, the company announced Tuesday.
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Venezuela removes Exxon Mobil from project
Feb 7 2006 4:28PM (CT)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuela has removed Exxon Mobil Corp. from a multibillion-dollar petrochemicals project amid wider differences with President Hugo Chavez's nationalist oil policies.
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Regal Entertainment Group 4Q profit jumps
Feb 7 2006 4:26PM (CT)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Regal Entertainment Group, the nation's biggest movie theater operator, said Tuesday that fourth-quarter profit surged 43 percent, as acquisitions made last year bolstered revenue and helped the company overcame an industrywide slump in attendance.
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Boston Scientific optimistic over Guidant
Feb 7 2006 4:25PM (CT)
BOSTON (AP) - Boston Scientific Corp. said Tuesday it's increasingly optimistic that it can quickly complete a $27 billion acquisition of troubled medical device maker Guidant Corp. while also fixing its own quality-control problems.
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Toys R Us names Storch new chairman, CEO
Feb 7 2006 4:13PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Toys R Us Inc., the nation's second-largest toy retailer, said Tuesday it named Gerald L. Storch, a former vice chairman of Target Corp. with experience in rejuvenating tired retailers, as its new chairman and CEO.
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Fed: Consumers increase borrowing in 2005
Feb 7 2006 4:02PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Consumers, weighed down by high debt loads and low savings rates, increased borrowing last year by the smallest amount in 13 years, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday.
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SEC charges Okla. man defrauded investors
Feb 7 2006 4:00PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Securities and Exchange Commission charged that a Tulsa, Okla., man defrauded investors with millions of "fax blasts" touting investments in two penny stocks, Artec Inc. and Sequoia Interests Corp.
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Rates rise on three-year Treasury notes
Feb 7 2006 2:25PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Interest rates on three-year Treasury notes rose to the highest level in nearly six years in a government auction on Tuesday.
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Investors might start looking to bond funds
Feb 7 2006 2:17PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The departure of Alan Greenspan and arrival of Ben Bernanke at the Federal Reserve have done nothing to deflect mutual fund investors from the Big Question: When will the Fed stop raising rates?
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Union: Little progress being made on Delphi
Feb 7 2006 1:48PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Negotiations involving the United Auto Workers, General Motors Corp. and Delphi Corp. have made little progress on the restructuring of Delphi, a UAW vice president said Tuesday.
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Moody's: May be trouble with GMAC sale
Feb 7 2006 1:40PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Almost four months have passed since General Motors Corp. announced its intention to shed a majority stake in financing arm General Motors Acceptance Corp., and that time lag may be a sign of trouble with the sale, ratings agency Moody's Investors Service said Tuesday.
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Sweden aims to end oil dependency by 2020
Feb 7 2006 1:38PM (CT)
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) - U.S. President George W. Bush may have surprised international observers by pledging in his State of the Union address to break his country's addiction to foreign oil _ but Sweden was already one step ahead of him.
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Portugal Telecom may be attractive target
Feb 7 2006 1:31PM (CT)
LISBON, Portugal (AP) - Portugal Telecom shares soared more than 18 percent to close at a new high Tuesday after Portuguese conglomerate Sonae made a 10.7 billion euros ($12.8 billion) takeover bid _ suggesting the former state monopoly may draw larger offers.
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BP profit rises but misses forecasts
Feb 7 2006 1:03PM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - Energy group BP PLC described the global outlook as "solid" Tuesday after high oil prices underpinned strong rises in quarterly and full-year net profit that nevertheless disappointed the market by missing forecasts.
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German industrial output down in December
Feb 7 2006 12:18PM (CT)
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - Industrial output in Germany fell in December for a second consecutive month, raising concern about the manufacturing sector's economic recovery.
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Akzo Nobel to float Organon later this year
Feb 7 2006 12:06PM (CT)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Dutch chemical company Akzo Nobel NV said Tuesday it will seek a separate stock listing for its pharmaceuticals division Organon later this year and split the company in two.
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Gov't: Indian economy to grow 8.1 percent
Feb 7 2006 12:01PM (CT)
NEW DELHI (AP) - The Indian economy will expand 8.1 percent during the current fiscal year because of robust growth in the manufacturing and services industries, a new government estimate said Tuesday.
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Toyota profit up on solid N. American sales
Feb 7 2006 12:00PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Toyota, whose solid growth could put it ahead of General Motors as the world's No. 1 automaker, reported a 34 percent rise in profit Tuesday for the quarter ended Dec. 31 as sales jumped in North America and Asia.
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Alphatec Holdings files for IPO
Feb 7 2006 11:37AM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Medical device maker Alphatec Holdings Inc. has filed for an initial public offering of up to $149.5 million in common stock.
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Goodman Global files for IPO
Feb 7 2006 11:37AM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Goodman Global Inc., which makes heating, ventilation and air conditioning products, has filed for an initial public offering of up to $460 million in common stock.
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eBay CEO critical of European taxes
Feb 7 2006 11:34AM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Europe's "patchwork of regulation and taxes" is limiting online auction company eBay Inc.'s growth across the 25-nation European Union, eBay's CEO said Tuesday.
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Report: Yukos sells stake in Transpetrol
Feb 7 2006 10:46AM (CT)
MOSCOW (AP) - The Yukos oil company, which says it owes $6.3 billion in back tax claims, has sold a 49 percent stake in Slovak pipeline operator Transpetrol for $105 million, Kommersant business daily reported Tuesday.
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Official wants Mittal's Arcelor bid debated
Feb 7 2006 10:15AM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Parliament should discuss Mittal Steel Co.'s unsolicited 18.6 billion euros ($22.5 billion) bid for Luxembourg-based steelmaker Arcelor SA, the head of the Parliament said Tuesday after meeting with Mittal's CEO.
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Samsung Group to offer $800M to charity
Feb 7 2006 10:07AM (CT)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korean conglomerate Samsung Group said Tuesday it would donate more than $800 million in corporate and private assets to charity as part of an apology for several recent scandals.
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Shell to hire 1,000 in India for research
Feb 7 2006 9:24AM (CT)
BANGALORE, India (AP) - Royal Dutch Shell plc said Tuesday it will hire 1,000 new employees this year and open a technology research center in Bangalore.
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KPN 4Q earnings rise on lower taxes
Feb 7 2006 8:11AM (CT)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Dutch telecommunications company KPN NV said Tuesday its net profit rose 12 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005, largely thanks to lower taxes and pension costs.
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Moody's places Toshiba ratings under review
Feb 7 2006 7:56AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Moody's placed the ratings of Toshiba under review for a possible downgrade Tuesday after the Japanese electronics maker announced it planned to purchase Westinghouse. Toshiba shares slid in Tokyo trading.
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Toll Bros. 1Q revenue rises to $1.33B
Feb 7 2006 7:07AM (CT)
HORSHAM, Pa. (AP) - Luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc. said Tuesday its first-quarter revenue rose 35 percent to about $1.33 billion, but the company lowered its guidance for home deliveries this year as it noted softening demand in a number of markets.
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Proposed power line could test new law
Feb 7 2006 4:30AM (CT)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - In an ambitious $3 billion plan, the nation's largest power generator has proposed building a 550-mile power line to bring surplus electricity from coal-fired plants in Appalachia and the Midwest to the energy-hungry eastern seaboard.
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Bush proposes cutting dairy programs
Feb 7 2006 3:32AM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush's budget proposal includes a new tax on dairy farmers along with reductions to two dairy price support programs.
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Indian shares open higher
Feb 7 2006 2:35AM (CT)
NEW DELHI (AP) - Indian shares opened higher Tuesday, a day after the benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange hit a record 10,000 points.
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OnStar navigation system to get upgrade
Feb 7 2006 1:48AM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - Ten years after it first introduced the OnStar safety and navigation system, General Motors Corp. is making a significant upgrade that will allow customers to get real-time directions as they're driving.
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Australian co. to enter flu vaccine market
Feb 7 2006 12:28AM (CT)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - An Australian pharmaceutical company is planning to introduce its flu vaccine in the U.S. as early as 2007, becoming the latest manufacturer to pledge increased production a year after a flu shot shortage scared the nation and led to long lines outside clinics.
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PM: Japan will not lower beef standards
Feb 7 2006 12:20AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japan will not lower its beef safety standards to suit the needs of American producers, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday, defending himself from criticism the government has failed to conduct proper food inspections.
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