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AP: Journal editors dispute Merck claim
Feb 9 2006 11:40PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The New England Journal of Medicine demanded changes before publishing results of the study that led Merck and Co. to pull the painkiller Vioxx from the market, and one of its top editors disputes the way the drugmaker is using it as a pillar of its legal defense in liability suits.
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Oracle to lay off about 2,000 employees
Feb 9 2006 11:32PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Business software maker Oracle Corp. said Thursday that it will cut about 2,000 jobs, or more than 3 percent of its work force, as it digs for bigger profits from its recent $5.85 billion takeover of Siebel Systems Inc.
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Mazda reports 39 pct. jump in 3Q profit
Feb 9 2006 11:27PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Mazda reported a 39 percent jump in profit for the third quarter from the previous year Friday, and raised its full-year forecast to what will be a record for the Japanese automaker for the second straight year.
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Mazda profit jumps 39 percent in 3Q
Feb 9 2006 11:16PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Mazda reported a 39 percent jump in profit for the third quarter from the previous year on Friday, and raised its full-year forecast to what will be a record for the Japanese automaker for a second straight year.
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AIG agrees to pay $1.64B to settle charges
Feb 9 2006 10:58PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - American International Group Inc., one of the world's largest insurance companies, has agreed to pay $1.64 billion to resolve allegations that it used deceptive accounting practices to mislead investors and regulatory agencies.
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Japanese stocks fall; dollar down on yen
Feb 9 2006 10:29PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japanese stocks fell Friday morning, led by real estate and shipping shares. The dollar was down slightly against the yen and euro.
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Witness: Lay took on new duties at Enron
Feb 9 2006 10:24PM (CT)
HOUSTON (AP) - Enron Corp.'s former investor-relations chief on Thursday acknowledged that founder Kenneth Lay had to jump back into nuts-and-bolts management of his company when he resumed the role of chief executive after Jeffrey Skilling resigned less than four months before Enron collapsed in December 2001.
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Delta pilots to strike if contract nixed
Feb 9 2006 10:21PM (CT)
ATLANTA (AP) - Delta Air Lines Inc. pilots aren't mincing words anymore: The chairman of the union's executive committee said Thursday the pilots will strike if their contract is thrown out as part of the carrier's attempt to impose $325 million in concessions.
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Air China seeks domestic share listing
Feb 9 2006 9:54PM (CT)
SHANGHAI, China (AP) - Air China, mainland China's de facto flagship carrier, said Friday it is seeking permission to list shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange to raise funds for major aircraft purchases.
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Aon fourth-quarter earnings up to $224M
Feb 9 2006 8:11PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - Aon Corp. said Thursday its fourth-quarter income more than doubled, driven by revenue growth for its Americas Brokerage.
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MetLife 4Q earnings jump to $677 million
Feb 9 2006 8:09PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - MetLife Inc., the nation's largest life insurer, on Thursday reported higher premiums driven by its acquisition of Travelers Life & Annuity caused fourth-quarter profit to rise 33 percent.
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Chicago Merc to trade snowfall futures
Feb 9 2006 7:53PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - First came temperature futures, then frost-day futures. Now _ futures involving how much snow falls at Logan Airport in Boston or New York's Central Park.
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JPMorgan CEO's joke upsets analyst
Feb 9 2006 7:07PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive James Dimon likes cracking jokes. But longtime banking analyst Michael L. Mayo wasn't laughing when Dimon poked fun at him in a room full of investors and analysts last week.
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Mistrial declared in second Cendant case
Feb 9 2006 7:05PM (CT)
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A federal judge declared a mistrial Thursday in the accounting-fraud trial of former Cendant Corp. Chairman Walter Forbes, whose company was ensnared in one of the first corporate scandals of the 1990s.
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FCC: Cable 'a la carte' would save money
Feb 9 2006 7:04PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Most cable TV subscribers would save money if allowed to pay for only the channels they want, a Federal Communications Commission study said Thursday, reversing the agency's earlier finding that consumers wouldn't benefit.
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Retail money funds rise in latest week
Feb 9 2006 6:57PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Assets of the nation's retail money market mutual funds rose by $3.64 billion in the latest week to $849.53 billion, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday.
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Long-dated bond prices rise after auction
Feb 9 2006 6:30PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A strong auction of 30-year bonds, the first by the Treasury Department since 2001, helped lift other long-dated government bond prices Thursday.
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Pacer Int'l shares up on strong earnings
Feb 9 2006 6:29PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - P) _ Pacer International Inc. shares jumped Thursday, after the company reported unexpectedly strong fourth-quarter earnings on improved margins at its wholesale segment.
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Dendrite shares fall on weak 4Q results
Feb 9 2006 6:28PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Shares of Dendrite International Inc. slid Thursday, after the pharmaceutical software maker reported fourth-quarter results that were below expectations and said it expects to make big changes in its business.
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Judge approves Bristol-Myers settlement
Feb 9 2006 6:27PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said Thursday that a judge gave preliminary approval for a proposed $185 million settlement to end a class-action lawsuit that alleges the drug maker artificially inflated its stock price by making false and misleading claims about an experimental heart drug.
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Perlos Oyj to lay off workers in Texas
Feb 9 2006 6:21PM (CT)
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - A Finnish maker of mobile phone parts and other electronic accessories said it is laying off about 1,250 workers from its plant in Fort Worth and transferring production to a new facility in Reynosa, Mexico.
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Tesco unveils plans to enter U.S. market
Feb 9 2006 6:20PM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - Britain's dominant supermarket chain, Tesco PLC, unveiled bold plans Thursday to open a series of small convenience stores across the United States beginning next year.
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German union backs off tentative agreement
Feb 9 2006 6:20PM (CT)
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - The German labor union ver.di on Thursday backed off a tentative agreement with Deutsche Telekom AG over the company's plans to cut thousands of jobs through 2008.
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Scrushy said went on asset dumping spree
Feb 9 2006 6:19PM (CT)
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Lawyers for HealthSouth Corp. shareholders say fired CEO Richard Scrushy went on an asset dumping spree after a court ordered him to repay bonuses totaling $47.8 million that he received during an accounting fraud.
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Wayne Inouye resigns as Gateway CEO
Feb 9 2006 5:58PM (CT)
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Wayne Inouye, the chief executive who refocused Gateway Inc. on personal computer sales, is resigning and will be temporarily replaced by Chairman Rick Snyder, the company said Thursday.
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Thursday's commodities roundup
Feb 9 2006 5:53PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Gold futures rebounded Thursday as fund and other speculative buying returned to the precious metals market.
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Oil prices rise, end 3-day losing streak
Feb 9 2006 5:40PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Crude oil futures broke a three-day losing streak Thursday as traders took the decline as a chance to buy into the market.
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Morton's shares rise in trading debut
Feb 9 2006 5:20PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Morton's Restaurant Group Inc.'s shares rose Thursday after its initial public offering, as investors bet that carnivores will keep paying top dollar for big beef at the steakhouse chain.
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Best Buy increases 4Q earnings outlook
Feb 9 2006 5:07PM (CT)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Consumers' growing appetite for flat-screen TVs led Best Buy Co. Inc. to boost its fourth-quarter earnings outlook, sending its shares up 8.5 percent Thursday.
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Molson Coors shares rebound after 4Q drop
Feb 9 2006 5:01PM (CT)
DENVER (AP) - Shares of Molson Coors Brewing Co. dipped before rebounding Thursday after the world's fifth-largest brewer said net income fell nearly 60 percent in the fourth quarter because of higher costs and persistent market challenges.
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Unilever sales, earnings up in 4th qtr.
Feb 9 2006 4:59PM (CT)
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Unilever returned to profit in the fourth quarter but analysts questioned whether the consumer products giant had made real progress or merely spent more advertising top brands like Dove soaps and Lipton teas.
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Aetna 4Q earnings climb to $423 million
Feb 9 2006 4:57PM (CT)
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Aetna Inc., one of the nation's largest health insurance companies, reported Thursday that fourth-quarter profit rose 41 percent, as results benefited from membership growth, strong underwriting results and cost controls. Its shares hit a new all-time high.
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Renault CEO unveils 'product offensive'
Feb 9 2006 4:55PM (CT)
PARIS (AP) - Renault SA's CEO Carlos Ghosn said Thursday he plans to introduce new luxury car models, slash costs and raise sales volumes by almost one-third within four years _ pledging to repeat some of the tricks behind his textbook turnaround of Nissan Motor Co.
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Continental, group agree to job cuts
Feb 9 2006 4:49PM (CT)
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - Continental AG, the tire maker and auto parts supplier, said Thursday that it has reached a preliminary agreement with a workers' group on cutting about 300 jobs, or 10 percent of the work force, at its Hanover plant next year.
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CBOT Holdings posts 4Q profit of $17.7M
Feb 9 2006 4:47PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - A 33 percent jump in revenue from exchange and clearing fees helped the Chicago Board of Trade swing from a loss a year earlier to a $17.7 million profit in the fourth quarter, its first as a publicly traded company.
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Marriott International 4Q profit climbs
Feb 9 2006 4:38PM (CT)
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Hotel operator Marriott International Inc. posted a 25 percent rise in fourth quarter earnings Thursday on higher demand for rooms that bumped up rates and increased income from management fees.
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Belo 4Q profit down 25 percent to $39.9M
Feb 9 2006 4:38PM (CT)
DALLAS (AP) - Belo Corp., publisher of The Dallas Morning News and other newspapers, said Thursday fourth-quarter profit fell 25 percent as revenue edged lower.
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Judge OKs Winn-Dixie CEO's retention bonus
Feb 9 2006 4:27PM (CT)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - A federal bankruptcy judge approved a $1.15 million retention bonus Thursday to keep Winn-Dixie's president and CEO at the helm of the struggling supermarket giant at least until the end of August.
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Judge extends tentative Northwest contract
Feb 9 2006 4:15PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The judge overseeing Northwest Airlines Corp.'s bankruptcy case on Thursday extended a tentative contract between the carrier and the union representing its 9,000 flight attendants.
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Expectations unknown for Mardi Gras in La.
Feb 9 2006 4:10PM (CT)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - As in past years, labor attorney Eve Marie Stocker plans to fly from Virginia to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, ride costumed on a float with her mother in the all-female Krewe of Iris parade and catch up with family and friends.
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Boeing to close Arkansas repair facility
Feb 9 2006 3:57PM (CT)
MELBOURNE, Ark. (AP) - Boeing Co. said Thursday it will close a repair facility in Melbourne by the end of June and attempt to find jobs for its 103 workers at other Boeing operations.
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30-year Treasury bond makes return
Feb 9 2006 3:44PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The 30-year Treasury bond made a long-awaited return on Thursday, delighting bond investors and the cash-strapped federal government.
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Kodak tops U.S. digital-camera market
Feb 9 2006 3:36PM (CT)
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) - Eastman Kodak Co. captured the No. 1 slot in the ballooning U.S. digital-camera market for a second straight year, extending its lead over Japanese rivals Canon Inc. and Sony Corp.
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Most states to share in AIG settlement
Feb 9 2006 3:25PM (CT)
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Most states will get varying shares of $344 million in back taxes as part of a $1.64 billion settlement reached Thursday between regulators and American International Group Inc., one of the world's largest insurers.
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Doctor critical of Vioxx leaving clinic
Feb 9 2006 2:26PM (CT)
CLEVELAND (AP) - Dr. Eric Topol, a world-renowned cardiologist who was one of the first scientists to raise doubts about the safety of the pain reliever Vioxx, will leave the Cleveland Clinic and its top-ranked heart center to teach at nearby Case Western Reserve University, the Case medical school announced Thursday.
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Judge allows Delphi to pay for advisors
Feb 9 2006 2:11PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A New York bankruptcy court judge said Thursday Delphi Corp. can pay fees of two investment banks and a special consultant hired by its unions to advise them on contract negotiations.
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Merck: possible misunderstanding on report
Feb 9 2006 1:35PM (CT)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The report that a Texas lawyer leading many Vioxx lawsuits was courting a prominent cardiologist and major plaintiff witness in the first federal Vioxx case may have been a misunderstanding, the Merck & Co. spokesman who had made the statement said Thursday.
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Sonic Solutions shares rise on earnings
Feb 9 2006 1:29PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Sonic Solutions stock rose Thursday in the first day of trading after the company released strong earnings in the latest quarter and analysts lauded the company's outlook.
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Pernod Ricard first-half revenue climbs
Feb 9 2006 12:51PM (CT)
PARIS (AP) - Pernod Ricard SA, the world's second-largest drinks group, said Thursday that revenue grew 4.5 percent in the six months ending Dec. 31, excluding the effects of its acquisition of rival Allied Domecq.
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Rates on 30-year mortgages up for 3rd week
Feb 9 2006 12:35PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Rates on 30-year mortgages edged up for a third straight week, rising to the highest level since late December, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.
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BT Group third-quarter net profit falls
Feb 9 2006 12:03PM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - British telecommunications company BT Group PLC reported a 37 percent decline in third quarter net profit Thursday, but the drop was smaller than expected thanks to strong sales of its broadband products.
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Knight Capital unit looks to settle probe
Feb 9 2006 11:41AM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The asset management unit of Knight Capital Group Inc. said Thursday it has submitted a proposal to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into certain trading activity associated with private investments in public equities, or PIPEs.
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Delta proposes new service to Africa
Feb 9 2006 11:30AM (CT)
ATLANTA (AP) - Delta Air Lines Inc., the nation's third-largest carrier, announced Thursday proposed service from Atlanta to Africa.
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Court rejects appeal on name in Wikipedia
Feb 9 2006 11:00AM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - A Berlin court Thursday rejected a lawsuit filed by the parents of a dead hacker who sought to keep a German Web site from linking to material in the online encyclopedia Wikipedia that contained the full name of their son.
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Bank of England holds rates steady
Feb 9 2006 8:24AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - The Bank of England kept its key interest rate steady at 4.5 percent on Thursday for the sixth month in a row.
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Japan Tobacco profit up on cost reductions
Feb 9 2006 8:16AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japan Tobacco Inc., the nation's biggest cigarette maker, said Thursday its profit rose 25 percent for the nine-month period through Dec. 31, citing cost reductions and brisk performance of international tobacco sales.
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Tata Motors says profit up 46 percent
Feb 9 2006 8:14AM (CT)
BOMBAY, India (AP) - India's largest automobile manufacturer, Tata Motors Ltd., said Thursday its net profit in the October-December quarter climbed 45.6 percent, helped largely by income from the sale of equity in one of its subsidiaries.
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Group: German economic growth may slow
Feb 9 2006 8:09AM (CT)
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - Economic research institute DIW said Thursday that growth in Germany will likely slow during the first quarter because of cold weather halting some construction.
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ECB reiterates it is watching inflation
Feb 9 2006 7:57AM (CT)
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - The European Central Bank reiterated Thursday that it is keeping a close watch on inflation, sending further signals that an interest rate increase in March was likely.
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Toshiba, LG Electronics sign patent deal
Feb 9 2006 7:56AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Toshiba and South Korea's LG Electronics have signed an agreement to share their worldwide patents for optical disc products, the two companies said Thursday. Toshiba also announced an additional investment in computer chips.
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Mitsubishi Motors trims loss for 3Q
Feb 9 2006 7:36AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Scandal-tarnished Mitsubishi Motors trimmed its losses for the quarter ended Dec. 31 compared to the same period a year earlier, although it continued to struggle to boost revenue.
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Vt. center using grass pellets as fuel
Feb 9 2006 5:14AM (CT)
SHELBURNE, Vt. (AP) - It cost Shelburne Farms about $1,000 a year to mow grass that simply went to waste. Now the staff at the historic farm has discovered it can go to good use _ for heat.
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News Corp. 2Q profit soars on asset sale
Feb 9 2006 3:07AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. posted earnings that were nearly triple the same period a year ago due to an asset sale, higher profits from TV and cable networks and smaller losses at its Italian satellite broadcasting subsidiary.
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Bank of Japan keeps rate policy unchanged
Feb 9 2006 2:52AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japan's central bank kept its ultra-loose monetary policy unchanged Thursday, but suggested that the country is emerging from years of falling prices that have prolonged the slump of the world's second-largest economy.
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EDS 4Q profit more than doubles to $112M
Feb 9 2006 2:30AM (CT)
PLANO, Texas (AP) - Buoyed by cost cuts, Electronic Data Systems Corp. saw quarterly income double even though revenue was virtually flat. The bigger profit came largely from thousands of recent job cuts at the technology-services company.
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AWB Ltd. director resigns amid scandal
Feb 9 2006 2:11AM (CT)
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - The head of Australia's monopoly wheat exporter resigned Thursday amid allegations his company knowingly paid millions of dollars in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein under the U.N. oil-for-food program.
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Reports: China to ban new cigarette plants
Feb 9 2006 2:09AM (CT)
SHANGHAI, China (AP) - China will not allow any new cigarette factories, including joint ventures, as it works to cut back on tobacco use among its 350 million smokers, reports said Thursday.
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Monsanto finds value in health
Feb 9 2006 2:04AM (CT)
ST. LOUIS (AP) - The pipeline of research and development at Monsanto Co. has long fueled the company's growth, but it's never been as full or as focused on health as it is now.
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Sony Pictures price high definition DVDs
Feb 9 2006 2:02AM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Sony Pictures became the first studio to say how much it will charge for films released on the next-generation DVD format.
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Mexico vows to prosecute U.S. hotel
Feb 9 2006 1:31AM (CT)
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico's vow to prosecute an American-owned hotel for adhering to the U.S. embargo of Cuba puts American businesses in a dilemma: Whose laws do they obey _ those of their homeland or those of their host? No matter what they do, they could face legal action.
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Bank of Japan to keep monetary policy
Feb 9 2006 12:07AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Bank of Japan policy board members Thursday voted to hold monetary policy steady as the Japanese economy hasn't escaped from deflation.
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