Latest Business News
Economic Figures
Dollar & Gold News
Board of Trade News
Personal Finance
|
|
|
|
|
|
Univision shares jump amid reports of bid
Mar 10 2006 7:00PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Shares of Univision Communications Inc. surged nearly 4 percent Friday as reports emerged that a consortium of private-equity investors and key Univision shareholder Grupo Televisa were considering making a bid for the Spanish-language media conglomerate.
|
|
|
Arab firms may reconsider U.S. dealings
Mar 10 2006 6:59PM (CT)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - The ports controversy is likely to send a chill among Arab businessmen, making them cautious about investing in the United States amid fears of an anti-Arab bias in the world's biggest market.
|
|
|
Head of PBGC seeks data on pension plans
Mar 10 2006 6:20PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Companies with underfunded pension plans should be required to provide information on the condition of their plans as part of an overhaul of the pension insurance system, the head of the federal agency that backs them said Friday.
|
|
|
Solid jobs data sends bond prices falling
Mar 10 2006 6:10PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Bruised by a solid February jobs report, bonds fell broadly Friday, capping off a week that in some cases pushed bond yields up against multi-year highs.
|
|
|
L.L. Bean reports sales growth for 2005
Mar 10 2006 6:07PM (CT)
FREEPORT, Maine (AP) - Outdoor goods retailer L.L. Bean Inc. on Friday reported sales of $1.47 billion for the fiscal year ended Feb. 26, a 4 percent increase over 2004's performance.
|
|
|
Santa Clara to pay Enron creditors $36.5M
Mar 10 2006 6:05PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The city of Santa Clara agreed to pay Enron Corp. creditors $36.5 million to settle a lawsuit over terminated electricity contracts with the city's municipal utility, the two parties said Friday.
|
|
|
Friday's commodities roundup
Mar 10 2006 5:54PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Gold futures were dealt a blow Friday when favorable U.S. economic data boosted the dollar, leading gold to test its lowest level in more than a month at the New York Mercantile Exchange.
|
|
|
Merrill Lynch CEO gets pay raised to $37M
Mar 10 2006 5:53PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Merrill Lynch & Co. Chairman and Chief Executive E. Stanley O'Neal received a 16 percent boost in 2005 compensation to $37 million, the company said Friday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
|
|
|
Federated to convert store into Macy's
Mar 10 2006 5:52PM (CT)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Federated Department Stores Inc. will convert its downtown Lord & Taylor store into a Macy's this summer and seek a buyer for the Strawbridge's store several blocks away, the company announced Friday.
|
|
|
Lawmakers target USPS tobacco shipments
Mar 10 2006 5:49PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The U.S. Postal Service is not doing enough to halt the illegal shipment of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco across the country, Sen. Charles Schumer charged Friday.
|
|
|
Northwest buys FLYi operating certificate
Mar 10 2006 5:48PM (CT)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Northwest Airlines Corp. said it has bought the operating certificate of bankrupt FLYi Inc., a key move toward starting a new subsidiary for regional flying.
|
|
|
Ports deal fallout said won't hurt economy
Mar 10 2006 5:46PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The scuttling by Congress of a Dubai-owned company's bid to gain control of U.S. port operations is unlikely to trigger negative economic consequences unless it is followed by dramatic changes to the laws governing foreign investment in the United States, global trade experts said Friday.
|
|
|
AK Steel, locked-out union hold talks
Mar 10 2006 5:31PM (CT)
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (AP) - AK Steel and the union at its Middletown Works plant returned to the bargaining table Friday for only their third session since union workers were locked out 10 days earlier.
|
|
|
Allion Healthcare shares fall 19 percent
Mar 10 2006 5:30PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Shares of Allion Healthcare Inc. fell sharply Friday after the provider of pharmacy and disease-management services to HIV-positive and AIDS patients lowered its 2006 first-quarter and full-year estimates.
|
|
|
Experts see smooth AT&T-BellSouth merger
Mar 10 2006 5:30PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - If AT&T and BellSouth merge, it will be a gargantuan task, affecting tens of millions of customers and investors and more than 300,000 employees.
|
|
|
Oil prices slide below $60 per barrel
Mar 10 2006 5:28PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Crude oil prices slipped below $60 a barrel Friday as traders took profits ahead of the weekend, but worries about violence in Nigeria and the possibility of U.N. sanctions against Iran still underpinned the market.
|
|
|
Consortium submits bid for Knight Ridder
Mar 10 2006 5:22PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A group of private equity investors has submitted a bid for Knight Ridder Inc., the storied newspaper publishing company that was forced to put itself up for sale last year by its largest shareholders.
|
|
|
Oil spill said largest on Alaska slope
Mar 10 2006 5:15PM (CT)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - An oil spill discovered earlier this month in Alaska's Prudhoe Bay was the largest ever on the North Slope, according to an official estimate released Friday.
|
|
|
Capitalia buys stake in Banca Intesa
Mar 10 2006 5:13PM (CT)
ROME (AP) - Italy's fourth-largest bank, Capitalia SpA, said Friday that it has bought a 2 percent stake in Banca Intesa SpA, the country's second-largest bank.
|
|
|
LSE gets, nixes Nasdaq takeover approach
Mar 10 2006 5:09PM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - The London Stock Exchange said Friday that it received _ and rejected _ a surprise 2.4 billion pound ($4.2 billion) takeover approach from the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. The U.S.-based Nasdaq confirmed the offer, argued it was a good one and appeared unwilling to walk away.
|
|
|
Lear gets SEC subpoena for GM records
Mar 10 2006 5:08PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - Auto parts supplier Lear Corp. has received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission seeking information about General Motors Corp.'s accounting for supplier payments and credits.
|
|
|
Continental Tire warns of possible layoffs
Mar 10 2006 5:02PM (CT)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Nearly 500 workers at Continental Tire North America Inc. learned Friday they would be laid off by Sept. 15 if they don't agree to pay cuts.
|
|
|
Duke Energy CEO predicts another merger
Mar 10 2006 4:55PM (CT)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - After Duke Energy Corp. shareholders approved a $9 billion deal Friday to acquire gas and electric utility Cinergy Corp., chief executive and chairman Paul Anderson predicted his company could be ready for another merger within a year.
|
|
|
Littlefuse shares up on 1Q outlook boost
Mar 10 2006 4:46PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The stock of Littlefuse Inc. rose Friday after the maker of circuit-protection products raised its first-quarter outlook, citing stronger sales than expected, particularly to the telecom industry.
|
|
|
Razr defect forces halting of U.S. sales
Mar 10 2006 4:44PM (CT)
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (AP) - Cingular Wireless and T-Mobile USA temporarily stopped selling Motorola Inc.'s popular Razr phones this week because of a defect in some of them that causes calls to disconnect.
|
|
|
Plaintiff takes stand in Vioxx trial
Mar 10 2006 4:40PM (CT)
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - A man who blames Vioxx for his heart attack took the stand in his lawsuit against Merck & Co. on Friday, acknowledging that medical records don't support his claim that he took the drug for two years or more.
|
|
|
GM recalls about 900,000 pickup trucks
Mar 10 2006 4:37PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - General Motors Corp. said Friday it is recalling about 900,000 pickup trucks worldwide to fix tailgate cables that can corrode and break when loads are placed on them.
|
|
|
Nucor increases 1Q earnings expectations
Mar 10 2006 4:35PM (CT)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Steel producer Nucor Corp. on Friday raised its profit expectations for the first quarter, citing strong shipments and better-than-expected margins. Its shares rose more than 4 percent to a 52-week high in afternoon trading.
|
|
|
Dana hopes to emerge from bankruptcy
Mar 10 2006 4:30PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Dana Corp. said Friday it hopes to emerge from bankruptcy within 18 months, and its chief executive told creditors that the auto parts company plans to further wean itself off of three major customers, the Big Three automakers.
|
|
|
Skilling lawyer attacks Fastow testimony
Mar 10 2006 4:29PM (CT)
HOUSTON (AP) - Before former Enron Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow took the witness stand this week in the fraud and conspiracy trial of his bosses, Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay, he had a certain swagger. Now the 44-year-old just looks beaten.
|
|
|
Lexington Strategic Asset files for IPO
Mar 10 2006 3:37PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Lexington Strategic Asset Corp. registered Friday to sell up to $100 million in common stock in an initial public offering.
|
|
|
Nortel Networks posts preliminary 4Q loss
Mar 10 2006 3:08PM (CT)
TORONTO (AP) - Telecom-equipment maker Nortel Networks Corp. posted a preliminary fourth-quarter loss of $2.21 billion Friday, most of it related to the settlement of class-action lawsuits, and warned it could default on $1.3 billion in debt.
|
|
|
IPOs scheduled to debut next week
Mar 10 2006 3:00PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The following is a list of initial public offerings planned for the coming week. Sources include Informa Global Markets EquityWatch and SEC filings.
|
|
|
Pasta maker to build plant near Rochester
Mar 10 2006 2:25PM (CT)
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) - The world's biggest pasta maker is teaming up with an Iowa distributor to build a $96.2 million plant employing 120 people in a predominantly rural county near Rochester that was recently awarded its first business zone offering state tax breaks.
|
|
|
Alitalia expects to post profit in 2006
Mar 10 2006 2:16PM (CT)
ROME (AP) - Alitalia said on Friday that it still expects to post a profit in 2006 despite a spate of strikes and bad weather that buffeted the struggling Italian airline earlier this year.
|
|
|
EU, U.S. sign new wine deal
Mar 10 2006 1:25PM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union and the United States signed a new wine deal Friday that allows the U.S. to export wines made using practices many European vintners shun.
|
|
|
Euro slips slightly versus dollar
Mar 10 2006 12:39PM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - The euro slipped slightly against the dollar on Friday, holding above the 1.19 euros level as the currency market tried to reconcile gloomy U.S. trade data with a strong U.S. jobs market report.
|
|
|
Brazil leading effort to boost ethanol use
Mar 10 2006 12:37PM (CT)
SAO TOME, Brazil (AP) - In an agroindustrial complex ringed by fields of 12-foot-high sugarcane, a giant mechanical claw dumps stalks by the tons into an even larger crushing machine. Here's where the renewable fuel used to power seven of every 10 new Brazilian cars gets its start.
|
|
|
Coca-Cola paid $9.66M in bonuses to execs
Mar 10 2006 12:34PM (CT)
ATLANTA (AP) - The Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest beverage maker, paid $9.66 million in bonuses to its top five executives last year, according to a regulatory filing Friday.
|
|
|
Banks file bankruptcy suit vs. Yukos
Mar 10 2006 12:30PM (CT)
MOSCOW (AP) - Creditor banks have filed a suit seeking to have the troubled Russian oil company Yukos declared bankrupt, court officials said Friday, potentially threatening the survival of Russia's former No. 1 crude producer.
|
|
|
Belgium wants Suez, GdF to sell units
Mar 10 2006 12:29PM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Belgium's energy regulator is calling for Suez SA and Gaz de France to sell most of their gas and electricity business in Belgium if they complete plans to create a new European energy giant, a newspaper reported Friday.
|
|
|
Dresden sells 48,000 apartments for $2B
Mar 10 2006 12:10PM (CT)
DRESDEN, Germany (AP) - The city of Dresden agreed Friday to sell 48,000 apartments to New York-based Fortress Investment Group LLC for 1.7 billion euros ($2 billion) to clear its debts.
|
|
|
Brazil leading effort to boost ethanol use
Mar 10 2006 11:44AM (CT)
SAO TOME, Brazil (AP) - In an agroindustrial complex ringed by fields of 12-foot-high sugarcane, a giant mechanical claw dumps stalks by the tons into an even larger crushing machine. Here's where the renewable fuel used to power seven of every 10 new Brazilian cars gets its start.
|
|
|
Gannett chairman's 2005 total pay $4.1M
Mar 10 2006 11:39AM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Gannett Co., the nation's largest newspaper publisher, said Friday that Chairman Douglas H. McCorkindale received 2005 total compensation of $4.06 million.
|
|
|
EU OKs sale of Siemens' IT services arm
Mar 10 2006 11:35AM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Commission said Friday it had cleared Germany's Siemens AG to sell part of its unprofitable information technology services arm to Fujitsu Siemens Computers BV.
|
|
|
Soybeans decrease, grains mixed
Mar 10 2006 11:34AM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - Soybean futures retreated in early activity Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade, while grain futures moved mixed.
|
|
|
EU OKs Coca-Cola plan to buy Fresh and Co.
Mar 10 2006 11:17AM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - EU regulators said Friday that The Coca-Cola Co. and the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Co. could proceed with their plans to buy the Serbian fresh juice producer Fresh and Co.
|
|
|
Volvo unveils new hybrid technology
Mar 10 2006 11:06AM (CT)
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) - Sweden's AB Volvo, one of the world's largest truck makers, on Friday unveiled a new hybrid engine technology that it said will cut fuel consumption in heavy vehicles by up to 35 percent.
|
|
|
Toyota expected to make Camry in Indiana
Mar 10 2006 10:49AM (CT)
LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Toyota and Indiana officials are expected to announce Monday that a Subaru plant in Lafayette will begin producing Toyota's Camry mid-sized sedan.
|
|
|
Gol airline expects to boost market share
Mar 10 2006 10:48AM (CT)
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) - Brazil's no-frills airline Gol expects to boost its share of the country's domestic air travel market to between 35 percent and 38 percent by the end of this year, executives said Friday.
|
|
|
EU threatens action on modified crop bans
Mar 10 2006 10:46AM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union threatened legal action Friday against member states that create biotech-free growing zones in their countries, warning that doing so would violate EU trade rules.
|
|
|
U.S. consumer confidence drops, poll shows
Mar 10 2006 6:58AM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Consumer confidence dropped in early March as people fretted about the economy's performance and their own financial fate in the months ahead.
|
|
|
China bank ICBC names underwriters for IPO
Mar 10 2006 6:54AM (CT)
BEIJING (AP) - A top state-owned bank announced underwriters Friday for China's biggest initial public offering to date, awarding lucrative roles to Merrill Lynch & Co., Deutsche Bank AG and Credit Suisse Group following intense competition by the world's investment banks.
|
|
|
China Shenhua Energy posts $1.94B profit
Mar 10 2006 5:50AM (CT)
HONG KONG (AP) - China Shenhua Energy Co., the mainland's largest coal producer by output, said Friday its 2005 net profit rose 75 percent on increased production and higher prices.
|
|
|
Northwest adds Minneapolis-London service
Mar 10 2006 5:37AM (CT)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Northwest Airlines planned to resume daily nonstop service between the Twin Cities and London on Friday, the airline announced.
|
|
|
Thai PM's son fined for wrongdoing in sale
Mar 10 2006 5:06AM (CT)
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - The son of Thailand's prime minister will be fined nearly $150,000 for wrongdoing in the sale of his Shin Corp. shares, stock market regulator said Friday.
|
|
|
China creates court for piracy cases
Mar 10 2006 4:41AM (CT)
BEIJING (AP) - China has created a special court to prosecute product piracy cases, a government spokesman said Friday, amid demands for Beijing to step up action against rampant illegal copying of movies, music, software and other goods.
|
|
|
Japanese stocks rise; dollar up vs. yen
Mar 10 2006 4:39AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japanese stocks rose for a second day Friday as the Bank of Japan's decision to end its super-easy monetary policy relieved weeks of uncertainty and signaled the central bank's optimism about the economy.
|
|
|
KT&G's biggest investor boosts its stake
Mar 10 2006 4:33AM (CT)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - KT&G Corp.'s biggest shareholder said Friday it has increased its stake in South Korea's former government tobacco monopoly amid a tussle between management and activist investors led by U.S. billionaire Carl Icahn.
|
|
|
BOJ decision shows confidence in recovery
Mar 10 2006 3:45AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Tokyo shares rose Friday as investors welcomed the Bank of Japan's clear message that the country's recovery has grown strong enough for the central bank to scrap its five-year super-easy monetary policy.
|
|
|
Farmers facing drought, higher fuel prices
Mar 10 2006 3:19AM (CT)
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Jerry McReynolds was stringing wire fence at his Woodston farm with his son and his hired hand this week when a loud boom startled the men and spooked the cattle in a nearby pen.
|
|
|
China bank ICBC names underwriters for IPO
Mar 10 2006 1:24AM (CT)
BEIJING (AP) - A top state-owned bank announced underwriters Friday for China's biggest initial public offering to date, awarding lucrative roles to Merrill Lynch & Co., Deutsche Bank AG and Credit Suisse Group following intense competition by the world's investment banks.
|
|
|
China: EU's shoe import sanctions 'unjust'
Mar 10 2006 1:06AM (CT)
BEIJING (AP) - China on Friday urged the European Union to reconsider proposed sanctions on its exports of shoes, with the Commerce Ministry calling such measures "unjust."
|
|
|
Ameritrade sees profits doubling by 2013
Mar 10 2006 12:09AM (CT)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Online brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. aims to double its profits within the next seven years, company officials said at their annual shareholders' meeting.
|
|
|
|
|
|