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Global Crossing selling unit
Mar 22 2005 10:51PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Telecommunications company Global Crossing LTD has agreed to sell its small business group to Matrix Telecom, a unit of private equity firm Platinum Equity, for $40.5 million in cash.
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Gov't confirms criminal probe of Hollinger
Mar 22 2005 9:57PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - Federal prosecutors confirmed for the first time Tuesday they are conducting a criminal investigation of newspaper tycoon Conrad Black, his former top deputy David Radler and Hollinger Inc.
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Fed raises rates to check inflation
Mar 22 2005 9:20PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Reserve, concerned that soaring energy prices could stoke broader inflation, boosted short-term interest rates Tuesday and signaled rates would probably keep on rising in the months ahead.
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Tokyo stocks fall; dollar up against yen
Mar 22 2005 9:07PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Tokyo stocks fell Wednesday morning after a U.S. central bank decision to raise benchmark interest rates sent shares down on Wall Street. The dollar was higher against the Japanese yen and euro.
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Court upholds frozen Gemstar payment
Mar 22 2005 8:58PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Federal regulators properly froze a $37.6 million cash payment to two former executives of Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc., an appeals court ruled Tuesday.
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Foundry pleads guilty in pollution case
Mar 22 2005 8:49PM (CT)
TYLER, Texas (AP) - An east Texas foundry with a history of safety violations pleaded guilty Tuesday to two federal felonies and agreed to pay a $4.5 million fine for violating environmental laws and hiding information from government regulators.
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J.P. Morgan Chase settles Bank One suit
Mar 22 2005 8:49PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - The owner of the former Bank One Corp. has agreed to pay shareholders $120 million to settle a five-year-old class action lawsuit.
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FAA wants O'Hare flight limits extended
Mar 22 2005 7:31PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - Federal officials want to limit the number of flights coming into O'Hare International Airport for three more years to help reduce delays that can affect flights around the country.
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EU ministers seen moving to back Wolfowitz
Mar 22 2005 7:16PM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - European Union nations are slowly moving toward endorsing Paul Wolfowitz as the next World Bank president, Dutch Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm said Tuesday.
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Fox TV president leaving for Paramount
Mar 22 2005 6:40PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Gail Berman, president of entertainment at the Fox Television network, is leaving to take an unspecified role at Paramount Pictures.
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Farmers inadvertently receive biotech corn
Mar 22 2005 6:22PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Swiss biotechnology company Syngenta AG said Tuesday it mistakenly sold to farmers an experimental corn seed genetically engineered to resist bugs that was never approved by U.S. regulators, bolstering critics' claims that the industry needs tighter government scrutiny.
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Compuware and IBM settle, ending trial
Mar 22 2005 5:38PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - Five weeks into a trial over its alleged theft of intellectual property and monopolistic behavior, IBM has settled with software maker Compuware in a case that centered on whether corporate confidentiality agreements were violated.
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France abolishing its 35-hour workweek
Mar 22 2005 5:27PM (CT)
PARIS (AP) - France took a big step toward liberalizing its rigid labor laws Tuesday as lawmakers voted to effectively dismantle the 35-hour workweek, cherished by workers but despised by many employers and potential investors.
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Oracle quarterly profit falls 15 percent
Mar 22 2005 5:25PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Fresh off its latest conquest, business software maker Oracle Corp. said its quarterly earnings dropped 15 percent because of the financial fallout from its $10.6 billion acquisition of PeopleSoft Inc.
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Office Depot settles OT suit for $3.3M
Mar 22 2005 5:15PM (CT)
DENVER (AP) - Office Depot settled a 2-year-old class-action lawsuit on overtime for $3.3 million just before it was to go to trial, the plaintiffs' attorneys said.
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Internet phone company sued over 911
Mar 22 2005 5:14PM (CT)
HOUSTON (AP) - Texas sued the nation's largest Internet-based phone service provider Tuesday, saying Vonage failed to clearly inform customers they cannot automatically dial 911 when they sign up.
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Bond prices fall on inflation fears
Mar 22 2005 5:02PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Bond prices fell Tuesday as investors retrenched after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates and confirmed Wall Street's fears that inflation presents an increasing threat to the economy.
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Tuesday's Commodities Roundup
Mar 22 2005 4:58PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Crude-oil futures in New York gave up more than a dollar Tuesday to settle at a week low as stagnating oil prices invited traders to take profits.
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Co-president of Marsh Inc. resigns
Mar 22 2005 4:54PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Insurance broker Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. announced Tuesday that the co-president of Marsh Inc., its risk and insurance services subsidiary, had resigned.
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Lufthansa says Swiss airline takeover OK'd
Mar 22 2005 4:52PM (CT)
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) - German airline Lufthansa signed an agreement Tuesday to take over struggling Swiss International Air Lines after receiving approval from the Swiss government and other major shareholders of the national carrier.
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Williams-Sonoma profit up despite charge
Mar 22 2005 4:40PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Profit for the latest quarter rose slightly at Williams-Sonoma Inc. despite a charge for the way it accounts for leases, the home-products company said Tuesday.
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Ex-CEO of video chain wants to buy stores
Mar 22 2005 4:38PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Former Hollywood Entertainment Corp. Chief Executive Mark Wattles has expressed interest in buying up to half of the video chain's stores, according to a filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Lennar profit skyrockets 39 percent
Mar 22 2005 4:37PM (CT)
MIAMI (AP) - Lennar Corp. on Tuesday said profit for its latest quarter soared 39 percent, helped by revenue growth that reflects rising deliveries of homes and higher average sale prices.
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EDS signs $4B contract with U.K. military
Mar 22 2005 4:35PM (CT)
PLANO, Texas (AP) - The United Kingdom's military said Tuesday that a group of companies led by Electronic Data Systems Corp. will build a computer network over the next 10 years in a contract worth $4 billion.
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Pfizer to end production at Mich. plant
Mar 22 2005 4:34PM (CT)
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - Pfizer Inc. said Tuesday it plans to end production at its plant near Grand Rapids, Mich. as part of a drive to reduce its global manufacturing capacity.
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Chrysler to upgrade two Michigan plants
Mar 22 2005 4:17PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - The Chrysler Group is investing $506 million in two suburban Detroit plants for production of the automaker's next generation of small and mid-size vehicles in a leaner, more cost-effective way, the company said Tuesday.
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U.S. savings bonds going electronic
Mar 22 2005 4:13PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - It is time to dig into the sock drawer in search of that savings bond from Aunt Martha. The Treasury Department announced Tuesday that it has launched a program to convert existing paper bonds into electronic securities.
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Tribune ordered to sell TV station
Mar 22 2005 4:00PM (CT)
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A federal judge has ordered Tribune Co., a Chicago-based media company that owns The Hartford Courant, to sell its TV station WTXX in Waterbury, Conn. to comply with media ownership rules.
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Report: Tobacco firms discuss settlement
Mar 22 2005 3:55PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Tobacco stocks finished mixed Tuesday in the wake of a published report that the nation's largest cigarette makers and prosecutors have met secretly at least once with a court-appointed mediator to try to reach a settlement of the government's civil fraud and racketeering case against the companies.
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General Electric ends loan deal for GM
Mar 22 2005 3:54PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - General Electric Co.'s exit from a loan deal with General Motors Corp. could happen earlier than expected because of financial troubles at the world's largest automaker. GM said it has already made alternate arrangements for making timely supplier payments.
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Delphi: Probe 'substantially completed'
Mar 22 2005 3:51PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - Delphi Corp., the world's largest auto supplier, said Tuesday it has "substantially completed" an internal investigation into accounting errors that led to the resignations of its chief financial officer and controller.
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Alcoa to cut 2,000 jobs, sell Elkem stake
Mar 22 2005 3:50PM (CT)
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Alcoa Inc. said Tuesday it will cut 2,000 jobs over the next year as the aluminum maker streamlines its operations to become more competitive. The company is also selling its minority stake in a Norwegian metals and energy group for about $870 million.
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Regulator questions P&G-Gillette price
Mar 22 2005 3:48PM (CT)
BOSTON (AP) - The Massachusetts secretary of state is questioning whether Procter & Gamble Co. is shortchanging Gillette Co. shareholders by paying too little to acquire the famous maker of shaving equipment and batteries. Meanwhile, federal regulators are seeking more information as they review the pending $57 billion deal.
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Airlines reconsider, pushing fares higher
Mar 22 2005 3:47PM (CT)
DALLAS (AP) - A day after retreating on fare hikes, most major U.S. airlines on Tuesday revived increases of $10 per round trip on many domestic flights to cover the rising cost of jet fuel.
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Burn victim settles with IBM, contractor
Mar 22 2005 3:45PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - An apprentice technician who received burns on 60 percent of his body after an electrical explosion, settled a lawsuit this week against engineering contract firm Fluor Corp. and technology powerhouse IBM Corp.
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Comair flight attendants to vote on deal
Mar 22 2005 3:44PM (CT)
CINCINNATI (AP) - Comair has proposed cutting new workers' starting salaries, instead of freezing flight attendants' pay, so the airline can buy more planes and attract new business.
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Union Pacific raises 1Q earnings estimate
Mar 22 2005 3:39PM (CT)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Union Pacific Corp., which operates the nation's largest railroad, raised its earnings estimate for the first quarter, citing unexpectedly strong revenue growth and a quick recovery from West Coast storms. Its shares rose 5 percent.
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AIG fires 2 execs for failure to cooperate
Mar 22 2005 3:37PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - American International Group Inc., one of the world's biggest insurance companies, fired two top executives for failing to cooperate with government investigators, a spokesman for the company said Tuesday.
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Sanofi-Aventis wins Plavix patent case
Mar 22 2005 3:35PM (CT)
OTTAWA (AP) - A Canadian court has ruled Canada's largest generic drug manufacturer can't introduce a generic version of Sanofi-Aventis SA's blockbuster drug Plavix in Canada.
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Oracle beats SAP to buy Retek for $670M
Mar 22 2005 3:34PM (CT)
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. (AP) - Business software maker Oracle Corp. beat out German rival SAP AG in its bid to buy Retek Inc., reaching an agreement to purchase the retail software maker for about $670 million, Oracle said Tuesday.
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Yukos drops its U.S. bankruptcy case
Mar 22 2005 3:31PM (CT)
HOUSTON (AP) - Withered Russian oil company Yukos dropped its case in U.S. courts Tuesday, saying it had no reasonable prospect of obtaining relief under U.S. bankruptcy law.
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Crude oil prices plunge on profit-taking
Mar 22 2005 2:58PM (CT)
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Traders chalked up a sharp decline in oil prices Tuesday to profit-taking ahead of the U.S. government's next petroleum supply report.
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EU leaders approve changes in euro pact
Mar 22 2005 2:31PM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - EU leaders approved a watering down of the rules that underpin the stability of the euro on Tuesday, a step Germany and France _ repeat offenders of the old rules _ quickly hailed as necessary to spur growth in lean times.
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Sanofi-Aventis wins Plavix patent case
Mar 22 2005 2:04PM (CT)
OTTAWA (AP) - A Canadian court has ruled Canada's largest generic drug manufacturer can't introduce a copycat version of Sanofi-Aventis SA's blockbuster drug Plavix in Canada.
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Biotech corn is inadvertenly shipped
Mar 22 2005 1:46PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Biotechnology company Syngenta AG said Tuesday it mistakenly sold to consumers tons of experimental genetically engineered corn never approved by U.S. regulators.
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Ex-Tyco director testifies on loan program
Mar 22 2005 1:23PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A former Tyco International Ltd. director conceded Tuesday the company's annual proxy statements described an internal loan program as being used "primarily" to cover taxes on the vesting of restricted shares, but didn't say the loans had to be used exclusively for that purpose.
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AG files suit against Internet phone co.
Mar 22 2005 1:08PM (CT)
AUSTIN (AP) - Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott sued the nation's largest Internet-based phone service provider Tuesday, saying that Vonage failed to clearly inform customers that the service excludes access to 911 services.
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Singapore leasing co. to buy Boeing jets
Mar 22 2005 12:42PM (CT)
SEATTLE (AP) - Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise said Tuesday that it intends to order 20 of Boeing Co.'s narrow-body 737s, with the option to purchase 20 more.
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Electronic Arts lowers 2005 outlook
Mar 22 2005 12:27PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Electronic Arts Inc., the nation's largest video game publisher, cut its earnings outlook for the current fiscal year due to weak sales in North America and Europe.
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Russia 'rainy day' fund to reach $36.3B
Mar 22 2005 12:26PM (CT)
MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's 'rainy day' fund collected from taxes on windfall oil profits is set to reach one trillion rubles ($36.3 billion) by the end of the year, a senior Cabinet member said Tuesday.
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British gov't granted more time on bankers
Mar 22 2005 12:25PM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - The High Court has granted British Home Secretary Charles Clarke more time to consider a U.S. request to extradite three British bankers on Enron Corp.-related fraud charges, the Home Office said Tuesday.
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InBev launches Brahma as global brand
Mar 22 2005 12:22PM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - InBev SA, the world's largest beer producer, is launching a global marketing campaign for Brahma beer in hopes that the Brazilian brand will become as recognizable as its two flagship beverages _ Belgium's Stella Artois and Germany's Beck's.
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Services directive to take stage at summit
Mar 22 2005 12:13PM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Rarely does a bureaucratic paper from the European Union tug at the souls of its citizens. But the innocuous-sounding "services directive" has unleashed passions that could even sink the EU's first constitution.
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Lufthansa CEO Mayrhuber wins 5 more years
Mar 22 2005 12:12PM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - German airline Lufthansa said Tuesday that its board of directors had reappointed Chief Executive Wolfgang Mayrhuber for another five years until 2010.
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Gazprom wants some to pay market price
Mar 22 2005 11:42AM (CT)
MOSCOW (AP) - The head of Russia's state-controlled natural gas monopoly said Tuesday that the company wants Russian industrial consumers to pay the full price for supplies starting next year _ a move that could badly dent industrial competitiveness.
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Small merchants adopt 'Weird' PR campaign
Mar 22 2005 11:22AM (CT)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - The large billboards dotting parts of Louisville are as striking for their color scheme _ black and white _ as they are for their message.
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Lufthansa says Swiss airline takeover OK'd
Mar 22 2005 10:58AM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - German airline Lufthansa said Tuesday that its takeover of Swiss International Air Lines had been approved by both company's boards and by the Swiss airline's major shareholders.
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Deutsche Post 2004 profit up 21 percent
Mar 22 2005 10:51AM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - German mail and package delivery group Deutsche Post AG said Tuesday that profit rose by 21 percent in 2004, pushed by a new cost cutting program and strong sales.
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U.S. dollar slips ahead of Fed meeting
Mar 22 2005 10:28AM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - The U.S. dollar slipped a little against the euro and the yen Tuesday as markets awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision on monetary policy at its meeting later in the day.
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Group: recorded music sales flat in 2004
Mar 22 2005 10:17AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - Global sales of recorded music were essentially flat in 2004, with a reduction in audio sales offset by increases in DVD and digital music sales, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry reported Tuesday.
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China official addresses textile exporters
Mar 22 2005 10:06AM (CT)
SHANGHAI, China (AP) - China expects its textile manufacturers to show self-discipline to prevent disruptions to the global textile trade, Commerce Minister Bo Xilai said in comments published by state media Tuesday.
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Russian firms ready to finance rail line
Mar 22 2005 9:58AM (CT)
MOSCOW (AP) - Russian firms are ready to finance the construction of a 28-mile railway line inside North Korea to facilitate oil deliveries to the energy-starved country, Russia's railways chief said Tuesday.
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GNER retains franchise to run train line
Mar 22 2005 9:55AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - The company that runs one of Britain's most prestigious rail routes, former home of the famous Flying Scotsman train, will continue operating the network for at least another seven years, rail authorities said Tuesday.
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Beverly board votes to sell company
Mar 22 2005 9:47AM (CT)
FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) - The board of Beverly Enterprises Inc. has voted to put the nursing home operator up for auction, a move that could force a Georgia investor group vying to take over the company to raise its offer.
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Competing bids made for Britain's Eidos
Mar 22 2005 9:06AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - British computer game maker Eidos PLC _ creator of the "Tomb Raider" series _ received a $145 million takeover offer from SCi Entertainment Group PLC on Tuesday that tops an earlier bid from U.S. buyout firm Elevation Partners whose directors include the singer Bono.
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Bank of Ireland to slash 2,100 jobs
Mar 22 2005 8:50AM (CT)
DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) - Bank of Ireland announced plans Tuesday to cut 2,100 jobs over the next four years to slash costs, but the workers' major union vowed to fight what it called "corporate greed at its most vulgar."
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Fifth former CFO testifies against Scrushy
Mar 22 2005 7:55AM (CT)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - The fifth former HealthSouth Corp. finance chief to link fired CEO Richard Scrushy to a massive fraud scheme called Scrushy a bully who wheedled him into signing false financial statements.
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General Mills 3Q profit dips on taxes
Mar 22 2005 7:53AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - General Mills Inc., the nation's second-largest cereal producer and largest maker of branded yogurt, said Tuesday that third-quarter earnings dropped from a year ago due to taxes related to the sale of its stake in a European snacks business as well as accounting changes.
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Quiksilver announces bid for Rossignol
Mar 22 2005 5:58AM (CT)
PARIS (AP) - U.S. sportswear company Quiksilver Inc. announced a friendly takeover bid for France's Skis Rossignol SA on Tuesday in a deal to create a sports equipment and apparel group with revenue of almost 2 billion euros ($2.64 billion).
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Graco agrees to pay $4 million settlement
Mar 22 2005 5:11AM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Graco Children's Products Inc. has agreed to pay a record $4 million to settle charges that it belatedly reported problems with car seats, high chairs, strollers and other products that resulted in hundreds of injuries and at least six deaths.
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Diller's firm buying Ask Jeeves for $1.9B
Mar 22 2005 4:11AM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Barry Diller's electronic commerce company IAC/InterActiveCorp is buying online search engine Ask Jeeves Inc. for $1.9 billion and taking aim at the Internet's advertising market leaders.
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Ore. gov. tries to lessen drought impact
Mar 22 2005 4:10AM (CT)
SALEM, Ore. (AP) - With Oregon irrigation reservoirs at 50 percent of normal and snowpack even less, Gov. Ted Kulongoski announced measures he hopes will lessen the threat to farmers and fire-prone forests from one of the driest winters on record.
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Surging gasoline prices not slowing demand
Mar 22 2005 4:08AM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Gasoline prices have surged more than 10 percent in the past month to $2.11 a gallon nationwide, the government said Monday _ and the latest run-up in oil futures may lead to even higher pump prices soon.
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Time Warner settles SEC fraud charges
Mar 22 2005 4:08AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Closing a difficult chapter, Time Warner Inc. said Monday it would pay $300 million and restate three years of financial results to settle civil fraud charges stemming from its accounting of online advertising revenues and subscriber counts at its AOL unit.
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