Latest Business News
Economic Figures
Dollar & Gold News
Board of Trade News
Personal Finance
|
|
|
|
|
|
EBay said to win preliminary patent ruling
Mar 29 2005 11:32PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued an initial ruling Tuesday that could invalidate a small Virginia business' patent that a federal appeals court ruled eBay Inc. had violated, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
|
|
|
Qwest likely to continue pursuit of MCI
Mar 29 2005 11:25PM (CT)
DENVER (AP) - Although its multibillion-dollar offer for MCI Inc. has been rejected a second time, Qwest Communications International Inc. isn't likely to be content to simply stay home in the Rockies.
|
|
|
Wachovia extends branch hours
Mar 29 2005 11:23PM (CT)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Responding to customers and competitors who have shown that the era of "banker's hours" is over, Wachovia Corp. is rolling out a plan to improve customer convenience by keeping some branches open later on weekdays and Saturdays.
|
|
|
Oil prices up as OPEC suspends talks
Mar 29 2005 11:21PM (CT)
SINGAPORE (AP) - Crude futures gained only slightly on Wednesday, staying above $54 a barrel after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it has suspended talks on a second output increase.
|
|
|
HP board picks less flamboyant CEO
Mar 29 2005 11:17PM (CT)
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Less than two months after firing the flamboyant Carly Fiorina as president and CEO, Hewlett-Packard Co.'s board of directors has selected a relatively obscure, Midwestern management expert to engineer a turnaround at the struggling computer company.
|
|
|
Disney, Miramax founders reach settlement
Mar 29 2005 11:13PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Bob and Harvey Weinstein reinvented the world of independent films in 1979 when they formed their company named for their mother, Miriam, and father, Max _ Miramax.
|
|
|
Morgan Stanley makes management changes
Mar 29 2005 9:45PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Morgan Stanley's former chairman and former president reiterated a call for the ouster of current CEO Philip Purcell on Tuesday, stating that a management shakeup announced earlier in the day was not in the best interests of the company.
|
|
|
Tokyo stocks fall; dollar up vs. yen
Mar 29 2005 9:05PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Tokyo stocks fell Wednesday morning as investors were disheartened by disappointing industrial output figures and sharp declines in the previous session. The U.S. dollar was up against the yen and the euro.
|
|
|
MCI accepts Verizon's $7.64B takeover bid
Mar 29 2005 8:41PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Verizon has won the bidding for MCI Inc. a second time, agreeing to pay $1 billion more for the long-distance telephone company, and yet still considerably less than a rival bid from Qwest.
|
|
|
Northwest Airlines raises savings target
Mar 29 2005 8:02PM (CT)
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) - Northwest Airlines Corp. said Tuesday it has increased the amount of money it wants to save on labor costs due record-high fuel prices, fare restructuring plans undertaken by various airlines and labor cost reductions at its competitors.
|
|
|
Lawyer blames auditor in WorldCom debacle
Mar 29 2005 7:52PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Eager to please WorldCom executives and line its pockets, auditing firm Arthur Andersen failed investors by missing the enormous fraud unfolding at the big telecom company, a lawyer for investors said Tuesday.
|
|
|
Judge sides with Argentina in debt case
Mar 29 2005 7:35PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A U.S. judge sided with Argentina on Tuesday in a dispute over its historic debt restructing plan, but refused to implement his order until a federal appeals court considers the case.
|
|
|
Blockbuster's settlement is latest setback
Mar 29 2005 7:10PM (CT)
DALLAS (AP) - Blockbuster Inc.'s decision to settle consumer-complaint charges over its "No Late Fees" program is the second setback for the big movie-rental chain in the past week, coming right after Blockbuster dropped its bid to buy rival Hollywood Entertainment Corp.
|
|
|
Judge OKs $16M plea deal in Riggs case
Mar 29 2005 6:20PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge on Tuesday approved a $16 million criminal fine against Riggs Bank for failing to report suspicious transactions involving foreigners. The plea agreement closes a chapter for the bank, which is expected to disappear soon as an independent concern.
|
|
|
Mislabeling prompts recall of chocolate
Mar 29 2005 5:35PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - A Vermont company is recalling a batch of chocolate bars after discovering the wrong wrapper was used on bars that contain peanuts, posing health risks to people with peanut allergies.
|
|
|
Delta announces tech operations cuts
Mar 29 2005 5:23PM (CT)
ATLANTA (AP) - Delta Air Lines Inc., the nation's third biggest carrier, said Tuesday it will restructure its technical operations division in a move to save $240 million over five years.
|
|
|
Onex asks union at Boeing for wage cuts
Mar 29 2005 5:16PM (CT)
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Canadian investment firm Onex Corp., which has agreed to buy Boeing Co.'s commercial aircraft operations in Kansas and Oklahoma, is asking the plant's largest union for cuts in wages and benefits.
|
|
|
Ex-Tyco director testifies about loans
Mar 29 2005 5:00PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A former Tyco International Ltd. director testified Tuesday that the company's so-called Key Employee Loan Program was designed specifically to loan money to executives to cover taxes on the vesting of restricted shares.
|
|
|
SEC gives leeway in measuring option value
Mar 29 2005 4:52PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Securities and Exchange Commission upheld new rules requiring companies to count employees' stock options against profits but sweetened the pill for Silicon Valley by allowing for corporate latitude in measuring the value of the prized perks.
|
|
|
Tuesday's commodities review
Mar 29 2005 4:46PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - Crude-oil prices rose modestly Tuesday after a choppy session as many traders moved to the sidelines ahead of weekly inventory data due out Wednesday. Silver rose on U.S. dollar softness and speculative buying.
|
|
|
Blockbuster reaches settlement on campaign
Mar 29 2005 4:34PM (CT)
DALLAS (AP) - Blockbuster Inc. agreed to make refunds to consumers after officials in 47 states charged that the nation's largest movie-rental chain deceived the public with advertisements that proclaimed the end of late fees.
|
|
|
Buffett's General Re under scrutiny
Mar 29 2005 4:32PM (CT)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway attempted to calm investors Tuesday who were concerned by news that federal regulators want to question the billionaire investment guru about reinsurance products that one of his companies issued to embattled AIG.
|
|
|
Pharmacy supplier settles kickback case
Mar 29 2005 4:21PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - PharMerica Inc., a leading provider of pharmacy supplies and services to nursing homes, agreed Tuesday to pay the federal government nearly $6 million to resolve allegations of illegal kickbacks.
|
|
|
Circuit City to delay earns announcement
Mar 29 2005 4:21PM (CT)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The nation's top two consumer electronics retailers said Tuesday they would delay their fourth-quarter earnings because of unrelated accounting issues.
|
|
|
Philip Morris to pay $18.8 in smoking case
Mar 29 2005 4:14PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A state court jury has ordered Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA unit to pay $18.8 million to a woman who said 45 years of smoking cigarettes gave her lung cancer and neurological problems, the woman's lawyer said Tuesday.
|
|
|
Monsanto upgrades 2005 earnings outlook
Mar 29 2005 4:12PM (CT)
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Monsanto Co. on Tuesday raised its earnings expectations for the unfolding fiscal year, citing better-than-expected results of its seeds and traits business.
|
|
|
Kodak: Creo buy probe a 'routine' matter
Mar 29 2005 4:12PM (CT)
TORONTO (AP) - The U.S. Department of Justice's informal investigation of Eastman Kodak Co.'s proposed acquisition of Creo Inc. is a routine matter, a Kodak spokesman said Tuesday.
|
|
|
Apollo Group earnings up, shares down
Mar 29 2005 4:09PM (CT)
PHOENIX (AP) - Apollo Group Inc., which runs the University of Phoenix schools, said earnings rose in the latest quarter, but revenue fell short of forecasts.
|
|
|
Shareholders OK rail acquisition of TFM
Mar 29 2005 4:08PM (CT)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Railroad company Kansas City Southern Industries Inc. said Tuesday its shareholders have approved its acquisition of Mexican rail line Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana, or TFM.
|
|
|
AIG ex-CEO Greenberg to retire as chairman
Mar 29 2005 4:06PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The man who built American International Group Inc. into one of the world's largest insurers, Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, is retiring as chairman, two weeks after board members ousted him as chief executive because of intensifying regulatory probes into the company's past financial transactions.
|
|
|
Cablevision shares fall on Adelphia report
Mar 29 2005 4:05PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Shares of Cablevision Systems Corp. fell Tuesday after a newspaper reported that the company may join a bid for the assets of the bankrupt cable operator Adelphia Communications Corp.
|
|
|
Intel CEO gains $10.7 million on options
Mar 29 2005 4:03PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The top executive of Intel Corp., the world's largest maker of semiconductors, realized a profit of about $10.7 million from exercising 384,000 stock options last year, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday.
|
|
|
Merrill Lynch CFO Fakahany is promoted
Mar 29 2005 4:01PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Merrill Lynch & Co., one of the nation's biggest brokerages, promoted Chief Financial Officer Ahmass Fakahany to vice chairman and chief administrative officer on Tuesday.
|
|
|
Best Buy to delay release of Q4 earnings
Mar 29 2005 4:00PM (CT)
RICHFIELD, Minn. (AP) - Electronics retailer Best Buy announced Tuesday that it will delay the release of its fourth quarter earnings until April 1, two days later than first expected.
|
|
|
Norfolk Southern, CN to streamline traffic
Mar 29 2005 3:58PM (CT)
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - Norfolk Southern Railway and Canadian National Railway will work together to reduce congestion in Chicago by streamlining their exchange of rail traffic at major gateways.
|
|
|
SEC suspends Qwest's former auditor
Mar 29 2005 3:48PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday suspended the former Arthur Andersen LLP partner in charge of auditing the books of Qwest Communications International Inc.
|
|
|
Writers settle with databases for $18M
Mar 29 2005 3:46PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A group of companies that operate electronic databases have agreed to pay freelance writers up to $18 million to settle copyright infringement claims brought under a class action lawsuit, according to a settlement announced Tuesday.
|
|
|
Ernst & Young sues HealthSouth over fraud
Mar 29 2005 3:40PM (CT)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Ernst & Young LLP is suing HealthSouth Corp., claiming the medical rehabilitation chain hid a massive accounting fraud from the auditing firm, exposing it to lawsuits and damaging its reputation.
|
|
|
Microsoft to adopt further Windows changes
Mar 29 2005 3:37PM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday it will adopt all of the main changes demanded by European Union antitrust regulators for its stripped-down version of Windows sold without the Media Player program.
|
|
|
Liberty eyes giving up News Corp. stake
Mar 29 2005 3:36PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Liberty Media Corp. Chairman John Malone said the best way for his company to get rid of its $9 billion stake in Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. would be to deliver the shares to Liberty investors while putting the voting shares back into the hands of Murdoch _ both in a tax-efficient manner.
|
|
|
Wheeling-Pitt names Harry Page president
Mar 29 2005 3:31PM (CT)
WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) - Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. has named Harry L. Page to the new position of president and chief operating officer, Chairman and CEO James Bradley said Tuesday.
|
|
|
Auto sales sluggish, should climb in March
Mar 29 2005 3:26PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - Higher consumer incentives and warmer weather likely lured consumers back to auto dealerships in March, but sales still are not on track to match last year's levels, analysts say.
|
|
|
Zarb finds plays white knight at AIG
Mar 29 2005 3:18PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Being smack in the middle of a high-profile crisis is nothing new for Frank Zarb. He is in the hot seat again as the interim nonexecutive chairman of troubled insurance titan American International Group Inc., replacing Maurice "Hank" Greenberg.
|
|
|
Richard Scrushy's defense targets ex-CFO
Mar 29 2005 3:17PM (CT)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - A defense attorney for fired HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy attempted to show Tuesday that a former finance chief at the medical services chain profited financially while scheming with other executives to inflate earnings.
|
|
|
Workplaces ambivalent on gray hair
Mar 29 2005 3:01PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - Gray hair seems like a silvery career asset to 56-year-old Dan Vnuk now that he's given up dyeing his, hoping to improve his job prospects.
|
|
|
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria OKs offer
Mar 29 2005 1:47PM (CT)
ROME (AP) - Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA said Tuesday it had approved a 6.44 billion euro ($8.36 billion) stock offer for the 85 percent of Banca Nazionale del Lavoro SpA it does not already own.
|
|
|
Inflation in Brazil expected to accelerate
Mar 29 2005 1:36PM (CT)
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) - Brazil's central bank on Tuesday raised its estimate for inflation this year but said that consumer price increases should come in lower than originally expected in 2006.
|
|
|
Philips to sell Navteq stake for $1.33B
Mar 29 2005 1:23PM (CT)
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Royal Philips Electronics NV said Tuesday it plans to sell its 37 percent stake in Navteq Corp. in a secondary stock offering for around $1.33 billion.
|
|
|
Consumer confidence drops on job worries
Mar 29 2005 1:03PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Worries about jobs resulted in a second consecutive monthly decline in consumer confidence in March, a private research group said Tuesday.
|
|
|
Retailer Ahold posts loss for 2004
Mar 29 2005 12:22PM (CT)
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Dutch retailer Royal Ahold NV said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter profit surged sevenfold because of improved margins and lower costs and taxes, but still posted a loss for the full year as its bottom line was hit by write-offs and the weak dollar.
|
|
|
Polish gov't OKs early debt repayment
Mar 29 2005 12:10PM (CT)
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Poland's government approved an early buyback of a large chunk of communist-era debt to a group of six countries in the Paris Club, a government official said Tuesday.
|
|
|
Prosecutors want 10 years for ex-Yukos head
Mar 29 2005 12:09PM (CT)
MOSCOW (AP) - Prosecutors called Tuesday for the maximum prison sentence for the former chief executive of the Yukos oil company as the highest-profile criminal case in Russia's post-Soviet history drew to a close.
|
|
|
Verizon to move its operations center
Mar 29 2005 11:56AM (CT)
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Verizon Communications Inc., the nation's largest phone company, announced Tuesday that it has purchased the former Basking Ridge headquarters of AT&T and will make it an operations center for several business units.
|
|
|
Official: subsidies key to Boeing-Airbus
Mar 29 2005 11:47AM (CT)
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - EU subsidies to help Airbus launch new aircraft models is one of the key unresolved issues in the trade dispute between the European Union and the United States, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said Tuesday.
|
|
|
SEC sues Miami co. over alleged fraud
Mar 29 2005 11:41AM (CT)
MIAMI (AP) - The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit against a Florida company that investigators say defrauded thousands of investors in Central and South America of millions of dollars.
|
|
|
London shares decline
Mar 29 2005 11:11AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - Share prices were lower on the London Stock Exchange Tuesday.
|
|
|
Air Portugal profit drops on fuel costs
Mar 29 2005 10:46AM (CT)
LISBON, Portugal (AP) - TAP Air Portugal said Tuesday it posted a profit of 8.6 million euros ($11.1 million) last year, using revenue from the sale of its baggage handling service to help offset higher fuel costs.
|
|
|
Home builders see strong quarterly growth
Mar 29 2005 10:31AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The nation's home builders are expected to defy naysayers once again and post another round of double-digit percentage increases in earnings and orders when they report first-quarter results.
|
|
|
Circuit City to delay earns announcement
Mar 29 2005 10:02AM (CT)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Circuit City Stores Inc. said Tuesday it will delay its year-end earnings announcement until the nation's No. 2 chain of consumer electronics stores has finished a lease-accounting review that could reduce net income for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2005.
|
|
|
Celtel says it has agreed to co. offer
Mar 29 2005 9:51AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co. said Tuesday it has agreed to buy Celtel International, a communications network company with major interests across Africa, in a cash deal worth $3.36 billion (2.58 billion euros).
|
|
|
New York Times sees higher costs in 2005
Mar 29 2005 8:56AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Times Co. expects first-quarter net profits to rise substantially due to a gain on the sale of its headquarters, but the company also said 2005 expenses will be higher than previously forecast.
|
|
|
China oil producer posts 2004 profit jump
Mar 29 2005 8:50AM (CT)
HONG KONG (AP) - China's largest offshore oil producer said Tuesday its 2004 profit surged 40 percent to a record 16.19 billion Chinese yuan ($1.96 billion) on higher oil prices and an increase in oil and gas production.
|
|
|
Chinese telecoms carriers sign agreement
Mar 29 2005 8:41AM (CT)
SHANGHAI, China (AP) - China's biggest fixed line phone operator and its biggest mobile services carrier have signed a cooperation agreement aimed at easing competition and streamlining fast-growing networks.
|
|
|
Swisscom makes offer to buy stake in Cesky
Mar 29 2005 8:35AM (CT)
BERN, Switzerland (AP) - Telecommunications company Swisscom AG said Tuesday that it has made an offer to buy a majority stake in Cesky Telecom.
|
|
|
Chinese automakers see profits plunge
Mar 29 2005 8:20AM (CT)
SHANGHAI, China (AP) - Chinese passenger car makers saw their profits plunge by 78.4 percent in the first two months of 2005, compared with the period a year ago, according to data reported by state media Tuesday.
|
|
|
Watchdog to refer bids for LSE to panel
Mar 29 2005 7:59AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - Britain's competition watchdog said Tuesday it will refer bids for the London Stock Exchange by Euronext NV and Deutsche Boerse AG to the Competition Commission.
|
|
|
Japanese truckmaker denies defect cover-up
Mar 29 2005 7:51AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - The chief executive of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp., a Japanese truckmaker tainted by a recurring recall scandal, apologized Tuesday for being late in reporting a defect suspected in several vehicle fires but denied any intended cover-up.
|
|
|
Gazprom, Lukoil strike 10-year contract
Mar 29 2005 7:51AM (CT)
MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's top two energy companies, the Gazprom natural gas company and the country's No. 1 oil company Lukoil, signed an agreement Tuesday for a strategic partnership over the next decade.
|
|
|
Official: China won't follow U.S. on rates
Mar 29 2005 7:24AM (CT)
SHANGHAI, China (AP) - China will keep a close watch on various economic and financial indicators before making further adjustments to key interest rates, its central bank governor said in remarks published Tuesday.
|
|
|
Morgan Stanley shuffles top management
Mar 29 2005 7:23AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Philip Purcell named Stephen Crawford and Zoe Cruz as his two top deputies in a major management shake-up at the world's second-largest securities firm.
|
|
|
Delta announces tech operations cuts
Mar 29 2005 6:01AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, Delta Air Lines Inc. said it will restructure its technical operations division in a move to save $240 million over five years.
|
|
|
Winter wheat faring well in Kansas
Mar 29 2005 1:01AM (CT)
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Verdant stands of winter wheat thriving in the state's last drought holdouts look like they might provide a bountiful 2005 harvest, but the crop remains vulnerable as the long dry spell that has gripped northwest Kansas for years still is not over.
|
|
|
|
|
|