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Majority sure of comfortable retirement
Apr 4 2005 11:58PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A majority of American workers continue to believe they'll have enough money for a comfortable retirement, but few have saved enough to ensure that will happen, a new study shows.
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Morgan Stanley spins off credit card unit
Apr 4 2005 10:00PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - After a day of speculation that Morgan Stanley was planning to sell its Discover Card division, the company said late Monday its board instead had voted to spin off its credit card unit to existing shareholders.
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Consumer Reports criticizes air purifier
Apr 4 2005 8:58PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Consumer Reports magazine is taking renewed aim at a popular air purifier made by The Sharper Image two months after it fended off a libel lawsuit filed by the machine's retailer.
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Barton: Gas prices may prod energy bill
Apr 4 2005 8:45PM (CT)
DALLAS (AP) - On a day when oil prices breached a record high, a prominent House Republican said that steep gasoline costs will prod Congress to pass an energy bill this year and warned of a possible "horrible summer" because of power blackouts.
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Stewart lawyers appeal for re-sentencing
Apr 4 2005 8:08PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - In a follow-up filing to a request by Martha Stewart that a judge reduce her time under house arrest, her company's CEO and lawyers responded Monday to prosecutors who had mocked her claim that the confinement was damaging her business.
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Verizon to block 'cramming' of charges
Apr 4 2005 7:49PM (CT)
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Verizon Communications Inc. will pay $75,000 and has agreed to stop allowing unauthorized third-party charges on its customer bills.
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Amazon.com acquires book printing service
Apr 4 2005 7:11PM (CT)
SEATTLE (AP) - Amazon.com Inc. has acquired a publishing company that prints books when they're ordered rather than relying on warehouses stocked with titles, the online retailer said Monday.
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ChevronTexaco buying rival Unocal for $17B
Apr 4 2005 6:40PM (CT)
SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) - ChevronTexaco Corp., the nation's second largest oil company, is buying smaller rival Unocal Corp. for about $17 billion, hoping to further accelerate its already surging profits by boosting its energy supplies in Asia.
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Group alleges bank discrimination
Apr 4 2005 6:08PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A New York-based community group on Monday accused Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. of charging higher rates on mortgage loans to black and Hispanic home buyers than to whites. The financial institutions countered that the data were flawed and that their loan policies are fair.
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Underwriters Laboratories names CEO
Apr 4 2005 5:24PM (CT)
NORTHBROOK, Ill. (AP) - Underwriters Laboratories Inc., the nonprofit product testing and certification company, named Medtronic Inc. executive Keith E. Williams as its new president and CEO Monday.
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Judge approves sale of ATA airline unit
Apr 4 2005 5:23PM (CT)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A federal bankruptcy judge on Monday approved the sale of ATA Holdings Corp.'s Chicago Express commuter airline to an Indianapolis real estate investment and management firm.
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Bonds fall slightly
Apr 4 2005 5:05PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Bond prices slipped on Monday in the absence of economic data and a small rally among stocks.
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Monday's Commodities Roundup
Apr 4 2005 5:02PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Gold futures slumped more than $2 to their lowest close in nearly two months, pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar.
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Mirant Chapter 11 plan draws objections
Apr 4 2005 4:53PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Mirant Corp. document outlining plans to get the company out of bankruptcy has drawn objections from shareholders, bondholders, creditors and regulators.
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Verizon threatens to abandon MCI buyout
Apr 4 2005 4:45PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Verizon threatened Monday to abandon its $7.5 billion buyout deal for MCI Inc. rather than pay more should the long-distance telephone company declare a rival $8.9 billion offer from Qwest as superior.
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AIG CEO says he's cooperating with probe
Apr 4 2005 4:44PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The new chief executive of American International Group Inc. says he is cooperating fully with regulators, who are looking into widespread accounting irregularities, and the New York attorney general said he thinks a "civil resolution" of the probe is possible.
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GM chairman, CEO to assume control of GM
Apr 4 2005 4:41PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - General Motors Corp., struggling with weak U.S. sales, tough competition and tepid earnings prospects, put day-to-day authority over its North American operations in the hands of chairman and chief executive Rick Wagoner on Monday in hopes he can engineer a turnaround. But some say the world's biggest automaker needs a more radical overhaul if it wants to boost sales and profit.
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Ford, Leach reach settlement
Apr 4 2005 4:32PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - Ford Motor Co. has reached a settlement with its former European president, who sued the company after it tried to prevent him from working for another automaker.
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Rates on Treasury bills fall
Apr 4 2005 4:15PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday's auction with rates on three-month bills dropping for a second consecutive week.
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Charter promotes executive vice president
Apr 4 2005 4:08PM (CT)
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Charter Communications Inc., the nation's third-largest cable television provider, said Monday it has promoted its executive vice president of operations and customer care to chief operating officer.
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Espresso cookies recalled
Apr 4 2005 4:06PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - A California company is recalling espresso mocha cookies sold at Target stores nationwide because they may contain undeclared milk, which can pose serious health risks to people with milk allergies.
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WWE'S RAW program returns to USA Network
Apr 4 2005 4:06PM (CT)
STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) - World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. has reached a three-year agreement with NBC Universal Inc. that will return its "WWE Raw" cable program to USA Network in October, company officials said Monday.
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AOL founder buys health programming maker
Apr 4 2005 4:05PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Steve Case, the founder of America Online and the former chairman of Time Warner Inc., announced Monday that he is buying the assets of a company that makes health and wellness programming.
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Gas prices jump six cents, average $2.22
Apr 4 2005 4:04PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The retail price of gasoline jumped 6 cents last week to average $2.22 per gallon nationwide, the Energy Department reported Monday.
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Fannie Mae investigation turns to trusts
Apr 4 2005 4:03PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal regulators' investigation of Fannie Mae's accounting has taken a new avenue as they examine whether the mortgage giant failed to properly account for thousands of trusts it created whose assets are kept off its balance sheet.
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Attorney wants judge off Wittig trial
Apr 4 2005 4:02PM (CT)
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - An attorney told a federal judge Monday she should remove herself from the retrial of two former Westar Energy Inc. executives because she exhibited bias during their first trial.
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President of Akamai adds CEO role
Apr 4 2005 4:00PM (CT)
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) - Akamai Technologies Inc. President Paul Sagan added the title of chief executive on Monday, replacing the founding CEO of the 6-year-old Web server company that handles much of the Internet's traffic.
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Jos. A. Bank posts higher 4Q profit
Apr 4 2005 3:59PM (CT)
HAMPSTEAD, Md. (AP) - Men's apparel retailer Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. said Monday that its fourth-quarter earnings grew 32 percent to top Wall Street expectations, helped by sharply higher sales during the period. Its shares rose more than 7 percent.
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Coke buys Bulgarian mineral water co.
Apr 4 2005 3:56PM (CT)
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling Co. SA said Monday it and Atlanta-based The Coca-Cola Co. have jointly bought 100 percent of Bulgarian mineral water company, Bankia, for an undisclosed sum.
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Aon names consultant Gregory Case CEO
Apr 4 2005 3:51PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - Aon Corp. named consultant Gregory Case president and CEO Monday, turning to a low-profile outsider to oversee likely changes at the nation's No. 2 insurance brokerage now that investigations into its anticompetitive business practices have been settled.
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Venezuela restarts top refinery
Apr 4 2005 3:47PM (CT)
LAS PIEDRAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuela's state-owned oil company successfully restarted one of four crude processing units at Amuay refinery in western Venezuela and expects it to be operating normally by the end of the week, an official said Monday.
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Krispy Kreme lands $225M financing deal
Apr 4 2005 3:46PM (CT)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - Investment banker Credit Suisse First Boston is among a group of new lenders offering financially strapped Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. $225 million in credit, the snack maker said Monday.
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Wal-Mart March same-store sales rise
Apr 4 2005 3:42PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, reported that sales at stores open at least one year, also known as same-store sales, rose an estimated 4.2 percent in March.
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Ex-Tyco auditor disagreed with treatment
Apr 4 2005 1:52PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The one-time Tyco International Ltd. lead outside auditor testified Monday that he disagreed with the company's accounting treatment of a transaction that granted millions of dollars in stock to former top Tyco executives L. Dennis Kozlowski and Mark H. Swartz as a bonus in 2001.
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Wal-Mart retains top spot on Fortune 500
Apr 4 2005 1:41PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. retained the top spot in Fortune magazine's 2005 ranking of the 500 largest publicly traded U.S. companies, but soaring commodity prices led to big gains in revenues and profits for oil and metal producers.
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U.S. official comments on Boeing-Airbus
Apr 4 2005 1:13PM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union is not serious enough about negotiations over aircraft subsidies and is leaving Washington with few choices other than taking the dispute to the World Trade Organization, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said Monday.
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Zurich Financial to sell Universal group
Apr 4 2005 1:06PM (CT)
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) - Zurich Financial Services AG Monday said it will sell its wholly owned Universal Underwriters Group to a consortium of investors led by San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman LLC.
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BP reports steady production in 1Q of 2005
Apr 4 2005 12:24PM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - BP Group PLC said Monday that oil and gas production was steady in the first quarter of 2005, but the energy company also reported declining refining margins.
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Foster's extends takeover bid for Southcorp
Apr 4 2005 12:21PM (CT)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Global beverages firm Foster's Group Ltd. on Monday extended by two weeks its 3.1 billion Australian dollar ($2.38 billion) takeover offer for rival winemaker Southcorp Ltd.
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Hungarian sentenced to prison for spying
Apr 4 2005 12:07PM (CT)
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) - A 26-year-old Hungarian man was sentenced Monday to three years in prison for industrial espionage against wireless equipment maker LM Ericsson, news reports said.
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Grasso judge rules notes not confidential
Apr 4 2005 11:53AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The judge presiding over the excessive-compensation case against ousted New York Stock Exchange Chairman Dick Grasso said that notes used to prepare a report on Grasso's pay aren't confidential.
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European Commission seeks chemical testing
Apr 4 2005 11:49AM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Commission said Monday it plans to introduce legislation requiring manufacturers to do health tests on thousands of chemicals used in products ranging from household cleaners to car parts.
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HIT Entertainment gets unsolicited offers
Apr 4 2005 11:48AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - HIT Entertainment PLC, the producer of the children's shows "Bob the Builder" and "Barney," said Monday that it has received two unsolicited approaches after accepting a takeover offer, signaling a potential bidding war could develop.
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Fannie Mae stock tumbles on report
Apr 4 2005 11:46AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Shares of Fannie Mae tumbled Monday to their lowest intraday level in more than 10 years on a report that the mortgage financing company's chief regulator is looking into possible improper accounting of trusts it uses to sell mortgage-backed debt.
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World Bank: Yukos dismantling cost Russia
Apr 4 2005 11:40AM (CT)
MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's slowdown in economic growth continued into 2005, partly the result of the politically charged dismantling of the Yukos oil company, the World Bank said Monday.
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Owens Corning asbestos liability at $7B
Apr 4 2005 11:28AM (CT)
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - A federal judge in Philadelphia has ruled that bankrupt fiberglass maker Owens Corning is exposed to $7 billion in potential claims from people sickened by asbestos.
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Lawyers for Yukos exec appeal sentence
Apr 4 2005 11:25AM (CT)
MOSCOW (AP) - Lawyers for a former executive of the beleaguered oil giant Yukos who was convicted of murder appealed his 20-year prison sentence on Monday.
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London shares are lower
Apr 4 2005 11:19AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - Share prices were lower on the London Stock Exchange Monday.
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Gov't switches Series EE savings bonds
Apr 4 2005 11:03AM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. savings bonds will undergo a major change next month when interest rates will be fixed for the life of new Series EE bonds, the government announced Monday.
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Norway, Britain sign oil field treaty
Apr 4 2005 9:32AM (CT)
OSLO, Norway (AP) - Norway and Britain signed a treaty in Oslo on Monday to develop oil fields that straddle their North Sea boundary in hopes of eventually boosting supplies to help meet world thirst for oil.
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Gibson Guitar buys venue naming rights
Apr 4 2005 9:31AM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Universal Studios has sold naming rights to its Universal Amphitheatre concert venue to Gibson Guitar Corp. in a 10-year deal valued at more than $14 million, the companies announced Monday.
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Forecaster warns of Australian downturn
Apr 4 2005 9:16AM (CT)
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Australia is showing signs of an economic slowdown and could face its first recession in more than a decade if interest rates continue to rise, a leading economic forecaster said Monday.
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Cos. reject Japanese regulator's warning
Apr 4 2005 9:03AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Four Japanese record label and software companies said they had rejected an order by Japan's anti-monopoly regulator to stop trying to dominate the domestic market in mobile phone ringtones, the companies and reports said.
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EU is confident in biotech safeguards
Apr 4 2005 8:39AM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union's head office said Monday it had faith in its regulation of genetically altered products, despite the discovery of unauthorized imports from the United States of a biotech corn made by Syngenta AG.
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Japan's PM submits postal service plan
Apr 4 2005 8:25AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday proposed privatizing Japan's postal service by 2017, a step that would create the world's biggest bank out of the mammoth pile of cash deposited at post offices by conscientious Japanese savers.
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Matsushita, LG settle patent dispute
Apr 4 2005 7:56AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - LG Electronics Inc. of South Korea and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. of Japan said Monday they have settled a patent dispute over plasma display panels and agreed instead to enter a patent cross-licensing arrangement.
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British government considering bridge loan
Apr 4 2005 7:33AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - The British government said Monday it will consider providing a bridge loan to keep the cash-strapped car manufacturer MG Rover Group afloat if a takeover by the Shanghai Automotive Industrial Co. looks likely to proceed.
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British government considering bridge loan
Apr 4 2005 7:30AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - The British government said Monday it will consider providing a bridge loan to keep the cash-strapped car manufacturer MG Rover Group afloat if a takeover by the Shanghai Automotive Industrial Co. looks likely to proceed.
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The nation's 100 biggest companies
Apr 4 2005 7:06AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The Fortune 100 ranking of the nation's largest companies compiled by Fortune magazine on the basis of 2004 revenue. Each entry includes rank, name of company, headquarters, last year's rank and 2004 revenue in billions of dollars.
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Telecom Italia sells TIM for $1.4 billion
Apr 4 2005 7:01AM (CT)
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Italian communications giant Telecom Italia SpA has sold its Greek cellular phone unit, TIM Hellas Telecommunications SA, for 1.1 billion euros ($1.4 billion), the Greek company announced Monday.
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World Bank leader says poverty a top issue
Apr 4 2005 6:32AM (CT)
KYLE, S.D. (AP) - Private ownership around the world is key to easing poverty, outgoing World Bank President James Wolfensohn said as he toured the Pine Ridge Reservation, one of the poorest areas in the country.
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AIG: Bermuda document removal attempted
Apr 4 2005 5:37AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Embattled insurance giant American International Group Inc. said it has become aware of efforts to remove documents and information from its Bermuda building without the company's permission.
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Samsung, Digeo in cable box deal
Apr 4 2005 4:40AM (CT)
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Samsung Electronics Co. will use Digeo Inc.'s next-generation Moxi Media Center technology in cable TV boxes that the companies say would rival the features of personal computers designed for living room entertainment centers.
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Eggplant growers win settlement in N.J.
Apr 4 2005 12:40AM (CT)
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - The eggplants, nurtured from seed since March in a greenhouse, gave no hint of a problem until they were in the field and sprouted late June 1999, said Paul Earnest Jr.
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