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IBM may restructure after missing outlook
Apr 14 2005 11:52PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - International Business Machines Corp. further roiled a queasy week on Wall Street with a surprise announcement that its first-quarter earnings fell below analysts' expectations, hurt by an inability to close sales and higher pensions expenses.
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Crude futures edge upward in Asia
Apr 14 2005 11:47PM (CT)
SINGAPORE (AP) - Crude futures edged upward in Asia Friday, moving away from near seven-week lows as U.S. President George W. Bush blamed China for the surge in crude and gasoline prices in America.
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Congress aims to thwart identity theft
Apr 14 2005 11:47PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Responding to outrage from consumers whose personal information has been stolen from companies, Congress is primed to pass new laws to try to prevent break-ins and to require businesses to confess to customers when private data is taken.
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Tokyo stocks lower at midday; dollar up
Apr 14 2005 11:42PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - The Tokyo stocks fell Friday morning following Wall Street's sharp sell-off. The dollar was higher against the Japanese yen and the euro.
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SEC gives companies reprieve from options
Apr 14 2005 11:40PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Most U.S. companies received a six-month reprieve from new rules requiring employees' stock options to be counted against profits in a move announced Thursday by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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IBM announces $125M agreement with UAE
Apr 14 2005 11:35PM (CT)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Reckless driving by speed-hungry motorists in this Gulf state is responsible for one of the world's highest levels of traffic deaths and injuries. On Friday, IBM Corp. said the government has hired it to design a traffic monitoring system that officials hope can reduce such wrecks.
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Polo Ralph Lauren customers' data stolen
Apr 14 2005 10:52PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Data apparently stolen from the popular clothing retailer Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. is forcing banks and credit card issuers to notify thousands of consumers that their credit-card information may have been exposed.
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OfficeMax names Duncan president, CEO
Apr 14 2005 10:04PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - OfficeMax Inc. on Thursday named Sam K. Duncan, a grocery and retailing veteran, as its new president and CEO.
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Eli Lilly & Co. survives patent ruling
Apr 14 2005 9:05PM (CT)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Eli Lilly and Co. survived a threat to its short-term earnings Thursday as a federal judge rejected the claims of generic drug manufacturers and ruled valid a U.S. patent on its best-selling drug, Zyprexa.
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Bratz doll maker sues toymaker Mattel
Apr 14 2005 9:02PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - MGA Entertainment Inc., makers of the popular line of Bratz dolls, has sued rival toymaker Mattel Inc., accusing the world's largest toymaker of using its clout with retailers to stifle competition.
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Ex-Australian insurance co. CEO sentenced
Apr 14 2005 8:24PM (CT)
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - The former chief executive who oversaw the multibillion dollar collapse of Australia's HIH Insurance Ltd. was sentenced Friday to 4 1/2 years prison for his role in the country's largest-ever corporate failure.
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Toys R Us delays filing of annual report
Apr 14 2005 7:21PM (CT)
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Toys R Us Inc., months away from being sold to a private consortium, announced it was unable to file its annual report, due Thursday, because it has not yet finished calculating changes in how it accounts for leases.
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Nortel misses quarterly report deadline
Apr 14 2005 6:51PM (CT)
TORONTO (AP) - Nortel Networks Corp. plans to file its first-quarter financial statements by the end of May and does not expect to meet regulators' deadlines.
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SEC director of enforcement to resign
Apr 14 2005 6:50PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Stephen Cutler, the director of enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission who led the prosecution of many big companies embroiled in corporate scandals in recent years, is resigning from the agency.
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Human Genome reports positive drug study
Apr 14 2005 5:52PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Human Genome Sciences Inc. said Thursday that a study showed its experimental drug for hepatitis C was well-tolerated and reduced the virus in some patients who hadn't been treated previously.
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Apple stock sinks despite robust profits
Apr 14 2005 5:39PM (CT)
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Shares of Apple Computer Inc. fell for a second day Thursday on concerns that profits in the current quarter might not match Wall Street's bullish expectations.
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SAP CEO would consider an Oracle merger
Apr 14 2005 5:14PM (CT)
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - The chief executive of SAP AG, the world's biggest maker of business software, told a German business magazine he'd be open to a merger with rival Oracle Corp. if company head Larry Ellison were to raise the idea.
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Toys R Us delays filing of annual report
Apr 14 2005 5:13PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Toys R Us Inc. Thursday delayed the filing of its annual report by up to 15 days, saying it needs time to finish an accounting restatement and for its auditor to assess internal controls.
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Bond prices finish mostly higher
Apr 14 2005 4:47PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Bond prices finished mostly higher on Thursday amid worries about the economy's health.
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Trade panel votes to keep steel tariffs
Apr 14 2005 4:42PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Tariffs should be kept on some steel imports for five years, a U.S. trade panel voted Thursday, a victory for the industry that wants to maintain the protection as it struggles to rebound from bankruptcies.
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Battered crude futures recover
Apr 14 2005 4:36PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Battered crude futures Thursday recovered sharply from an early drop below $50 a barrel as heating oil futures soared.
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Yellow Roadway cleared to buy USF
Apr 14 2005 4:35PM (CT)
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) - The U.S. Justice Department has allowed the 30-day antitrust period to end without objections to Yellow Roadway Corp.'s proposed $1.37 billion acquisition of USF Corp., the transportation firms said Thursday.
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UnitedHealth posts higher quarter results
Apr 14 2005 4:35PM (CT)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - UnitedHealth Group Inc., the nation's second-largest managed care provider, reported a 41 percent surge in first-quarter earnings on Thursday as premiums grew. But revenues and enrollment growth were smaller than expected, and its stock dropped about 2 percent, part of a sector-wide decline.
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Deal reached between union, Plaza Hotel
Apr 14 2005 4:27PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - In a deal that saved the tradition of high tea in the Palm Court _ along with hundreds of jobs _ the new owners of the landmark Plaza Hotel and its union reached an agreement that will keep some elegant interior spaces intact and reduce the number of rooms converted into luxury condos in an upcoming renovation.
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Money funds fall in latest week
Apr 14 2005 4:22PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Assets of the nation's retail money market mutual funds fell by $4.37 billion in the latest week to $819.12 billion, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday.
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UAW officials unwilling to reopen GM pact
Apr 14 2005 4:20PM (CT)
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) - United Auto Workers officials indicated Thursday they'd be unwilling to reopen the union's two-year-old labor contract with General Motors Corp. to negotiate lower health care costs. Already battered shares of the world's largest automaker tumbled to lows not seen in more than a decade.
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Navistar swings to profit in 1st quarter
Apr 14 2005 4:15PM (CT)
WARRENVILLE, Ill. (AP) - Navistar International Corp. on Thursday said it swung to a profit in the first quarter, as the truck maker experienced strong industrial demand and boosted its share of the heavy truck market.
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Southwest Airlines profit nearly triples
Apr 14 2005 4:13PM (CT)
DALLAS (AP) - With fuel hedges and Easter in March providing a tail wind, Southwest Airlines Co. nearly tripled its first-quarter earnings _ making it one of the few profitable U.S. carriers despite intense competition and high oil prices.
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Private oil cos. face taxes in Venezuela
Apr 14 2005 4:07PM (CT)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuela's oil minister said Thursday that private oil firms will have to sign new contracts to comply with legislation requiring that Venezuela's state-run oil company has a majority stake in all oil production projects.
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Fifth Third profit falls 6 percent in 1Q
Apr 14 2005 3:56PM (CT)
CINCINNATI (AP) - Fifth Third Bancorp said Thursday that its first-quarter profit fell 6 percent, reflecting acquisition charges and flat net interest income.
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Cardinal Health hires new CFO
Apr 14 2005 3:54PM (CT)
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) - Cardinal Health Inc. has hired a new chief financial officer to replace an executive who quit last summer amid an investigation over how the company classifies revenue from its pharmaceutical distribution business.
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Mentor stock rises on FDA implant approval
Apr 14 2005 3:51PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Shares of Mentor Corp. surged Thursday following a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel's recommendation that the company be allowed to sell its silicone gel breast implants.
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Kerr-McGee to buy back $4B in shares
Apr 14 2005 3:47PM (CT)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Kerr-McGee Corp. headed off its proxy fight with billionaire investor Carl Icahn Thursday by announcing the largest buyback of common stock in the company's 76-year-history, a $4 billion purchase at prices well above market value.
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Eaton profit up sharply in first quarter
Apr 14 2005 3:42PM (CT)
CLEVELAND (AP) - The industrial manufacturer Eaton Corp. said Thursday that first-quarter profit rose 40 percent as sales increased in its electrical products and truck segments.
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Dow Jones earnings slump, Scripps soars
Apr 14 2005 3:40PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Newspaper publishers reported a mixed bag of earnings Thursday, as E.W. Scripps Co. and The McClatchy Co. both posted gains in advertising while Dow Jones & Co. slumped on a poor showing at The Wall Street Journal. The New York Times Co. had a big gain from the sale of its headquarters building.
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PepsiCo's 1Q earnings climb 13 percent
Apr 14 2005 3:37PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - PepsiCo Inc., the snack food and soft drink company, said Thursday that first-quarter earnings rose 13 percent, led by strong profit growth in its international operations, and raised its full year earnings forecast by a penny due to a favorable tax change.
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Dutch bank's bid for Antonveneta approved
Apr 14 2005 3:36PM (CT)
ROME (AP) - Dutch bank ABN Amro said Thursday the Italian regulator Consob had approved its bid for Antonveneta bank, the second foreign bid for an Italian bank the regulator has authorized in as many days.
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Sun loss narrows despite lower sales
Apr 14 2005 3:32PM (CT)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) - Sun Microsystems Inc., a leading making of UNIX servers and creator of the Java programming language, on Thursday reported a narrower loss for its fiscal third quarter despite slightly lower revenue.
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Jurors see photos of Scrushy's cars, boats
Apr 14 2005 3:29PM (CT)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Jurors got a photographic tour of Richard Scrushy's lavish toys on Thursday, including a nearly $330,000 Rolls Royce, a 42-foot boat and other flashy assets that prosecutors contend he bought with money made from a $2.7 billion fraud at HealthSouth Corp.
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Real estate title company investigated
Apr 14 2005 3:13PM (CT)
DENVER (AP) - State regulators said Thursday they are investigating a real estate title company after an allegation that one of its owners improperly withdrew about $900,000 from escrow accounts.
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Illinois-based insurer fined $400,000
Apr 14 2005 2:52PM (CT)
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Bankers Life & Casualty Company of Illinois has been fined $400,000 for failing to provide adequate training for representatives in South Portland and Bangor, Maine's top insurance regulator said Thursday.
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France wants U.S.-style class actions
Apr 14 2005 2:35PM (CT)
PARIS (AP) - When mobile operator SFR overcharged clients by 7.3 million euros ($9.4 million), France's main consumer association sued on behalf of two subscribers and won a ruling that the fee hike was illegal. But the company refused to issue refunds to the 400,000 overbilled customers who weren't named in the suit _ and kept almost all of the cash.
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Nestle CEO cleared to become chairman
Apr 14 2005 2:14PM (CT)
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) - The world's biggest food maker Nestle SA rewarded its chief executive with the additional title of chairman Thursday, after shareholders rejected opponents who said the consolidation runs counter to the way companies should be moving.
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Iberia sees $775M gain on sale of stake
Apr 14 2005 2:06PM (CT)
MADRID, Spain (AP) - Spain's largest airline, Iberia, said Thursday it expects a pretax gain of 600 million euros ($775 million) from the sale of its stake in travel services company Amadeus Global Travel Distribution SA.
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Jurors see video of $2M birthday party
Apr 14 2005 1:54PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Jurors on Thursday watched a toned-down video of a $2 million birthday party for the wife of former Tyco International Ltd.'s chief executive, L. Dennis Kozlowski, as part of his retrial on grand larceny and other charges.
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Spain's top banker acquitted of charges
Apr 14 2005 1:32PM (CT)
MADRID, Spain (AP) - Spain's top banker was acquitted Thursday of charges of misappropriation of funds and mismanagement stemming from hefty severance packages paid to departing executives.
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Danish court convicts 8 in piracy case
Apr 14 2005 1:12PM (CT)
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - Eight men were convicted Thursday of making and selling illegal copies of copyrighted music, games and software worth 3.4 billion kroner ($585 million) in Denmark's largest computer piracy case.
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McClatchy 1Q profit up almost 13 percent
Apr 14 2005 1:05PM (CT)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The McClatchy Co., publisher of the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Sacramento Bee, said Thursday that its first-quarter profit rose 11.8 percent as cost controls helped earnings outpace sales growth.
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Mitsubishi Electric to shut down unit
Apr 14 2005 1:03PM (CT)
RENNES, France (AP) - Japanese consumer electronics maker Mitsubishi Electric Corp. is pulling out of the European mobile phone market and closing its site in western France.
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Fortnum & Mason scraps clothing lines
Apr 14 2005 12:22PM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - Fortnum & Mason, the upscale retailer that supplies Queen Elizabeth II with her groceries, said Thursday that it will no longer sell most of its clothing lines in a bid to revive its flagging profits.
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Rates on 30-year mortgages dip for 2nd week
Apr 14 2005 12:21PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Rates on 30-year mortgages fell for a second straight week as bond investors expressed relief that the Federal Reserve has not grown overly concerned about inflation pressures.
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U.S. wants progress on China currency
Apr 14 2005 12:16PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Financial leaders will grapple with expanding debt relief for poor countries and global fallout from high energy prices when the world's economic powers gather this weekend at meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
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New charges field against ex-Yukos exec
Apr 14 2005 12:02PM (CT)
MOSCOW (AP) - Russian prosecutors filed new murder charges Thursday against a former official of the beleaguered oil giant Yukos, who already has been convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
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Nestle shareholders to make CEO chairman
Apr 14 2005 11:39AM (CT)
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) - Shareholders of Nestle SA cleared the way Thursday to reward the food and beverage giant's chief executive with the additional title of chairman, after they rejected opponents who said the consolidation runs counter to the way companies should be moving.
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Shares in Woolworths plunge on withdrawal
Apr 14 2005 11:35AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - Shares in Woolworths Group PLC plunged by 25 percent Thursday after takeover suitor Apax Partners withdrew its offer for the struggling retailer.
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Alitalia adjusts its turnaround plan
Apr 14 2005 11:02AM (CT)
MILAN (AP) - Struggling Italian airline Alitalia SpA said Thursday it was updating its 2005-2008 turnaround plan to raise its estimates for fuel costs by 30 percent, compared with previous estimates released in 2003.
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German, Argentine leaders hopeful on deal
Apr 14 2005 10:28AM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - Argentine President Nestor Kirchner and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder expressed optimism Thursday that an agreement could be reached on Argentina's debt restructuring effort, despite continued differences over the country's financial problems.
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Iraqi delegation in Moscow to revive ties
Apr 14 2005 10:06AM (CT)
MOSCOW (AP) - Members of the Baghdad Chamber of Commerce met Thursday with Russian business representatives in Moscow to discuss the revival of traditional Soviet-era ties that have lapsed since the Iraq war.
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Singapore Exchange, Nymex end talks
Apr 14 2005 9:52AM (CT)
SINGAPORE (AP) - The Singapore Exchange Ltd. said Thursday it has failed to reach a deal with the New York Mercantile Exchange that would have led to the trading of energy futures contracts in Singapore.
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Ahold restates 2004 loss downward by $9M
Apr 14 2005 9:46AM (CT)
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Global grocery retailer Ahold NV on Thursday said its 2004 loss was 7 million euros ($9 million) less than it previously reported, admitting a small but noteworthy adjustment.
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Japan's corporate bankruptcies decline
Apr 14 2005 9:14AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - The number of corporate bankruptcies in Japan dropped 18.1 percent in March from the same month a year earlier, in the 27th straight month of decline, a private research agency said Thursday.
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E.W. Scripps posts flat profit for 1Q
Apr 14 2005 8:59AM (CT)
CINCINNATI (AP) - E.W. Scripps Co., operator of the Food Network and 21 daily newspapers, said Thursday that first-quarter earnings were about flat with year-ago results, but revenue grew 14 percent on rapid growth at its lifestyle television networks and improved results at its newspapers.
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N.Y. Times earnings nearly double on sale
Apr 14 2005 8:55AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Times Co.'s profits nearly doubled in the first three months of 2005 due to a one-time gain from the sale of its headquarters building, the company reported Thursday.
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Dow Jones 1Q profit falls on advertising
Apr 14 2005 8:46AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Financial news provider Dow Jones & Co. said Thursday that first-quarter earnings fell sharply from a year ago, as advertising at the U.S. editions of The Wall Street Journal dropped 8 percent and Barron's ad pages decreased nearly 13 percent.
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WTO: Higher commodity prices helped some
Apr 14 2005 8:37AM (CT)
GENEVA (AP) - Higher commodity prices helped developing countries increase their share of global merchandise trade to almost one-third in 2004, even though economic growth slowed markedly in the second half of the year, according to a World Trade Organization study released Thursday.
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CSFB and Credit Suisse to merge in May
Apr 14 2005 7:27AM (CT)
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) - Credit Suisse Group, Switzerland's second-largest bank, said Thursday that it would merge the Swiss parent of its New York-based investment bank with its Credit Suisse banking unit starting May 13.
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Aer Lingus reports lower net profit
Apr 14 2005 7:12AM (CT)
DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) - Ireland's slimmed-down state airline, Aer Lingus Group PLC, reported sharply reduced full-year profits Thursday because of the high cost of slashing its payroll, even as it operating results improved.
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Bankruptcy reform close to OK in Congress
Apr 14 2005 2:10AM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Bankruptcy legislation that could make it impossible for thousands of people to wipe away their debts is nearing passage by Congress.
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New bug a threat to rice fields in U.S.
Apr 14 2005 2:05AM (CT)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A type of maggot that devastated some late-planted rice fields in Louisiana and Texas last year is a bug new to the United States, the Smithsonian Institution has confirmed.
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Cruise industry pushed to curb pollution
Apr 14 2005 1:49AM (CT)
MIAMI (AP) - The cruise industry has gotten so big that all its ships together could hold each of Miami's 360,000 residents with room to spare. And just like cities, cruise lines have to deal with a nasty problem: the millions of gallons of sewage those people produce.
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Morgan Stanley CEO's future questioned
Apr 14 2005 12:20AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Even as Morgan Stanley's board gave another vote of confidence to embattled Chief Executive Phil Purcell Wednesday, more high-level executive departures, a falling stock price and increased shareholder dissent all led to the question, can Purcell last?
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