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IBM pleases investors with larger profit
Jul 18 2005 11:53PM (CT)
BOSTON (AP) - Investors were heartened after International Business Machines Corp.'s second-quarter earnings report provided evidence that Big Blue has rebounded from difficulties early in the year.
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Crude prices stay flat
Jul 18 2005 11:49PM (CT)
SINGAPORE (AP) - The price of crude stayed flat Tuesday as bargain-hunters held for prices to dip further on news that Hurricane Emily will steer clear of U.S. oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico while traders also looked ahead toward the country's midweek petroleum stocks report.
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Golden Tee video golf game scores fans
Jul 18 2005 11:48PM (CT)
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (AP) - Art Chernobrov peers down a blazing green fairway, his brow furrowed in concentration, feet slightly staggered, and lets rip.
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Japanese stocks nearly unchanged
Jul 18 2005 10:17PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japanese stocks were nearly unchanged early Tuesday, following earlier losses on Wall Street. The dollar rose against the yen.
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Citigroup's profits miss expectations
Jul 18 2005 10:04PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Citigroup Inc., the nation's largest financial institution, reported second-quarter profits on Monday that were a nickel per share below Wall Street's expectations. Chief Executive Officer Charles Prince cited "challenging conditions" in the April-June period, including a tough bond market and an interest-rate squeeze.
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Whirlpool offers to buy Maytag for $1.37B
Jul 18 2005 10:03PM (CT)
BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Whirlpool Corp.'s top executive fired the first salvo in a possible three-way bidding war for rival Maytag Corp., saying Monday his company's $1.37 billion offer provides the "best opportunity to address Maytag's needs."
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Payless completes leadership changes
Jul 18 2005 8:51PM (CT)
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Payless ShoeSource Inc. said Monday it has completed a planned change of its senior management team.
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Allegheny Energy to pay $115 million
Jul 18 2005 8:20PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A federal judge ordered Allegheny Energy Inc. to pay more than $115 million to Merrill Lynch & Co., ruling that the utility company breached the contract governing its 2001 purchase of the investment bank's energy trading group, according to court documents.
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Study says ethanol not worth the energy
Jul 18 2005 8:07PM (CT)
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Farmers, businesses and state officials are investing millions of dollars in ethanol and biofuel plants as renewable energy sources, but a new study says the alternative fuels burn more energy than they produce.
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Brazil names new president for oil company
Jul 18 2005 7:46PM (CT)
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) - The Brazilian government on Monday named financial executive Jose Sergio Gabrielli to head the government-run oil company Petrobras.
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Guidant warns on 28,000 pacemakers
Jul 18 2005 7:43PM (CT)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Guidant Corp., already under fire for problems with its implantable defibrillators, on Monday warned physicians replacements might be needed for nine pacemaker models made between 1997 and 2000.
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Air New Zealand, crews return to talks
Jul 18 2005 7:39PM (CT)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - Air New Zealand cabin crew and management returned to contract talks Tuesday as the union's second day of strike action disrupted thousands of the airline's international passengers.
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Northwest rejects mechanics' arbitration
Jul 18 2005 7:16PM (CT)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Northwest Airlines Corp. rejected binding arbitration with its mechanics' union on Monday, a move that could start a 30-day countdown toward a strike.
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BLM mulls charging for permit applications
Jul 18 2005 6:21PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Companies that want to drill for oil, gas and other minerals on federal lands are going to be asked to pay the cost of processing their permit applications.
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Boeing launches new longer-range 737
Jul 18 2005 6:06PM (CT)
SEATTLE (AP) - The Boeing Co. launched a new version of its narrow-body 737 jet on Monday, as it completed a 30-plane sales agreement with Lion Air, a low-cost Indonesian carrier.
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Gasoline prices fall to $2.32 a gallon
Jul 18 2005 5:56PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The retail price of gasoline fell by a pennny last week to average $2.32 a gallon nationwide, the Energy Department reported Monday.
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Testimony begins in first Vioxx trial
Jul 18 2005 5:17PM (CT)
ANGLETON, Texas (AP) - Merck & Co.'s top epidemiologist took some verbal punches Monday as the plaintiff's lawyer in the nation's first Vioxx-related lawsuit to go to trial said the company downplayed the drug's safety for years before taking it off the market in 2004.
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Storm prompts Mexico to close oil ports
Jul 18 2005 5:15PM (CT)
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico has suspended nearly all of its crude oil exports after evacuating more than 15,000 workers from offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico in advance of Hurricane Emily, state oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos announced on Monday.
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Venture capitalists continue fundraising
Jul 18 2005 4:51PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Venture capitalists raised $6.1 billion for future investments during the second quarter, continuing a recent upswing that reflects the industry's renewed appetite for taking risks.
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Bonds fall ahead of Fed assessment
Jul 18 2005 4:49PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Investors drove bond prices lower as they grew more confident that Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan would give an upbeat assessment of the economy when he testifies before Congress later this week.
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Schwab's 2Q profit surges 65 percent
Jul 18 2005 4:48PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Charles Schwab Corp. posted its best quarterly profit in five years as higher money management fees, rising interest rates and lower expenses enabled the discount stock brokerage to offset a continuing decline in trading revenue.
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Monday's commodities roundup
Jul 18 2005 4:40PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Crude-oil futures settled down in New York Monday, hitting their lowest point so far this month on OPEC's weaker oil demand forecast, even as supply concerns lingered over Hurricane Emily.
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GM hires Morgan Stanley analyst as adviser
Jul 18 2005 4:36PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - High-profile Wall Street auto analyst Stephen Girsky is joining General Motors Corp. as a full-time adviser, the world's largest automaker said Monday.
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Safeco CEO Mike McGavick to step down
Jul 18 2005 4:06PM (CT)
SEATTLE (AP) - Mike McGavick, chairman and CEO of property and casualty insurance provider Safeco Corp., announced Monday that he plans to step down as chief executive next month to consider "the possibility of public service."
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Rates rise in weekly Treasury auction
Jul 18 2005 3:08PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction with six-month bills climbing to the highest level in four years.
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I-SaveRx to expand to Australia
Jul 18 2005 1:26PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - Illinois' drug-import program, I-SaveRx, now available in five states, will add Australia and New Zealand to its list of suppliers of cheaper prescription medicines, the governor said Monday.
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SAIC makes formal offer to buy MG Rover
Jul 18 2005 12:55PM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., which precipitated the collapse of MG Rover Group Ltd. earlier this year when it pulled out of merger talks, made a formal offer Monday to buy the British automaker's assets with the aim of resuming car production in Britain.
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Sugar producers protest EU reform plans
Jul 18 2005 12:47PM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Thousands of sugar producers protested Monday against proposed European Union reforms that would cut guaranteed prices by up to 39 percent.
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Bank of America tops Q2 expectations
Jul 18 2005 12:28PM (CT)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Overcoming continued low interest rates, Bank of America Corp. on Monday posted second-quarter earnings that were 12 percent higher than the same period last year, driven by growth in card income and service charges.
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Hasbro Q2 profit up on 'Star Wars' sales
Jul 18 2005 11:59AM (CT)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Hasbro Inc. reported Monday that its second-quarter profit rose 56 percent as revenue was helped by strong performance from "Star Wars" products.
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U.N. adviser: Africa should refuse talks
Jul 18 2005 11:36AM (CT)
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - The United Nations' top poverty adviser said Monday that African countries should refuse to begin negotiations on a new round of world trade talks if rich nations do not cut farm subsidies and tariffs, as they agreed.
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Shares in Infineon drop as scandal deepens
Jul 18 2005 11:30AM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - Shares in Infineon Technologies AG dropped sharply on Monday, a day after it was announced that a senior manager had resigned amid an investigation of corruption, fraud and tax evasion allegations.
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Poll: more cos. see skilled labor shortage
Jul 18 2005 11:14AM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. businesses increasingly are reporting shortages of skilled workers, suggesting the labor market is improving steadily despite the erratic pace of job creation over the last year.
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Sibir says court froze shares in venture
Jul 18 2005 11:09AM (CT)
MOSCOW (AP) - Russian oil company Sibir Energy said Monday that it had obtained an injunction in a British Virgin Islands court freezing a disputed share of a joint venture belonging to Russian oil company Sibneft.
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Sinopec to invest $106M in Uzbek fields
Jul 18 2005 11:04AM (CT)
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP) - Chinese oil firm Sinopec plans to invest $106 million in exploration and extraction in Uzbekistan, a senior official with the Uzbek state oil and gas company said Monday.
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Unipol Assicurazioni raises stake in bank
Jul 18 2005 10:41AM (CT)
ROME (AP) - Italian insurer Unipol Assicurazioni SpA said Monday it had bought a 27.5 percent stake in Rome-based Banca Nazionale di Lavoro amid a takeover battle involving Spain's Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria.
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Citigroup's 2Q profit misses estimates
Jul 18 2005 10:01AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Citigroup Inc., the nation's largest financial institution, reported second-quarter profits that were a nickel-per-share below Wall Street's expectations Monday as a result of what CEO Charles Prince called "challenging conditions," including a tough bond market and an interest-rate squeeze.
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Proton set to assemble Volkswagen cars
Jul 18 2005 9:46AM (CT)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Malaysia's national carmaker Proton and Germany's Volkswagen AG are expected to finalize details of their alliance by the year-end and begin assembly of Volkswagen cars here in the first quarter of 2006, analysts said Monday.
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Ukraine to sell 1.7 percent stake in mill
Jul 18 2005 9:36AM (CT)
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - The government is to sell a 1.74 percent stake in Ukraine's Kryvorizhstal steel mill to test its market price ahead of the planned re-privatization of the enterprise, an official said Monday.
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Skanska gets $133M contract to build hub
Jul 18 2005 9:34AM (CT)
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) - Swedish construction company Skanska said Monday it has received a $133 million contract to help build a new subway hub near ground zero in New York.
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Mattel posts 2Q loss on tax expense
Jul 18 2005 9:23AM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Mattel Inc., the maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars, on Monday reported a loss for the second quarter due to a large tax expense related to the repatriation of foreign profits.
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News Corp. buys Intermix for $580 million
Jul 18 2005 9:13AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - News Corp., the media conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch, is buying the online company Intermix Media Inc., owner of the social networking site MySpace.com, for $580 million in cash.
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Malaysia launches bond fund in Asia
Jul 18 2005 9:10AM (CT)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Malaysia on Monday launched its first bond fund on the stock exchange as part of an Asian scheme to augment underdeveloped capital markets.
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Tele2 and Apax buy Dutch Versatel in deal
Jul 18 2005 9:09AM (CT)
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Swedish telecommunications company Tele2 AB will buy Versatel Telecom International NV of the Netherlands for 1.34 billion euros ($1.61 billion), Versatel said Monday.
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2,000 Thai workers demand higher wages
Jul 18 2005 9:03AM (CT)
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - More than one thousand workers blocked a Bangkok street outside the prime minister's office Monday, demanding that the government increase the minimum wage and control prices following a steep rise in fuel prices.
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MBNA second-quarter profit dips on charge
Jul 18 2005 8:53AM (CT)
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - MBNA Corp., the credit-card company being acquired by Bank of America Corp. for $35 billion, on Monday reported its second-quarter profit fell, hurt by a restructuring charge.
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Mars, Snickers to return to Australia
Jul 18 2005 8:51AM (CT)
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - A factory in southern Australia will soon boost production of Mars and Snickers bars ahead of the chocolate bars return to store shelves following a massive recall sparked by an extortion threat, the company that makes them said Monday.
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U.S. company to invest $800M in Dubai
Jul 18 2005 8:30AM (CT)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - An American-owned company said Monday it will build an $800 million real-estate development in Dubai in what will be the largest Western investment in the Gulf emirate.
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Sovereign Asset Management sells off stake
Jul 18 2005 8:20AM (CT)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Sovereign Asset Management, a Dubai-based investment fund, said Monday it has sold off its entire stake in SK Corp., citing disappointment after failing to change corporate governance at South Korea's leading oil refiner.
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India's trade deficit nearly doubles
Jul 18 2005 8:18AM (CT)
NEW DELHI (AP) - India's trade deficit nearly doubled in the April-June quarter, despite a 20 percent rise in exports, according to government data released Monday.
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Health care costs slow company profits
Jul 18 2005 7:55AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Employees are facing a double whammy when it comes to health care costs: Many companies are likely to ask workers to pay more for their insurance while rising health care costs means companies may dole out lower raises.
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Hong Kong shares rise to 4 1/2-year high
Jul 18 2005 7:49AM (CT)
HONG KONG (AP) - Hong Kong shares rose to a 4 1/2-year high on Monday, lifted by gains in property issues. Korean and Philippine shares also rose, while Chinese and Singaporean stocks fell.
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InBev buys Russian brewer Tinkoff
Jul 18 2005 7:45AM (CT)
MOSCOW (AP) - Belgian brewing giant InBev SA is buying Tinkoff, a high-end independent brewer in Russia, for $202 million in a bid to expand in Russia's fiercely competitive and growing beer market.
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Philips' 2Q profit skyrockets 60 percent
Jul 18 2005 7:16AM (CT)
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Philips Electronics NV said Monday its net profit rose 60 percent in the second quarter because of a stock sale, but sales and operating profit both fell due to problems at its LG.Philips LCD joint venture and weak demand for consumer electronics.
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Chinese low-cost airline launches
Jul 18 2005 6:57AM (CT)
SHANGHAI, China (AP) - China's first private low-cost carrier, Spring Airlines, launched its maiden flight on Monday, becoming the newest player in the country's increasingly modern and sophisticated travel industry.
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EU expects disappointing euro-zone growth
Jul 18 2005 6:26AM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - High oil prices and slowing global manufacturing will keep euro-zone growth disappointing in the second quarter, the European Union said Monday.
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Germany sells stake in Deutsche Post
Jul 18 2005 5:31AM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - The German government has sold some 5 billion euros ($6 billion) worth of shares in the Deutsche Telekom phone company and Deutsche Post mail service to the state-owned KfW bank, raising money to plug holes in its deficit-ridden budget.
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Asiana Airline cancels 81 domestic flights
Jul 18 2005 5:24AM (CT)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Asiana Airlines, South Korea's second-largest carrier, canceled almost half of its domestic passenger flights Monday as a strike by unionized pilots intensified and negotiations to end it made no progress.
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Profit at S. Korea's LG Electronics falls
Jul 18 2005 2:08AM (CT)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - LG Electronics Inc. said Monday that second-quarter profit plunged 70 percent as its cell phone division posted a loss and its flat-panel making venture LG.Philips LCD Co. contributed less because of weaker prices.
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China airline launches maiden flight
Jul 18 2005 2:07AM (CT)
SHANGHAI, China (AP) - Private low-cost carrier Spring Airlines launched its maiden flight on Monday, becoming the newest player in China's increasingly modern and sophisticated travel industry.
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Raffles hotel and resort chain sold
Jul 18 2005 1:56AM (CT)
SINGAPORE (AP) - Singapore's iconic 117-year-old Raffles Hotel has been sold, along with 40 other hotels and properties worldwide to U.S. real estate investment fund Colony Capital LLC for about $1 billion, including debt, its former parent Raffles Holdings Ltd. said Monday.
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Cattle group sees its influence grow
Jul 18 2005 1:11AM (CT)
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - Two years ago, R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America was a tiny cattlemen's group, written off in some quarters as fringe and radical, focused on what many in the industry considered a nonissue _ Canadian beef imports.
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