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Gap 2Q profit falls, lowers year view
Aug 17 2006 11:49PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The prospects for an imminent turnaround at Gap Inc. diminished Thursday after the retailer reported more than a 50 percent drop in second-quarter profit and cut its earnings forecast for the year.
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Dell reveals SEC probe; 2Q earnings down
Aug 17 2006 11:39PM (CT)
DALLAS (AP) - Dell Inc., already limping after a massive laptop battery recall earlier in the week, had more bad news for investors in its second-quarter earnings report.
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Oil prices recoup some losses
Aug 17 2006 10:26PM (CT)
SINGAPORE (AP) - Oil prices recouped some losses Friday in morning trading, after a week of dropping in response to above-average U.S. oil stockpiles and positive developments in the Middle East and an Alaskan oil field.
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Merck suffers 2 setbacks in Vioxx cases
Aug 17 2006 8:59PM (CT)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Merck & Co. was stung with two major legal setbacks over the withdrawn painkiller Vioxx on Thursday when a federal jury ordered the drugmaker to pay $51 million to a heart attack victim, and a state judge in New Jersey overturned a November verdict favoring the company.
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Leading economic indicators fall in July
Aug 17 2006 8:51PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - An indicator of future economic activity dipped in July, suggesting a slowdown in economic growth in coming months. A cooling housing market was the main culprit.
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Judge tosses Merck win, orders new trial
Aug 17 2006 8:50PM (CT)
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - A state judge threw out a victory for Merck & Co. on Thursday and ordered a new trial for a postal worker who blamed his heart attack on taking the company's Vioxx pain medicine for two months. The company said it might appeal that ruling.
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Japan stocks edge higher, dollar gains
Aug 17 2006 7:36PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japanese stocks edged higher early Friday following a third straight day of gains on Wall Street. The dollar was higher against the yen.
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Judge: Tobacco firms deceived smokers
Aug 17 2006 7:14PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge ruled Thursday that the nation's top cigarette makers violated racketeering laws, deceiving the public for years about the health hazards of smoking, but said she couldn't order them to pay the billions of dollars the government had sought.
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Nordstrom 2Q profits up 20 pct. on sales
Aug 17 2006 6:27PM (CT)
SEATTLE (AP) - Nordstrom Inc. said Thursday its second-quarter profit surged 20 percent on strong sales and continued progress in managing inventory and improving merchandise.
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Money funds rose in latest week
Aug 17 2006 5:11PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Assets of the nation's retail money market mutual funds rose by $4.91 billion in the latest week to $917.01 billion, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday.
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Barnes & Noble 2Q profit rises 23 pct.
Aug 17 2006 3:54PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Barnes & Noble Inc., the nation's largest bookseller, reported a 23 percent increase in second-quarter earnings, as lower costs for goods and rent helped offset declining sales in the absence of a blockbuster title.
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HP shares surge on strong earnings
Aug 17 2006 3:52PM (CT)
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Hewlett-Packard Co.'s stock surged to a new year high Thursday after the computer and printer maker reported a third-quarter profit that beat expectations, raised its fourth-quarter and full-year guidance and said its board had authorized a $6 billion share buyback.
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Gold falls as crude slips again
Aug 17 2006 3:40PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The fall in crude-oil prices took a toll on precious metals in New York Thursday. December gold settled down $13.70 to $625.30 a troy ounce, while September silver gave up 29 cents to $11.995 an ounce.
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Time Warner to restate earnings
Aug 17 2006 3:39PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Time Warner Inc. said Thursday it will restate its financial results after an independent auditor found problems with the way it accounted for a number of transactions in 2000 and 2001, mainly involving online advertising.
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Analysts eye Lampert's plans for Sears
Aug 17 2006 2:26PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - Sears Holdings Corp. reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings on Thursday despite another drop in sales. But analysts fixated on a couple of paragraphs buried deep in the report that may indicate Chairman Edward Lampert is up to something that has nothing to do with selling more merchandise at his stores.
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Judge postpones Delphi contract hearing
Aug 17 2006 12:35PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - A federal bankruptcy judge has delayed until Friday a hearing on Delphi Corp.'s request for permission to scrap its labor contracts and impose lower wages and benefits on its workers.
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Small cities get in on condo-hotel boom
Aug 17 2006 12:26PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - When urban dwellers think of hotel-condos, they usually imagine sky-high city apartments that come with daily maid service, mints on pillows and the option to order chilled champagne for delivery at any hour.
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Judge: NWA flight attendants can strike
Aug 17 2006 12:16PM (CT)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A federal bankruptcy judge on Thursday denied a Northwest Airlines Corp. request to block a strike by its flight attendants that could begin as soon as Aug. 25.
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Zurich Financial 2Q profit up 14.9 pct.
Aug 17 2006 12:00PM (CT)
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) - Swiss insurance company Zurich Financial Services posted a 14.9 percent rise in second-quarter net profit after a strong performance at its general insurance division, the company said Thursday.
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Judge OKs strike by Northwest attendants
Aug 17 2006 11:45AM (CT)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A federal bankruptcy judge on Thursday denied a Northwest Airlines Corp. request to block a strike by its flight attendants that could begin as soon as Aug. 25.
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Bill would allow hemp farming in Calif.
Aug 17 2006 9:38AM (CT)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California farmers could legally grow industrial hemp under a bill approved by the state Senate that distinguishes it from a widely grown distant cousin: marijuana.
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Aussie retailer Coles gets takeover bid
Aug 17 2006 7:58AM (CT)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Australia's second-largest retailer, Coles Myer Ltd., said Thursday it has been approached about a possible takeover by parties it didn't identify.
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Chemicals maker Ciba to cut jobs
Aug 17 2006 6:51AM (CT)
BASEL, Switzerland (AP) - Swiss specialty chemicals maker Ciba on Thursday posted a 202 million franc ($164 million) loss for the first half of 2006 and announced plans to cut 2,500 jobs over the next three years as part of a new restructuring.
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Euro-zone inflation falls to 2.4 percent
Aug 17 2006 6:24AM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Inflation in the 12 nations that use the euro fell to 2.4 percent in July, the EU statistics agency Eurostat said Thursday, revising downwards an earlier forecast of 2.5 percent for the month.
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Bill would allow hemp farming in Calif.
Aug 17 2006 3:43AM (CT)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California farmers could legally grow industrial hemp under a bill approved by the state Senate that distinguishes it from a widely grown distant cousin: marijuana.
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U.S. disasters dull BP's image
Aug 17 2006 12:17AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - BP PLC's reputation as an oil company with a conscience has offered investors concerned about the environment the chance to grab a relatively "green" slice of the industry's enormous profits generated by record oil prices.
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