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Former Boeing Chairman Lew Platt dies
Sep 9 2005 11:35PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - Lewis "Lew" Platt, a director and former chairman of Boeing Co. who also served as chief executive at Hewlett-Packard Co. in the 1990s, has died, Boeing said Friday. He was 64.
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Former prisons chief, Viapro exec acquitted
Sep 9 2005 10:52PM (CT)
HOUSTON (AP) - A federal judge acquitted a former Texas prisons chief and a Canadian businessman accused of running a kickback scheme in the mid-1990s, tossing aside their 2001 conviction.
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Confidence drops in September on Katrina
Sep 9 2005 9:46PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Consumer confidence tumbled in early September as Hurricane Katrina made people feel increasingly anxious about the economy's prospects and their own in the months ahead, according to figures released Friday.
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Morgan Stanley says two more quit board
Sep 9 2005 9:45PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Morgan Stanley Inc. on Friday said directors Charles F. Knight and John E. Jacob have stepped down from the board, marking the latest change at the investment bank since John Mack took the helm.
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Fiat, Ford to work together on small cars
Sep 9 2005 6:20PM (CT)
ROME (AP) - Fiat Auto SPA has found a new partner in Detroit seven months after breaking off a broad alliance with General Motors Corp., announcing a more-limited agreement Friday with Ford Motor Co. that envisages the two working together on new models of their small cars.
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Judge postpones finishing WorldCom deal
Sep 9 2005 6:18PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The judge in the WorldCom fraud case on Friday praised the massive settlement reached with investors who lost billions, but postponed finalizing the deal to review details of how the money will be distributed.
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General Re CEO receives notice from SEC
Sep 9 2005 6:17PM (CT)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - The chief executive of General Reinsurance Corp., Joseph Brandon, has been notified that he could face civil charges as a result of a federal regulatory probe of the firm's nontraditional insurance products, its parent Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said Friday.
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Oil prices sag as traders' worries calm
Sep 9 2005 6:12PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Crude oil and gasoline prices slipped Friday, as traders' fears of further damage to the nation's oil production eased after Tropical Storm Ophelia veered away from Florida's coast.
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Merck in Vioxx fight for long haul
Sep 9 2005 6:06PM (CT)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - On the eve of the second trial over its painkiller Vioxx, pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. on Friday reasserted that it plans to aggressively fight the mounting lawsuits over the withdrawn drug, despite recently saying it might settle some suits.
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Amtrak will raise fares over energy costs
Sep 9 2005 5:48PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Amtrak announced Friday it will raise fares nationally to counter higher energy costs, with Northeast Corridor commuters holding monthly rail passes seeing a fare hike of about 50 percent.
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S&P pulls out of governance scoring
Sep 9 2005 5:13PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Standard & Poor's Corp. is getting out of the business of rating U.S. companies on corporate governance, closing the door on the struggling service that was beset with difficulties since its 2002 kickoff.
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Union official: Northwest seeks layoffs
Sep 9 2005 5:04PM (CT)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Negotiators for striking Northwest Airlines mechanics on Friday weighed a demand from the carrier for roughly 3,500 union layoffs, up from the 2,000 in a proposal that prompted the strike.
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McDonald's August sales rise
Sep 9 2005 5:01PM (CT)
OAK BROOK, Ill. (AP) - The introduction of chicken sandwiches helped McDonald's Corp.'s same-store sales rise 3.4 percent in August over the same month a year earlier, the fast-food chain said Friday.
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Buyout company increases bid for ShopKo
Sep 9 2005 4:59PM (CT)
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - Private equity company Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison Inc. increased its bid for retailer ShopKo Stores Inc. by 4 percent to about $754 million after an influential shareholder adviser and minority shareholders called the earlier price too cheap, ShopKo said Friday.
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Treasury Bonds hold modest gains
Sep 9 2005 4:57PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Longer-dated U.S. Treasury prices held modest gains late Friday, as speculation continued over what direction the Federal Reserve will take after Hurricane Katrina.
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Marsh & McLennan names new Marsh chair
Sep 9 2005 4:47PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. on Friday said that Brian M. Storms, who had headed its Mercer consulting unit, will take over as chairman and chief executive officer of its Marsh Inc. risk and insurance subsidiary.
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Friday's commodities roundup
Sep 9 2005 4:34PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Energy prices' losing streak resumed Friday in New York, with crude-oil futures settling at a more than three-week low, as signs of improving supply and slowing demand put the brakes on gains.
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Boeing negotiating settlement in probes
Sep 9 2005 4:01PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - Boeing Co. is negotiating a settlement with the Justice Department in which the defense contractor and airplane maker may pay the government as much as $500 million to avoid prosecution in two federal investigations, a published report said Friday.
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Hong Kong Disney said to be a huge step
Sep 9 2005 3:55PM (CT)
HONG KONG (AP) - Walt Disney Co. President Robert Iger said Friday that Hong Kong Disneyland, the company's 11th theme park, is a giant step in the company's plans to break into China's huge market.
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Biovail up after getting FDA OK
Sep 9 2005 3:27PM (CT)
TORONTO (AP) - Biovail Corp. stock jumped Friday after the company said it had received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a once-daily form of painkiller Tramadol.
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NRC clears way for nuclear fuel storage
Sep 9 2005 3:27PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday approved a private company's plan to build a nuclear waste storage site on the Skull Valley Goshute Indian Reservation in Utah, moving the proposal a crucial step closer to fruition.
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Brown calls on leaders to step up reform
Sep 9 2005 2:32PM (CT)
MANCHESTER, England (AP) - Britain's treasury chief, Gordon Brown, said Friday Europe had to tackle longer-term problems that are weighing on the trade bloc's slow recovery.
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Poll: Post-9/11 economic recovery praised
Sep 9 2005 2:30PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Four years after the worst terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, nearly three quarters of Americans believe the government did a good job helping the economy recover from Sept. 11.
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Total, BP announce gasoline price cut
Sep 9 2005 2:13PM (CT)
PARIS (AP) - Total SA and BP PLC announced cuts to their French gasoline and diesel pump prices Friday, a day after the government threatened oil companies with a special tax in response to soaring oil prices.
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Gas prices push IRS to temporarily up rate
Sep 9 2005 1:51PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Internal Revenue Service, reflecting higher prices at gas pumps nationwide, on Friday increased the mileage reimbursement rate that workers claim when using personal cars for work.
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Degussa selling food ingredients unit
Sep 9 2005 1:16PM (CT)
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - Chemicals company Degussa AG said Friday it will sell its food ingredients unit to U.S. conglomerate Cargill Inc. for 540 million euros ($670.6 million), to focus on its core business.
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VW taps Bentley exec to run two units
Sep 9 2005 1:15PM (CT)
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - German automaker Volkswagen AG, which is struggling with North American sales because of a lack of new models and fierce competition, tapped an executive from its luxury Bentley unit on Friday to take over its U.S. and Canadian business.
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U.S. oil and gas rig count falls by six
Sep 9 2005 12:57PM (CT)
HOUSTON (AP) - The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States decreased by six this week to 1,441.
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Rosenblum to oversee TV at Warner Bros.
Sep 9 2005 12:31PM (CT)
BURBANK, Calif. (AP) - Warner Bros. Entertainment has consolidated its television operations, including its TV studio and the WB network, into a new group under the leadership of Bruce Rosenblum, who has served as executive vice president of the studio since 1999.
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Greenspan's last day likely Jan. 31
Sep 9 2005 12:11PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Reserve decided to shorten a key monetary policymaking meeting in late January in what amounts to an acknowledgment by the secretive institution that Chairman Alan Greenspan is leaving then.
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Texas Instruments raises outlook for 3Q
Sep 9 2005 11:48AM (CT)
DALLAS (AP) - Texas Instruments Inc., the largest supplier of chips for mobile phones, has raised its profit outlook for the third quarter, citing stronger demand for semiconductor products that were in oversupply earlier this year.
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Airlines seek $600M in jet-fuel tax relief
Sep 9 2005 10:56AM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - With jet fuel prices soaring in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, U.S. airlines have asked Congress and the White House for $600 million in tax relief.
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Japan Post privatization stirs debate
Sep 9 2005 10:16AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - When Typhoon Nabi tore through southern Japan a few days ago, the Japanese government rushed to the scene with the basics: food, water, rescue workers _ and a mobile post office.
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Access agrees to buy PalmSource for $324M
Sep 9 2005 9:44AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japanese software company Access Co., maker of the NetFront Internet browser for mobile devices, said Friday it has agreed to buy PalmSource Inc., maker of the Palm operating system for handheld computers and cell phones, for $324 million in cash.
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Intel tightens third-quarter forecast
Sep 9 2005 9:24AM (CT)
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Citing continued demand for the chips that power notebook computers, Intel Corp. tightened the range of its third-quarter revenue forecast Thursday but kept the midpoint unchanged at $9.9 billion.
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Allianz: Katrina may cost at least $583.6M
Sep 9 2005 8:57AM (CT)
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - Europe's biggest insurer, Allianz AG, said Friday it could pay out as much as 470 million euros ($583.6 million) in claims from Hurricane Katrina, but that it still expected to reach its 2005 profit target of 4 billion euros ($4.9 billion).
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Continental sees $300M in savings for 2005
Sep 9 2005 8:13AM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Continental Airlines Inc. expects to save about $300 million in 2005 from pay and benefit reductions achieved for most work groups, the air carrier said Friday in an update for investors.
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Zimbabwe is struggling to stay in IMF
Sep 9 2005 7:47AM (CT)
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - President Robert Mugabe has said his country doesn't need Western donors and blamed the West for his economic free-fall. Now his government is at pains to avert a breach with the International Monetary Fund.
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Workers shut down Finnish shipyard
Sep 9 2005 7:14AM (CT)
HELSINKI, Finland (AP) - Some 400 workers shut down the Helsinki operations of shipbuilder Aker Finnyards on Friday to protest planned layoffs and cutbacks.
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Fiat, Ford to work together on new models
Sep 9 2005 7:08AM (CT)
ROME (AP) - Fiat Auto SpA has reached an agreement with Ford Motor Co. to work together on new models of their small cars, the companies said Friday.
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Poland signs $536M deal for new plant
Sep 9 2005 6:42AM (CT)
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Poland signed a deal valued at 429 million euros ($536 million) Friday with South Korea's LG.Philips for the construction of a new plant to produce displays for flat-screen television sets and computer monitors.
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Volkswagen, partner to make hybrids
Sep 9 2005 6:19AM (CT)
SHANGHAI, China (AP) - Volkswagen AG and its Chinese partner will produce hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles in Shanghai, with production of the first 500 models set to begin in mid-2008, the Chinese company said Friday.
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Pacific Rim officials: oil may hurt economy
Sep 9 2005 5:44AM (CT)
SEOGWIPO, South Korea (AP) - Pacific Rim finance officials said Friday that sustained high energy prices are a risk to economic growth in the region and called for more investment in oil production and refining capacity, stepped up conservation efforts and the development of renewable energy sources.
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Rating agency examines La., Miss. debt
Sep 9 2005 5:41AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The floods and damage of Hurricane Katrina have brought into question how state and local governments in Louisiana and Mississippi will be able to pay investors holding their debt because many of their income sources _ taxes from businesses and their inhabitants _ have been disrupted.
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Sustainable produce classification sought
Sep 9 2005 4:56AM (CT)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Shoppers who are attracted to organic fruit and vegetables but put off by their often steep prices may soon have a less expensive alternative in sustainable produce.
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Japanese stocks rise, dollar higher
Sep 9 2005 4:34AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japanese stocks rallied on Friday on expectations that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his ruling party will gain seats in weekend parliamentary elections and push forward with proposed economic reforms.
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Charge against ex-Halliburton CFO dismissed
Sep 9 2005 12:26AM (CT)
HOUSTON (AP) - A federal judge has dismissed a federal complaint accusing Halliburton Co.'s former chief financial officer of aiding and abetting the company in filing financial reports that did not promptly disclose a 1998 change in accounting procedures.
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