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Tokyo Stock Exchange resumes activity
Oct 31 2005 11:43PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - The Tokyo Stock Exchange suspended trading in most shares and bonds Tuesday morning following a glitch in its transactions system, but was able to resume activity for the afternoon session.
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Japanese stock trading suspended
Oct 31 2005 11:22PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - The Tokyo Stock Exchange suspended trading of stocks Tuesday morning due to a system glitch. The dollar was higher against the yen and euro.
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AP: Qwest said to reach $400M settlement
Oct 31 2005 11:13PM (CT)
DENVER (AP) - Qwest Communications International Inc. is expected to announce as soon as Tuesday a $400 million settlement of most shareholder lawsuits that were filed after an accounting scandal forced the company to restate billions in revenue, a person familiar with the deal said Monday.
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Dell lowers 3Q sales outlook; shares fall
Oct 31 2005 10:26PM (CT)
ROUND ROCK, Texas (AP) - Dell Inc. warned Monday that third-quarter earnings and sales would come in at the low end of previous forecasts because of disappointing U.S. consumer and U.K. business, sending shares in the largest maker of personal computers tumbling in late trading.
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Sempra chairman, CEO resumes testimony
Oct 31 2005 10:05PM (CT)
SAN DIEGO (AP) - The chairman and chief executive of Sempra Energy told a jury Monday that a spike in natural gas prices had little impact on the wild price increases in electricity that struck California in 2000.
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Principal Financial 3Q earnings drop
Oct 31 2005 9:44PM (CT)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Principal Financial Group Inc. on Monday reported a drop in third-quarter earnings to $210 million, or 74 cents a share, in the company's retirement, insurance and asset management businesses because of a large gain in the same period last year.
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Judge delays Reliant jury selection
Oct 31 2005 8:37PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal judge indefinitely delayed jury selection on Monday in the criminal trial of Reliant Resources Inc. and four of its employees on charges of driving up electricity prices during California's 2000-2001 energy crisis.
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Merck lawyer says facts don't add up
Oct 31 2005 8:16PM (CT)
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - Hammering away at a handful of key themes, a lawyer for Merck & Co. urged jurors Monday to absolve the Vioxx manufacturer of liability for a heart attack suffered by an Idaho postal worker, saying the company thoroughly tested the drug and that federal regulators concluded it wasn't a risk with short-term use.
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Telefonica buying O2 PLC in $31.4B deal
Oct 31 2005 7:51PM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - Telefonica SA, the Spanish telecommunications powerhouse that has been expanding in Latin America and Eastern Europe, has agreed to buy mobile phone company O2 PLC in a $31.4 billion deal that will help expand in the United Kingdom and German markets.
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At 50, Tylenol gains steam on safety image
Oct 31 2005 7:48PM (CT)
TRENTON, New Jersey (AP) - Tylenol, originally a pain reliever for children, has hit middle age. The world's best-known acetaminophen brand turns 50 on Tuesday, and it's more popular than ever, in part because of its reputation as the safest nonprescription pain reliever. Even a fatal 1982 poisoning scare barely hurt the brand _ and introduced tamperproof packaging.
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Westar asks court for forfeited assets
Oct 31 2005 6:57PM (CT)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Westar Energy Inc. is asking a federal court to give it millions of dollars in cash and assets to be forfeited by two former executives convicted of defrauding the company.
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Bankruptcy costs slam UAL with $1.77B loss
Oct 31 2005 6:46PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - Burdened by the heavy costs of reworking its airplane leases and contracts, United Airlines' parent company reported a record $1.77 billion loss for the third quarter Monday to run its overall losses from nearly three years in bankruptcy to $9 billion.
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Motorola settles lawsuit with ex-president
Oct 31 2005 6:40PM (CT)
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (AP) - Motorola Inc., the world's No. 2 mobile phone maker, on Monday said it has agreed to settle a lawsuit against former president Mike Zafirovski for $11.5 million cash and other requirements.
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Monday's Commodities Roundup
Oct 31 2005 6:38PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Crude oil futures in New York settled below $60 a barrel for the first time in more than three months Monday, buckling amid a steep sell-off in product futures and unseasonably warm autumn weather.
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Occidental 3Q profit up on one-time gains
Oct 31 2005 6:33PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Higher oil prices helped lead Occidental Petroleum Corp., an oil and natural gas exploration company, to report record earnings on Monday.
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Fired worker sues utility over slur suit
Oct 31 2005 6:10PM (CT)
PITTSBURGH (AP) - A utility worker fired for using a racial slur on a Yahoo message board to describe his employer's diversity policies is accusing the company in a lawsuit of wrongly using the courts to unmask his identity.
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KPMG settlement gets preliminary approval
Oct 31 2005 5:59PM (CT)
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - A federal judge on Monday gave preliminary approval to a $225 million settlement that accounting giant KPMG LLP and a law firm have reached with about 275 former clients who used its tax shelters, lawyers in the case said.
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McDonald's CEO: No restructuring planned
Oct 31 2005 5:54PM (CT)
OAK BROOK, Ill. (AP) - McDonald's Corp. CEO Jim Skinner denied any interest by the fast-food company on Monday in making a significant change to its corporate structure.
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Bonds barely budge as investors await data
Oct 31 2005 5:47PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Treasury prices finished Monday barely changed from where they ended last week as investors awaited a fresh catalyst to push the market in one direction or another.
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FCC OKs telecom mergers with conditions
Oct 31 2005 5:32PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Regulators agreed Monday to approve SBC Communications' takeover of AT&T and Verizon Communications' purchase of MCI _ deals that allow the nation's biggest phone companies to grow bigger _ but with conditions.
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FDA expedites review of Erbitux drug
Oct 31 2005 5:18PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - ImClone Systems Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said Monday that the Food and Drug Administration granted a priority review for a new use for the companies' colon-cancer drug Erbitux.
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Valero doubles 3Q profits on crude prices
Oct 31 2005 5:15PM (CT)
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Oil refiner Valero Energy Corp. on Monday reported that its third-quarter profit more than doubled due mostly to high crude prices and wide refining margins, and the company said it expects to post record earnings in the last three months of the year.
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Level 3 to acquire WilTel in $680M deal
Oct 31 2005 5:15PM (CT)
BROOMFIELD, Colo. (AP) - Level 3 Communications Inc. said Monday it agreed to acquire Internet access and services company WilTel Communications Group LLC from Leucadia National Corp. for about $680 million.
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Delphi reorganization could cost billions
Oct 31 2005 5:15PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - Auto supplier Delphi Corp.'s reorganization could cost workers and auto companies at least $10 billion in 2007, and far more if the company hasn't emerged from bankruptcy protection by then, according to a study released Monday by an economic consulting firm.
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AOL co-founder exits Time Warner board
Oct 31 2005 5:11PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Steve Case, a co-founder of America Online and one of the main architects of the disastrous AOL-Time Warner deal, said Monday he has resigned from Time Warner Inc.'s board of directors.
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Humana 3Q profit sags on settlement costs
Oct 31 2005 5:06PM (CT)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Health benefits provider Humana Inc. on Monday reported a 41 percent drop in third-quarter profits that were dragged down by the settlement of a lawsuit as well as costs from Hurricane Katrina, offsetting a big gain in its Medicare business.
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Kellogg posts 3Q profit, raises outlook
Oct 31 2005 5:04PM (CT)
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - Kellogg Co. reported an 11 percent increase in profit during the third quarter and boosted its full-year financial forecast, but shares of the world's largest cereal maker still fell.
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Saks selling stores to Bon-Ton for $1.1B
Oct 31 2005 5:03PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Saks Inc. announced Monday it was selling its Northern department store group for $1.1 billion in cash to Bon-Ton Stores Inc., bolstering Bon-Ton as a regional player in the Midwest.
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Government investigating Dodge truck, SUV
Oct 31 2005 4:59PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government is investigating nearly 500,000 Dodge Durango sport utility vehicles and Dodge Dakota pickup trucks because of a possible loss in steering control.
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Fidelity's Magellan Fund manager retires
Oct 31 2005 4:39PM (CT)
BOSTON (AP) - The manager of Fidelity Investments' flagship Magellan Fund, which has dropped by about half to approximately $52 billion in assets in the past five years, has retired after nearly a decade on the job, the company announced on Monday.
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Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff selling assets
Oct 31 2005 4:32PM (CT)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff Co. is selling its radio and cable television businesses in separate deals for nearly $2 billion in the continuing breakup of a family-owned conglomerate that had no heirs willing to take over.
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Novartis to buy rest of Chiron for $5.1B
Oct 31 2005 4:24PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Chiron Corp. said Monday its board of directors accepted a sweetened $5.1 billion takeover offer from the Swiss drug giant Novartis AG, which vowed to "turn around" the beleaguered flu-shot maker.
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Barrick Gold offers $9.2B for Placer Dome
Oct 31 2005 4:23PM (CT)
TORONTO (AP) - Barrick Gold Corp. said Monday it offered to buy Vancouver-based gold mining company Placer Dome Inc. for about $9.2 billion in cash and stock in a deal that would create the world's largest gold producer.
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Higher citrus prices likely after Wilma
Oct 31 2005 4:12PM (CT)
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Hurricane Wilma wiped out half of Florida's grapefruit crop and decimated its orange crop, citrus growers estimated Monday.
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Rates on Treasury bills rise at auction
Oct 31 2005 3:54PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction to the highest levels since the spring of 2001.
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Government on track to borrow record in 1Q
Oct 31 2005 3:50PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government expects to borrow a record $171 billion in the January-to-March quarter, reflecting in part higher spending to cover rebuilding costs from the hurricanes that ravaged the Gulf Coast.
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Workers get new retirement savings option
Oct 31 2005 3:39PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Employees next year could be offered the opportunity to stash away some of their retirement savings in a new type of account that may reduce their taxes in the long-run.
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China says current account surplus soars
Oct 31 2005 2:47PM (CT)
BEIJING (AP) - China's surplus in its broadest measure of trade in the first half of this year soared to nine times the figure in the same period last year, the government said Monday.
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Higher borrowing costs expected
Oct 31 2005 2:36PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Americans' borrowing costs probably will climb in the months ahead as the Federal Reserve seeks to prevent high energy prices from causing a broader bout of inflation.
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Shell workers begin shutdown of refinery
Oct 31 2005 2:02PM (CT)
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Workers of Royal Dutch Shell PLC in the Netherlands began a phased shutdown of Europe's largest oil refinery on Monday in a dispute over pensions.
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NYSE moves toward resumed trade in co.
Oct 31 2005 2:00PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Stock Exchange said it will begin procedures for Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. to resume trading, after the company disclosed details of its restructuring plan Monday.
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Shares in P&O ship line soar after approach
Oct 31 2005 1:58PM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - Shares of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. surged more than 30 percent Monday after it said it has received a preliminary approach from a possible buyer that it did not identify.
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Japan's Orix to buy U.S. investment bank
Oct 31 2005 1:33PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japan's Orix Corp. said Monday it will buy major U.S. investment bank Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin Inc. for about $500 million to strengthen its corporate-financing business for small to midsize firms in the United States.
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Channell falls on lowered revenue outlook
Oct 31 2005 12:56PM (CT)
TEMECULA, Calif. (AP) - Channell Commercial Corp. stock fell Monday after the telecommunications-equipment company lowered third-quarter estimates because of weaker-than-expected sales from key North American broadband clients and logistical issues at its Bushman Tanks business.
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Orckit returns to profit on revenue rise
Oct 31 2005 12:54PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Orckit Communications Ltd., an Israel-based telecommunications equipment provider, reported a profit in the latest quarter from a year-ago loss, as revenue climbed from a year ago.
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Japan Tobacco reports higher profit
Oct 31 2005 12:48PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japan Tobacco Inc., Japan's biggest cigarette maker, reported a 35 percent jump in profit for its first fiscal half on Monday despite a big drop in smokers in Japan as cost cuts and overseas operations boosted earnings.
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All Nippon Airways' net income slumps
Oct 31 2005 12:17PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - All Nippon Airways Co., Japan's No. 2 carrier, said Monday profit fell 34 percent in its fiscal first half because of higher jet fuel costs.
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Telenor to buy Swedish mobile phone co.
Oct 31 2005 12:14PM (CT)
OSLO, Norway (AP) - Norway's Telenor ASA on Monday said it had agreed to buy Sweden's No. 3 mobile phone provider from Vodafone Group PLC for about 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion).
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Fuji Film reports profit dip in 1st half
Oct 31 2005 11:56AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Fuji Photo Film Ltd., Japan's largest producer of film and photographic paper, reported a 37 percent drop in net profit for the six months of its fiscal year, hit by higher materials prices, research and development expenses and restructuring costs.
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China fair reports fewer garment deals
Oct 31 2005 10:51AM (CT)
SHANGHAI, China (AP) - Garment deals at China's biggest trade fair dropped by about 10 percent from the previous fair, with sales to the United States falling by 44 percent given uncertainties over export quotas, the government reported Monday.
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Index: New York City economy slips in Oct.
Oct 31 2005 10:15AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Business conditions in the New York metro area slipped in October after three straight monthly advances, according to the local chapter of the National Association for Purchasing Management.
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Grower invents cranberry-harvest device
Oct 31 2005 9:37AM (CT)
WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. (AP) - His cranberry fields flooded with 6 inches of water, Dan Brockman drives his new harvesting machine _ romantically named the ruby slipper _ through the vines. Steel, finger-like rods submerged in the chilly waters quietly nudge and shake the plants.
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Hitachi sinks into losses for first half
Oct 31 2005 9:09AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Hitachi Ltd. sank into losses for fiscal half-year through September as plunging electronics prices took their toll on its hard disk drive and consumer digital products businesses.
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CNOOC revenue climbs on high crude prices
Oct 31 2005 8:32AM (CT)
HONG KONG (AP) - CNOOC Ltd., China's largest offshore oil producer, said Monday its revenue in the third quarter rose 31 percent from last year on high crude prices and strong domestic demand.
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Statoil profit up on high crude prices
Oct 31 2005 7:32AM (CT)
OSLO, Norway (AP) - Statoil ASA, the Norwegian state-controlled oil company, announced a record third-quarter profit Monday, with high crude prices and increased production pushing net income up 50 percent from a year earlier.
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ABN Amro 3Q profit beats expectations
Oct 31 2005 6:18AM (CT)
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Dutch banking group ABN Amro Holding NV reported a 35 percent increase in third-quarter earnings Monday, outpacing market expectations, and said the hard-fought acquisition of an Italian bank laid the groundwork for further growth.
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Nippon Steel says quarterly profit higher
Oct 31 2005 6:12AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japan's largest steel maker, Nippon Steel Corp., said Monday its profit jumped 80 percent in the quarter through September, boosted by growing sales and rising prices for steel sheets, used in automobile production.
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Philadelphia transit unions go on strike
Oct 31 2005 4:59AM (CT)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Thousands of city transit workers went on strike just after midnight, leaving nearly half a million commuters in need of alternate transportation Monday.
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Citrus greening a danger to Fla. oranges
Oct 31 2005 3:28AM (CT)
MIAMI (AP) - A tiny, disease-ridden insect lands on a bright green leaf of a healthy grapefruit tree, sucks out some nutrients and flutters away to the next plant.
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Baoshan Iron & Steel says 3Q net profit up
Oct 31 2005 3:24AM (CT)
SHANGHAI, China (AP) - Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., the unit of China's largest steel maker with shares traded in Shanghai, reported that its third-quarter net profit jumped 41 percent from a year earlier as core revenue more than doubled.
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Japan bank may end easy monetary policy
Oct 31 2005 3:22AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japan's central bank said Monday that it may end its easy monetary policy next fiscal year, which begins in April, as price drops abate and the economy continues to rebound.
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Guangdong Kelon reports net loss in 3Q
Oct 31 2005 2:26AM (CT)
HONG KONG (AP) - Guangdong Kelon Electrical Holdings Co. reported a big third-quarter net loss Monday as allegations of wrongdoing by senior executives undermined confidence in the Chinese electrical appliance maker.
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