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Oil, natural gas prices up on cold weather
Dec 8 2005 11:39PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Natural gas prices jumped 9 percent to a new high Thursday and oil prices climbed as cold weather across the U.S. raised jitters about increased demand for home-heating fuels this winter.
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Delta pilots to seek strike authorization
Dec 8 2005 11:36PM (CT)
ATLANTA (AP) - The executive committee of the pilots union at Delta Air Lines Inc. voted unanimously Thursday to ask rank-and-file members to authorize a strike as the airline seeks to impose $325 million in concessions on them.
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Nissan to hire more women for sales force
Dec 8 2005 11:35PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Nissan Motor Co. will double the percentage of females in its Japanese sales force over the next two years because the public "would prefer to have a woman sell them a car," Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said Friday.
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Japanese stocks up; dollar rises vs. yen
Dec 8 2005 11:31PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japanese stocks edged higher Friday morning as the market bounced back from an early loss after the government announced a downward revision of third quarter economic growth figures. The U.S. dollar rose against the yen.
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Striking Korean Air pilots to hold talks
Dec 8 2005 11:29PM (CT)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Pilots striking for higher pay at Korean Air, the world's largest cargo airline, and management will hold their first talks Friday since the two-day long walkout began, the union and company said Friday.
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RIM and NTP resume settlement talks
Dec 8 2005 11:06PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. has resumed settlement talks with NTP Inc. through a mediator, bolstering hopes for a truce in a patent battle that has threatened the popular BlackBerry e-mail service.
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Intel narrows fourth-quarter forecast
Dec 8 2005 10:46PM (CT)
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Intel Corp. narrowed its fourth-quarter sales forecast Thursday but left the midpoint unchanged as the world's largest chip maker said demand has been consistent with its earlier expectations.
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Jurors begin deliberating Vioxx case
Dec 8 2005 8:57PM (CT)
HOUSTON (AP) - Jurors deliberated about two hours Thursday without reaching a verdict in the first trial stemming from a federal lawsuit against Merck & Co. over its once-popular painkiller Vioxx.
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Electronic Arts to acquire game provider
Dec 8 2005 8:25PM (CT)
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Video game giant Electronic Arts Inc. has agreed to acquire mobile game provider Jamdat Mobile Inc. in a deal worth approximately $680 million, the companies said Thursday.
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Calpine reaches agreement with bondholders
Dec 8 2005 7:38PM (CT)
DOVER, Del. (AP) - Calpine Corp. on Thursday withdrew its request for a temporary restraining order after reaching an agreement with bondholders who had threatened to declare the struggling power merchant in default if it did not immediately restore $312 million into an escrow account.
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Continental flight attendants reach deal
Dec 8 2005 7:33PM (CT)
HOUSTON (AP) - After an eight-month holdout, Continental Airlines' flight attendants reached a tentative contract agreement with the carrier Thursday that lets them keep their current pay longer than under pacts with pay concessions that other unions already accepted.
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Japanese economy grows 0.2 percent
Dec 8 2005 7:32PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japan's economy grew 0.2 percent in the July-September quarter, down from the preliminary 0.4 percent estimate, the government said Friday.
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Union supporters picket White House
Dec 8 2005 7:31PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Hundreds of union members picketed the White House Thursday but did not succeed in delivering a petition addressed to President Bush urging him to protect workers' rights and pass labor-friendly legislation.
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Tamiflu maker weighs increased production
Dec 8 2005 7:16PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Roche Holding AG appears to be close to finalizing a deal with 15 drug producers that would dramatically increase the world's supply of Tamiflu in preparation for a possible flu pandemic.
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Treasurys rally amid new supply
Dec 8 2005 6:58PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Treasury bonds moved higher Thursday as investors continued to cover short positions amid a round of new supply and a growing sense that changes in the interest-rate outlook may be near.
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Thursday's Commodities Roundup
Dec 8 2005 6:54PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Gold prices climbed again Thursday on fund buying and speculation to a fresh 24-year high. The other precious metals followed.
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Money funds rose in latest week
Dec 8 2005 6:50PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Assets of the nation's retail money market mutual funds rose by $5.29 billion in the latest week to $832.02 billion, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday.
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Verizon returns to lower Manhattan HQ
Dec 8 2005 6:46PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Verizon, New York City's leading telephone company, returned to its historic lower Manhattan headquarters near ground zero on Thursday _ four years after being forced out by the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
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Chevron plans to increase capital spending
Dec 8 2005 6:27PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Chevron Corp. said Thursday that it will increase its capital spending by 35 percent next year, with most of the $14.8 billion budget earmarked for projects aimed at boosting the future supply of oil and gas _ an effort that could help reverse recent trends that have driven up energy prices dramatically.
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Burger King franchisee leaders resign
Dec 8 2005 6:12PM (CT)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Top leaders of Burger King Corp.'s U.S. franchisee association have resigned, weeks after the company's management refused to deal with them, alleging they represented "knee-jerk opposition" to brand-building efforts.
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Costco's first-quarter profit grows
Dec 8 2005 5:34PM (CT)
SEATTLE (AP) - Costco Wholesale Corp. said Thursday that its fiscal first-quarter profit grew 12 percent, helped by growth at its warehouse clubs open at least one year.
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Best Buy accused of discrimination
Dec 8 2005 5:32PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Six former and current employees of Best Buy Co. Inc. sued the electronics retailer Thursday, alleging the company has purposefully excluded women and minorities from top-paying jobs as part of a sales culture catering to white men.
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Marsh CFO resigns from grocery chain
Dec 8 2005 5:09PM (CT)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Marsh Supermarkets Inc. said Thursday its chief financial officer had resigned following disagreements with other executives about the grocery chain's operations.
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American Greetings cuts 3Q estimate
Dec 8 2005 5:05PM (CT)
CLEVELAND (AP) - American Greetings Corp. slashed its third quarter earnings outlook on Thursday, blaming disappointing Christmas shipments of domestic promotional gift wrap and weakness in its operations in the United Kingdom. The stock fell more than 11 percent.
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McDonald's monthly comparable sales rise
Dec 8 2005 4:59PM (CT)
OAK BROOK, Ill. (AP) - McDonald's Corp. said Thursday that worldwide sales from its restaurants open more than a year rose 4 percent in November despite flat results in Europe, boosted by strong breakfast sales and later hours in its U.S. outlets.
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New 3M boss looking for acquisitions
Dec 8 2005 4:56PM (CT)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The new chairman and CEO at 3M Co. said he'll be looking for acquisitions and ways to speed the inventions of 3M scientists to market.
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Virgin America gets certification finances
Dec 8 2005 4:51PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Virgin brand's new U.S.-based low-fare airline on Thursday submitted an application for federal certification after lining up $177.3 million in financing that was led by a group of American investors who will assume majority ownership of the carrier.
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Qualcomm current quarter view rises
Dec 8 2005 4:47PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Qualcomm Inc. raised its earnings forecast for the current quarter based on robust sales of chips for third-generation cell phones.
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Boston Scientific recalls balloon devices
Dec 8 2005 4:44PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Boston Scientific Corp. said Thursday it is recalling 40,000 devices used to treat blocked coronary arteries, saying it has received eight complaints that the end of the device became detached as it was removed from the patient, requiring more surgery in three cases.
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Westwood One CEO Coppola abruptly quits
Dec 8 2005 4:41PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The CEO of Westwood One Inc., a major producer of radio porgramming, resigned abruptly on Thursday and the company said its fourth-quarter results would come in well below previous forecasts.
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Toll Bros. reports profit, cautious outlook
Dec 8 2005 4:40PM (CT)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Toll Brothers Inc., a leading builder of luxury homes, said Thursday its fourth-quarter profit rose a record 72 percent, but cautioned that next year's profits could fall short of Wall Street's expectations as the housing market slows down.
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Crossover vehicles set to eclipse SUVs
Dec 8 2005 4:34PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - Sales of car-based crossover utility vehicles like the Ford Escape and Honda CR-V will surpass sales of traditional SUVs in 2006 in a trend that has been accelerated by high gas prices, Ford Motor Co.'s top sales analyst said Thursday.
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Oil prices send stocks down; Dow loses 63
Dec 8 2005 3:30PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks extended their losses Thursday after a cautious outlook from Toll Brothers Inc. and a surge in energy prices spooked investors into a second day of selling.
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Macquarie says it has approached LSE board
Dec 8 2005 3:24PM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - Macquarie Bank Ltd., Australia's largest investment bank, said Thursday that it had approached the board of the London Stock Exchange seeking talks about a possible offer, and could be prepared to bid about 1.48 billion pounds ($2.58 billion) cash for Europe's biggest exchange.
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Southwest pilots agree to fly more
Dec 8 2005 3:13PM (CT)
DALLAS (AP) - Pilots at Southwest Airlines Co. have agreed to fly more hours each month in a deal designed to save the company about $4 million a year because it won't have to hire as many new pilots.
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2 groups expected to bid for Dunkin' Donuts
Dec 8 2005 3:08PM (CT)
BOSTON (AP) - Two groups of private-equity firms plan to submit bids Thursday to buy Dunkin' Donuts, the nation's biggest coffee-and-doughnut chain, from the French company that acquired it as part of a bigger deal last summer, two people familiar with the groups' plans said.
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Elite ski resorts tout higher prices
Dec 8 2005 2:44PM (CT)
DENVER (AP) - Businesses usually don't trumpet having the highest price around, but in the ski business it's become something to brag about.
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Affidavits of witness against Lay unsealed
Dec 8 2005 2:12PM (CT)
HOUSTON (AP) - Affidavits in which former Enron Corp. finance chief Andrew Fastow claimed he could have exonerated his wife of tax crime charges could help Enron founder Kenneth Lay in his claim that Fastow was prepared to lie in court, Lay's lawyer said Thursday.
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Boeing stock reaches five-year high
Dec 8 2005 2:09PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - Boeing Co.'s stock price topped $70 a share for the first time in five years Thursday and neared its all-time high amid continuing momentum in its military contracting and commercial aircraft businesses.
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Wal-Mart runs ads after publishers complain
Dec 8 2005 2:08PM (CT)
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. placed full-page advertisements in 336 Midwestern newspapers after publishers nationally complained they are ignored by the world's largest retailer. The move comes at a time when the company is trying to address accusations it treats workers poorly and drives local shops out of businesses.
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Erroneous trade to cost Mizuho Securities
Dec 8 2005 2:06PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japanese financial-services firm Mizuho Securities Co. said Thursday it erroneously placed sell orders because of a simple data-input mistake, costing the company at least 27 billion yen ($225 million), officials and news reports said.
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Poll: Nearly 1 out of 6 workers claim bias
Dec 8 2005 1:28PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Nearly one out of every six U.S. employees say they were discriminated at work in the last year, with women more than twice as likely as men to claim bias over hiring and pay, according to a new poll.
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KarstadtQuelle plans to eliminate debts
Dec 8 2005 1:10PM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - German retailer KarstadtQuelle said Thursday it plans to eliminate its debts in 2006 through more asset sales, and has secured another $352 million in financing for its corporate turnaround effort.
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Bayer ups forecast peak sales for Nexavar
Dec 8 2005 12:51PM (CT)
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - Bayer AG Thursday raised the peak sales expectation for its key Nexavar cancer drug to more than $1.2 billion, an important step for the company's troubled pharmaceuticals business.
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Putin: Ukraine can afford to pay gas price
Dec 8 2005 12:48PM (CT)
NOVO-OGARYOVO, Russia (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin struck a hard line Thursday in a dispute with neighboring Ukraine over natural gas supplies, saying that the former Soviet republic can afford to pay the market price for Russian gas.
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Trump plans hotel for Israeli coastal city
Dec 8 2005 12:15PM (CT)
JERUSALEM (AP) - The mayor of the Israeli coastal city of Netanya, which was hit by a suicide bombing this week, said Thursday that billionaire Donald Trump is planning to help build a huge beachfront hotel complex there.
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IMF aims to let poor nations wipe out debt
Dec 8 2005 12:05PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The International Monetary Fund aims to let poor countries wipe out their debts starting next year, according to details of the program announced Thursday.
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Voyager Pharmaceutical cuts IPO price
Dec 8 2005 11:47AM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Underwriters for Voyager Pharmaceutical Corp. on Thursday cut the estimated, per-share price range for the company's pending initial public offering by $4 to $11 to $15, according to an amended filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Nymex holder sues to investigate deal
Dec 8 2005 11:46AM (CT)
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - New York Mercantile Exchange stock shareholder Cataldo Capozza sued the commodity exchange Wednesday, saying it has refused to turn over documents for a probe of its equity sale to General Atlantic Partners LLC .
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Aeterna to buy HVL for for $92 million
Dec 8 2005 11:44AM (CT)
QUEBEC CITY, Quebec (AP) - Aeterna Zentaris Inc., a Canadian drug maker, Thursday said it agreed to acquire HVL Inc., a closely held maker of health and nutritional products, for 107 million Canadian dollars, or $92 million.
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BT signs up BBC, Warner Music for service
Dec 8 2005 11:15AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - BT Group PLC signed up the British Broadcasting Corp., Warner Music Group Corp. and the Paramount film studio Thursday to spearhead the telephone company's entry into the television market next year.
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VCs, Epinions workers settle legal dispute
Dec 8 2005 10:52AM (CT)
PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) - Fifty-one former employees of the startup Epinions Inc. settled their legal dispute with three prominent venture-capital firms and eBay Inc. in a case that could serve as a warning to the venture community.
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Blood-clot victims lose appeal in case
Dec 8 2005 10:34AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - Britain's highest court of appeal, the House of Lords, on Thursday ruled against airline passengers who suffered potentially fatal blood clots linked to air travel, rejecting their efforts to sue the airlines for compensation.
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Russian electricity utility reform eyed
Dec 8 2005 10:11AM (CT)
MOSCOW (AP) - Russian Industry Minister Viktor Khristenko said Thursday that Russia's long-awaited electricity utility reform would not be completed until the end of 2008, Russian news agencies reported.
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Branson expects sweeter NTL takeover offer
Dec 8 2005 8:53AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - Richard Branson's Virgin Mobile Holdings PLC has rejected a takeover bid valued at more than $1.4 billion from cable TV operator NTL Inc., but Branson said Thursday he is confident that NTL will come up with an acceptable offer.
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EU likely won't make further farm offer
Dec 8 2005 8:38AM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - European Union chief Peter Mandelson said Thursday he would lose the support of national governments if he were to make a new farm trade offer at World Trade Organization talks next week since not enough other topics are under discussion.
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S&P raises outlook on 5 Japanese banks
Dec 8 2005 8:19AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its credit outlook on Thursday for five major Japanese banks, citing improved balance sheets, bolstered capitalization and the prospect for continued dividends.
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Japan's Pioneer Corp. expects deeper loss
Dec 8 2005 7:59AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Struggling Japanese electronics maker Pioneer Corp. said Thursday it now expects to lose 87 billion yen ($722 million) in the fiscal year through March, more than triple its previous estimate.
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German industrial production rises in Oct.
Dec 8 2005 7:24AM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - German industrial production rose a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent in October over the previous month, marking a strong start to the final quarter of the year for Europe's biggest economy and beating forecasts.
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Hong Kong trade chief warns on WTO summit
Dec 8 2005 6:27AM (CT)
HONG KONG (AP) - Hong Kong's trade chief said Thursday that if the World Trade Organization's summit fails here next week, it could destroy the trade body's credibility.
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Report: Free trade threatens small farmers
Dec 8 2005 5:58AM (CT)
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Lifting trade barriers is threatening the livelihoods of small-scale farmers and fisherman and contributing to desertification in Africa, the environmental group Friends of the Earth said in a report released Thursday.
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Malaysia: WTO can approve global treaty
Dec 8 2005 4:13AM (CT)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Malaysia's trade minister said Thursday that WTO countries shouldn't worry too much about ending a deadlock in farm trade talks at their summit next week.
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Intel to spend $230M on Malaysian plant
Dec 8 2005 4:05AM (CT)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Intel Corp., the world's largest computer-chip maker, will spend $230 million to expand one of its two manufacturing plants in Malaysia, Intel Chairman Craig Barrett said Thursday.
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GM, Kerkorian hold talks about board seat
Dec 8 2005 2:58AM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - General Motors Corp. said Wednesday it is in talks with billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian about giving his company representation on GM's board of directors.
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Bank of Korea raises key interest rate
Dec 8 2005 1:10AM (CT)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - In a suprise move, the Bank of Korea raised its key interest rate Thursday for the second time in three months, underscoring the central bank's confidence in the pace of South Korea's economic recovery.
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Bank of Japan may tighten monetary policy
Dec 8 2005 12:59AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Chances are increasing that the Bank of Japan will tighten its monetary policy toward the early part of next year, the central bank's governor said Thursday, amid speculation about a change following signs of economic recovery.
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J&J may try to acquire another company
Dec 8 2005 12:53AM (CT)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Johnson & Johnson, already the leader or second in markets for most of its medicines, consumer products and medical devices, showed it also wants to be a top provider of pacemakers and implantable defibrillators when it made a play a year ago for Guidant Corp.
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Ex-Hollinger executive pleads not guilty
Dec 8 2005 12:52AM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - A third former associate of dethroned media mogul Conrad Black pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that he participated in a fraudulent scheme to siphon millions of dollars from the sale of hundreds of Canadian newspapers.
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Newspapers predict modest growth in 2006
Dec 8 2005 12:44AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Newspaper publishers predicted modest growth for next year at a pair of investor conferences Wednesday, as rising costs and a volatile advertising environment continue to cloud their prospects.
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Delta pilots may consider vote to strike
Dec 8 2005 12:43AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Delta Air Lines Inc. pilots may consider a vote to strike if the bankrupt airline's managers impose changes on their contract, a pilots union spokesman said Wednesday.
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Ford board to consider restructuring plan
Dec 8 2005 12:41AM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - Ford Motor Co.'s board of directors began a two-day meeting Wednesday to consider a sweeping restructuring plan the company hopes will help pull it out of a slump. Thousands of jobs are on the line and several plants may shut down to help the nation's No. 2 automaker overcome rising costs and the loss of market share to foreign rivals.
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Cavco shines in mobile-home market
Dec 8 2005 12:23AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Profits in the manufactured-housing sector have been slim for years _ but one small player, Cavco Industries Inc., is growing on a scale that is almost palatial.
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