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Honda expects global sales in 2005 are up
Dec 19 2005 11:56PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Honda Motor Co. expects its global sales in 2005 will have risen 5 percent from a year earlier to 3.35 million vehicles, a top executive at the Japanese automaker said Tuesday.
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Alaska files suit against BP, Exxon Mobil
Dec 19 2005 11:52PM (CT)
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - An antitrust lawsuit filed Monday against Exxon Mobil Corp. and BP PLC claims the two oil giants are restricting the nation's supply of natural gas and keeping prices at record highs.
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China sharply increases size of economy
Dec 19 2005 10:59PM (CT)
BEIJING (AP) - China's government sharply increased the official size of its economy in a report Tuesday that said output grew by 16.8 percent last year _ nearly twice the figure reported earlier.
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Lipitor patent win boosts Pfizer shares
Dec 19 2005 10:56PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A patent victory on its biggest selling drug Lipitor boosted Pfizer Inc.'s shares nearly 8 percent Monday as a major uncertainty was eliminated, even though other significant challenges remain.
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Icahn doubts Google best partner for AOL
Dec 19 2005 10:38PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Hedge-fund investor Carl Icahn told Time Warner Inc.'s board that he doubts whether Google Inc. is the best partner "to unlock the value" of America Online.
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Dozens of ex-workers sue Boeing
Dec 19 2005 10:24PM (CT)
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Dozens of former Boeing Co. employees filed a federal lawsuit Monday against the aerospace giant and the buyers of its commercial aircraft operations in Kansas and Oklahoma, alleging age discrimination.
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Japanese stocks rise; Dollar higher
Dec 19 2005 10:12PM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - Japanese stocks climbed Tuesday morning, as hopes that the country would soon see an end to deflation spurred buying of real estate developers, retailers and banks. The dollar was higher against the yen and euro.
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Jury awards $7.8M in teachers' fraud suit
Dec 19 2005 9:53PM (CT)
CINCINNATI (AP) - An Ohio jury awarded $7.8 million Monday in a lawsuit filed by the State Teachers Retirement System accusing its pharmacy benefits manager of fraud.
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Sovereign investor asks SEC to block deal
Dec 19 2005 9:28PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Sovereign Bancorp Inc.'s largest shareholder asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to block the company's three-way transaction, arguing that the New York Stock Exchange violated its own rules by letting the deal go through without a shareholder vote.
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FTC needs more time on rocket venture
Dec 19 2005 9:27PM (CT)
BETHESDA, Md. (AP) - A Lockheed Martin Corp. spokesman said Monday the company doesn't expect federal regulators to complete their review of a joint rocket launch venture with Boeing Co. by the end of year.
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Mexican oil monopoly mulls 7th refinery
Dec 19 2005 8:48PM (CT)
MEXICO CITY (AP) - The head of Mexican state oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said Monday the company is contemplating building a seventh refinery in Mexico.
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Creditors reject proposed Varig takeover
Dec 19 2005 8:17PM (CT)
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) - Creditors of Brazil's embattled airline Varig on Monday rejected the company's sale to a conglomerate run by the owner of two major local newspapers, an airline spokesman said.
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Judge allows Delta to enter new hedges
Dec 19 2005 8:16PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A bankruptcy court judge on Monday allowed Delta Air Lines Inc. to enter new agreements, or hedges, to protect against sharp spikes in fuel prices and approved the rejection of a lease for a hangar at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
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FPL Group to buy Constellation Energy
Dec 19 2005 7:28PM (CT)
BALTIMORE (AP) - FPL Group Inc.'s purchase of Constellation Energy Group Inc. in an $11 billion stock deal announced Monday creates one of the nation's biggest energy companies and gives Constellation additional power to sell through its growing energy trading business.
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Federal Reserve Board fines ABN AMRO Bank
Dec 19 2005 7:13PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Reserve Board ordered ABN AMRO Bank NV to pay roughly $80 million in fines Monday for conducting financial transactions with Iran and Libya that violated U.S. money-laundering laws.
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Sentencing of former Gemstar CEO delayed
Dec 19 2005 6:48PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The sentencing of Gemstar-TV Guide's former chief executive, accused in a $248 million fraud case, was delayed Monday after a judge said he would reject the penalty sought in a plea deal because it was too lenient.
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U.S. retailers set to boost discounting
Dec 19 2005 6:38PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The nation's retailers are expected to increase discounting in the final days before Christmas after a late-buying binge this past weekend in the stores turned out strong, but not as frenetic as needed.
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Interest rates rise in Treasury auction
Dec 19 2005 6:33PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction with the rate on six-month bills climbing to the highest level since March 2001.
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Howard Stern ex-accountant pleads guilty
Dec 19 2005 6:14PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The former president of an accounting firm used by Howard Stern pleaded guilty Monday to charges of insider trading in shares of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. before the announcement of the shock jock's move to the network.
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Access Integrated shares advance on deal
Dec 19 2005 6:06PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Shares of Access Integrated Technologies Inc. surged Monday after the company said its Christie/AIX unit inked a contract with Carmike Cinemas Inc., the third-largest national movie theater chain, to install up to 2,300 digital movie projection systems.
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Circuit City reports 3Q profit of $10.1M
Dec 19 2005 6:04PM (CT)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Circuit City Stores Inc. surprised Wall Street by reporting another larger-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday _ perhaps signaling that a long-awaited turnaround at the nation's second biggest chain of consumer electronics stores has taken hold.
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Buy.com delays initial public offering
Dec 19 2005 6:01PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Buy.com Inc. has delayed its initial public offering, and underwriters for the online technology and entertainment goods retailer have not set another date for the event, Thomas Weisel Partners LLC said Monday.
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Reynolds American buys back brand rights
Dec 19 2005 5:56PM (CT)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - Reynolds American Inc. has bought back rights to sell some of its top brands, including Camel and Winston, in U.S. duty-free shops and overseas military outlets, the company said Monday.
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Ford ratings downgraded to junk status
Dec 19 2005 5:52PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - Fitch Ratings cut Ford Motor Co.'s senior unsecured debt and issuer default ratings to junk status Monday because of U.S. market share losses and concerns about the company's reliance on slow-selling sport utility vehicles.
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Pimco exec sees slowdown in spending
Dec 19 2005 5:47PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A sharp decline in new and existing U.S. home sales in 2006 will force "a serious slowdown" in consumer spending that will reverberate throughout the global economy, Pimco's managing director said Monday.
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Ruff to take over as Duke Power president
Dec 19 2005 5:43PM (CT)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Ellen Ruff will take over as president of Duke Power Co. after the utility's parent firm, Duke Energy Corp., completes its $9 billion merger with Cinergy Corp., the companies said Monday.
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Treasurys little changed in quiet trade
Dec 19 2005 5:36PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. Treasury prices were confined to narrow ranges Monday in the absence of meaningful data, with many investors sitting on the sidelines.
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N.Y. gas stations fined for price gouging
Dec 19 2005 5:35PM (CT)
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Fifteen gas stations statewide, including three controlled by oil companies, have been fined $63,500 for marking up profits 25 percent or more after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said Monday.
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Delphi withdraws wage proposal for unions
Dec 19 2005 5:32PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - Auto supplier Delphi Corp., which filed for bankruptcy two months ago, said Monday it is withdrawing a wage proposal that angered its unions and will delay action to cancel its union contracts in an effort to reach a compromise on its restructuring plan.
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Auto sales slow in Dec. despite discounts
Dec 19 2005 5:26PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - Auto sales got off to a slow start in December, and early numbers indicate U.S. automakers continued to lose market share to Asian rivals despite holiday discounts, auto analysts said Monday.
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Monday's commodities roundup
Dec 19 2005 5:10PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Crude-oil futures fell for the fourth straight session Monday, as U.S. temperatures moderated and forecasters called for warmer weather into early January.
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SEC drops charges against ex-TenFold CEO
Dec 19 2005 5:03PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped charges against the former chief executive of TenFold Corp., his attorneys said.
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Oil prices fall on warmer weather in U.S.
Dec 19 2005 4:59PM (CT)
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Oil futures prices fell Monday in response to some warmer weather in the United States that would presumably lower demand for home-heating fuel.
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UnitedHealth-PacifiCare merger gets OK
Dec 19 2005 4:57PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, whose lone opposition held up a gigantic health care merger last year, on Monday approved the proposed $9.2 billion union of UnitedHealth Group Inc. and PacifiCare Health Systems Inc.
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Cablevision to cancel $3 billion dividend
Dec 19 2005 4:40PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Cablevision Systems Corp., a Long Island-based cable TV provider, on Monday said it would cancel a special $3 billion dividend after finding that it had violated the terms of its bank borrowing agreement. The company also said it would cancel a $1 billion bond offering.
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Storms said likely spread canker in Fla.
Dec 19 2005 4:25PM (CT)
LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) - This year's hurricanes may have spread the dreaded citrus canker to as much as a quarter of Florida's commercial citrus groves, federal agriculture officials said Monday.
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Hershey seeks injunction over book cover
Dec 19 2005 4:19PM (CT)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The distinctive chocolate bar on the dust jacket of a new book about the founder of The Hershey Co. violates its trademark, the candy maker said in a federal lawsuit.
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Group cites lax Brazil deforestation laws
Dec 19 2005 4:14PM (CT)
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) - Environmental activists parked a truckload of illegally cut Amazon hardwood in front of a police station in Brazil's largest city on Monday to demonstrate how easy it is to skirt the law.
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Stereotaxis shares rise 24 percent
Dec 19 2005 3:48PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Stereotaxis Inc. stock rose Monday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a Johnson & Johnson Co. catheter system that integrates Stereotaxis' magnetic navigation system.
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Par Pharma stock down on drug competition
Dec 19 2005 3:47PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Par Pharmaceuticals Cos. Inc. stock fell Monday after Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Ltd. announced the Food and Drug Administration approved its application to market a generic version of Ultracet, which will compete directly with Par's already approved version.
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Tektronix rises on Banc of America upgrade
Dec 19 2005 2:04PM (CT)
LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) - Tektronix Inc. stock rose Monday after a Banc of America analyst upgraded his ratings on the company to "buy" from "neutral."
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Exxon fights oil field contract changes
Dec 19 2005 2:01PM (CT)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Exxon Mobil Corp. is the only foreign company resisting a contract change with the Venezuelan government, Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Monday, adding that the dispute could hurt Exxon's future investments in the country.
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Italian central bank chief Fazio resigns
Dec 19 2005 1:15PM (CT)
ROME (AP) - Italy's central bank chief, Antonio Fazio, who is under criminal investigation, handed in his resignation Monday _ pre-empting government efforts to get him out of office.
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BSkyB hits target of 8 million subcribers
Dec 19 2005 1:02PM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - Satellite TV operator British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC said Monday it has more than 8 million subscribers, surpassing a milestone it planned to reach by the end of the year.
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IDT Spectrum postpones its IPO
Dec 19 2005 11:32AM (CT)
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - IDT Spectrum Inc. said Monday it has withdrawn a planned initial public offering of its Class B common stock, citing market conditions and its ability to finance the current stage of its development without tapping public-equity markets.
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Group forecasts German economic growth
Dec 19 2005 10:49AM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - The German economy will grow by 1.7 percent next year, nearly double this year's level, as the country keeps up its strong export performance, a leading economic research group said Monday.
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Cartel office extends review of takeover
Dec 19 2005 10:37AM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - Germany's cartel authority said Monday it is extending by several weeks its review of publisher Axel Springer AG's proposed 3.5 billion euros ($4.2 billion) takeover of broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG.
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Elkem agrees to sell West Virgia plants
Dec 19 2005 10:36AM (CT)
OSLO, Norway (AP) - Elkem ASA announced a $130 million deal Monday to sell a U.S. silicon plant and an option to sell an associated hydroelectric plant as part of a restructuring of its silicon metals operations.
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Japanese gov't remains upbeat on economy
Dec 19 2005 10:04AM (CT)
TOKYO (AP) - The Japanese government remained upbeat about the economy in its latest monthly report Monday, upgrading its view of industrial production, citing a steady manufacturing expansion and a sunny outlook for output.
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Cartel office extends review of takeover
Dec 19 2005 9:52AM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - Germany's cartel authority said Monday it is extending by several weeks its review of publisher Axel Springer AG's proposed 3.5 billion euros ($4.2 billion) takeover of broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG.
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Malls Full but Sales Not Spectacular
Dec 19 2005 9:49AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Retailers remained anxious Sunday, after the last full weekend of shopping before Christmas appeared robust but not spectacular, despite generous bargains for many goods.
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Chinese cos., World Bank deal sign deal
Dec 19 2005 9:44AM (CT)
BEIJING (AP) - A World Bank fund signed deals Monday to buy pollution credits from two Chinese chemical companies for $930 million under a plan that lets richer countries meet commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions by paying for reductions in poorer economies.
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Ranbaxy shares drop on losing patent case
Dec 19 2005 8:49AM (CT)
BOMBAY, India (AP) - Shares of Indian pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. plunged Monday after a U.S. court ruled against it for infringement on Pfizer Inc.'s patents of cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor.
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Government leaders praise farm deal
Dec 19 2005 8:11AM (CT)
HONG KONG (AP) - Government leaders on Monday praised a WTO trade agreement to end farm export subsidies but said much work remains to reach a broader, binding global trade treaty by late 2006.
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Report: Constellation board approves bid
Dec 19 2005 6:18AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - The boards of Florida utility FPL Group Inc. and Constellation Energy Group Inc. have approved a deal in which FPL would acquire the power plant operator for about $11 billion, according to a newspaper report.
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Tax provision blamed for high land prices
Dec 19 2005 5:07AM (CT)
ST. LOUIS (AP) - After working on a northern Illinois farm that's been in his family for 151 years, Rob Sharkey itched to break out on his own. That is, until land prices ballooned.
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