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Gap pays $10M to replace exec stock options
Dec 23 2005 8:38PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Slumping retailer Gap Inc. will pay Chief Executive Paul Pressler and four other executives up to $10.1 million so they won't have to keep stock options that threatened to raise their tax bills more than they anticipated.
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Google's AOL investment may lead to '08 IPO
Dec 23 2005 8:35PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Google Inc.'s $1 billion investment in America Online could lead to an IPO in 2008, giving the online search engine leader and AOL parent Time Warner Inc. an opportunity to capitalize on an Internet advertising boom that they hope to fuel through their partnership.
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Stores depending on last-minute shoppers
Dec 23 2005 8:33PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Retailers can blame the calendar. They can blame the weather. They can even try to blame New York City's transit strike. But in the end the 2005 shopping season may just be another case of merchants not giving shoppers what they really want _ must-have items at reasonable prices.
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Delta wants to close 16 gates at Orlando
Dec 23 2005 7:57PM (CT)
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Delta Air Lines Inc. has told a bankruptcy judge that the airline wants to close two-thirds of its gates at Orlando International Airport, the state's busiest.
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Guidant Corp. revises revenue estimates
Dec 23 2005 7:29PM (CT)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Medical device maker Guidant Corp. announced Friday that it adjusted fourth-quarter revenue estimates to well below Wall Street expectations as it tries to regain consumer confidence after months of product recalls and safety warnings.
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Stocks barely budge in light trading
Dec 23 2005 7:16PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks barely moved Friday, even though durable goods orders jumped by the largest amount in six months.
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NBC acquires majority stake in MSNBC
Dec 23 2005 6:15PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - NBC is acquiring a majority stake in MSNBC from Microsoft Corp., giving NBC greater control over the struggling all-news cable channel and further scaling back the software giant's media ambitions.
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Tyco to take charge of up to $300 million
Dec 23 2005 6:09PM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Tyco International Inc. on Friday said it will take a charge of $250 million to $300 million, before taxes, for its sale of its plastics, adhesives and Ludlow coated products businesses.
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American Express settles suit for $75M
Dec 23 2005 6:08PM (CT)
MIAMI (AP) - A $75 million settlement has been approved between American Express Co. and thousands of cardholders who contended in a class-action lawsuit that they paid hidden transaction fees for charges made in foreign currencies.
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Friday's commodities roundup
Dec 23 2005 6:05PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Gold pushed off session lows to settle slightly higher Friday at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Sugar hit another 11-year high.
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Tommy Hilfiger accepts $1.6B Apax bid
Dec 23 2005 5:59PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Four months after it put itself up for sale, clothing company Tommy Hilfiger Corp. agreed to accept a $1.6 billion, or $16.80 a share, cash bid from Apax Partners, a private investment company.
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U.S. Treasury prices close out strong
Dec 23 2005 5:19PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. Treasury prices closed out on a strong note Friday, as investors placed funds in the safety of government securities ahead of the long holiday weekend and further compressed the difference between yields.
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Albertson's shares drop on nixed plans
Dec 23 2005 5:10PM (CT)
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Shares of Albertson's Inc. plunged Friday after the supermarket chain said it is no longer considering a sale of the entire company.
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Brazil predicts economy to grow 5 percent
Dec 23 2005 5:08PM (CT)
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) - Brazil's economy should grow by close to 5 percent in 2006, thanks to falling interest rates and an improved investment environment, Finance Minister Antonio Palocci predicted Friday.
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Calpine pact loss may cost Great Plains
Dec 23 2005 5:07PM (CT)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Great Plains Energy Inc., the parent company of Kansas City Power & Light Co., said Friday the pending bankruptcy of Calpine Corp. could reduce next year's earnings by up to $4 million.
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Starbucks betting on drive-thru coffee
Dec 23 2005 4:59PM (CT)
SEATTLE (AP) - Leaning out the window of her SUV, Tami Cornwell orders the same drink she gets almost every day: "Double-tall, four-pump vanilla caramel Macchiato."
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Goody's agrees to settle with shareholders
Dec 23 2005 4:56PM (CT)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Goody's Family Clothing Inc. on Friday announced a $700,000 settlement agreement with a shareholder group, allowing the company's acquisition to proceed at the previously agreed price.
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Boeing may be on track to beat order record
Dec 23 2005 4:53PM (CT)
SEATTLE (AP) - Boeing Co. has booked 870 net jetliner orders so far this year, which the company said may put it on track to beat a record set in 1988.
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ShopKo shareholders approve $877M sale
Dec 23 2005 4:51PM (CT)
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - Shareholders of ShopKo Stores Inc. approved the sale of the discount retail chain to Sun Capital Partners Inc. on Friday in a deal valued at $877 million.
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United Airlines bids to buy FLYi assets
Dec 23 2005 4:38PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - United Airlines Inc. submitted a bid to buy an unspecified chunk of the assets of FLYi Inc., a former United regional carrier whose attempt to reinvent itself as discount airline Independence Air ended in failure last month.
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GM expands recall of SUVs to more states
Dec 23 2005 4:31PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - General Motors Corp. is expanding a recall of sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks with possible antilock brake corrosion to include another 553,000 vehicles in six states and the District of Columbia.
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Sovereign files lawsuit to block board vote
Dec 23 2005 4:28PM (CT)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Sovereign Bancorp Inc. filed a federal lawsuit Friday seeking to block the company's largest shareholder from ousting its board of directors.
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26 state AGs worry about vehicle roof plan
Dec 23 2005 4:14PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Twenty-six state attorneys general, concerned about a federal proposal to strengthen the roofs of motor vehicles, urged the government Friday to abandon language that could prevent people from suing automakers.
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Dollar up against euro after new figures
Dec 23 2005 4:12PM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - The dollar rose against the euro Friday as new figures showed strong growth in orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods.
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Company says FDA to approve ADHD skin patch
Dec 23 2005 3:57PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The FDA told the manufacturer of the first skin patch to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children that the agency would approve the product if certain conditions are met, the company said Friday.
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Italian gov't wins approval for bank reform
Dec 23 2005 2:54PM (CT)
ROME (AP) - Italy's government won final parliamentary approval Friday for legislation that reforms the Bank of Italy and strives to protect savers from financial fraud _ a long-awaited bill that gained new urgency after this week's resignation of central banker Antonio Fazio.
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Federal mediator calls recess in UPS talks
Dec 23 2005 2:38PM (CT)
ATLANTA (AP) - The federal mediator overseeing negotiations between UPS Inc. and its pilots union on Friday called for an indefinite recess in contract talks.
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India builds database to stop theft of lore
Dec 23 2005 2:31PM (CT)
NEW DELHI (AP) - For thousands of years Indian villagers have used an extract from seeds of the neem tree as an insecticide. So when a U.S. company patented a process for producing the substance in 1994, India reacted with outrage.
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IMF approves $685 million loan for Iraq
Dec 23 2005 2:13PM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The International Monetary Fund on Friday approved a new $685 million loan for Iraq, giving the country a critical endorsement of its economic performance.
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Kinross Gold to restate 2003, 2004 results
Dec 23 2005 1:56PM (CT)
TORONTO (AP) - Kinross Gold Corp. said Friday it will restate its financial results for 2003 and 2004, leading it to record wider losses for those periods because of accounting errors.
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Wal-Mart: ex-exec should have confessed
Dec 23 2005 1:41PM (CT)
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) - Wal-Mart argued in a court filing Thursday that former executive Tom Coughlin had a legal responsibility to tell the company that he had embezzled money.
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Wal-Mart plans to appeal $172M judgment
Dec 23 2005 1:26PM (CT)
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to appeal a $172 million judgment awarded to thousands of employees who claimed they were illegally denied lunch breaks.
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Banks seek share of remittance business
Dec 23 2005 1:14PM (CT)
MIAMI (AP) - U.S. banks have raced to join the remittance industry in recent years, seeking a share of the billions of dollars immigrants send to their native countries, especially around the holiday season.
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Europeans can relate to transit strikes
Dec 23 2005 1:12PM (CT)
PARIS (AP) - Paris restaurant cashier Micheline Lalande casts a knowing glance and chuckles about New Yorkers' complaints over a three-day transit strike that ended Friday.
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Arcelor sweetens its offer for Dofasco
Dec 23 2005 1:01PM (CT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Steel producer Arcelor SA raised its hostile bid to acquire Dofasco Inc. on Friday to about $4.2 billion, sweetening the offer in an attempt to outbid Germany's ThyssenKrupp AG for Canada's biggest steelmaker.
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Level 3 completes acquisition of WilTel
Dec 23 2005 12:12PM (CT)
BROOMFIELD, Colo. (AP) - Network operator Level 3 Communications Inc. said Friday it has completed a $696.5 million cash-and-stock deal to acquire WilTel Telecommunications Group.
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Affiliated Computer stock rises on report
Dec 23 2005 11:43AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Shares of Affiliated Computer Services Inc. rose Friday after a newspaper reported that a consortium of private-equity firms are in talks to buy the information-technology outsourcing company for $62 a share, or about $8 billion.
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Iraq faces obstacles to oil investment
Dec 23 2005 11:35AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - To entice foreign companies to develop Iraq's oil sector, the nation's next government will not only have to tackle violence that has scared away investors, it will also have to determine who controls the country's lucrative oil fields.
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Money funds rose in latest week
Dec 23 2005 11:22AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Assets of the nation's retail money market mutual funds rose by $5.71 billion in the latest week to $837.68 billion, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday.
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Workers need to keep eye on pension papers
Dec 23 2005 11:09AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - At a time of great uncertainty about pensions, it's not always easy for workers to keep tabs on their own retirement plans. But keeping an eye on paperwork and asking questions can help.
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Abgenix holders file suit over Amgen deal
Dec 23 2005 10:35AM (CT)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Abgenix Inc. on Friday said it has been hit by a lawsuit from shareholders who consider the biopharmaceutical company's agreement to be acquired by larger rival Amgen Inc. "inadequate."
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Bajak named AP's 1st chief of Andean news
Dec 23 2005 10:26AM (CT)
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Frank Bajak, the New York-based technology editor for The Associated Press, has been named to the new post of chief of Andean news.
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Comcast to offer family-friendly package
Dec 23 2005 9:50AM (CT)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Comcast Corp. will launch a package of family-friendly cable channels early next year that will feature primarily G-rated content as well as religious and Hispanic programming.
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Court bars extradition of ex-Yukos exec
Dec 23 2005 9:45AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - A British judge ruled Friday that a former executive of Russian oil producer OAO Yukos may not be extradited to Russia because the case is politically motivated and he would not receive a fair trial.
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AstraZeneca buys biotech company for $210M
Dec 23 2005 9:09AM (CT)
LONDON (AP) - Drug maker AstraZeneca PLC said Friday it is buying a privately held biotech company with a cancer compound, underscoring its commitment to bolstering its thin pipeline of future pharmaceuticals.
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China's Nov. auto production sets record
Dec 23 2005 9:01AM (CT)
BEIJING (AP) - China's car production in November grew 52.1 percent from the same month last year to a record 291,900 units, breaking the previous record set in June of 275,100 units, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics Friday.
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German inflation averages 2 percent in 2005
Dec 23 2005 8:28AM (CT)
BERLIN (AP) - Germany's inflation rate averaged 2 percent in 2005, its highest level in four years, according to a government estimate released Friday.
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Berlusconi says antitrust probe unfounded
Dec 23 2005 8:12AM (CT)
ROME (AP) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Friday there was no basis for a probe by the country's antitrust authority to establish if he violated conflict-of-interest rules after his government approved subsidies to Italians who buy digital-television decoders.
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Roche grants Tamiflu sublicense to co.
Dec 23 2005 7:26AM (CT)
GENEVA (AP) - Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG said Friday it has granted a sublicense to an Indian pharmaceutical maker to produce the antiviral drug Tamiflu, the medicine believed to be the most efficient treatment for the human version of the bird-flu virus.
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Maytag shareholders OK sale to Whirlpool
Dec 23 2005 6:12AM (CT)
NEWTON, Iowa (AP) - Maytag Corp. shareholders on Thursday approved the company's sale to rival appliance-maker Whirlpool Corp., marking the end of independence for the iconic home appliance maker that failed to overcome cheaper competitors and a waning of its trademark image for dependability.
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Albertson's won't sell entire company
Dec 23 2005 6:11AM (CT)
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Albertson's Inc. is no longer considering a sale of the entire company, officials said late Thursday after CVS Corp. and other potential suitors withdrew from talks.
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Researchers seek to bring back Chestnuts
Dec 23 2005 5:50AM (CT)
NEW FRANKLIN, Mo. (AP) - A group of researchers have a message for those who want to confine the chestnut to a holiday open fire: They aren't just for Christmas anymore.
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India's exports fall sharply in November
Dec 23 2005 2:42AM (CT)
NEW DELHI (AP) - For the first time in 44 months, India's exports contracted in November from a year earlier, but economists said merchandise shipments will likely rebound in December, helped by seasonal demand.
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P&G sues co. for alleged copycat products
Dec 23 2005 12:35AM (CT)
CINCINNATI (AP) - Procter & Gamble Co. on Thursday sued a Texas-based company selling products that P&G says look remarkably similar to some of its leading brands.
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