Business - Page 27

Reuters - Applied Materials Inc. , the top supplier of equipment for making microchips, on Tuesday posted a quarterly profit that nearly tripled and said revenue could rise as much as 5 percent in its current quarter.

AP - The U.S. trade deficit set a record for a fifth straight year, and the imbalance with China soared to an all-time high as well. More Info...  

Reuters - Wall Street was unsurprised to hear of more takeover speculation in the mining sector on Tuesday, but despite a surge in Alcoa's stock price, few analysts believed the U.S. aluminum giant was about to be gobbled up.

Business

Reuters - CVS Corp. sweetened its bid for Caremark Rx Inc. on Tuesday by tripling a proposed special cash dividend for the pharmacy benefit manager's stockholders to $6 per share, after proxy advisory firms urged rejection of the previous offer.

AP - The empirical evidence of India's enormous economic expansion in recent years — in particular the sharp run-up in stocks there — has proven an irresistible draw to some mutual fund investors. But those chasing the siren song should be aware that, as with any developing economy, there could be bruising stumbles. More Info...  

Reuters - The U.S. trade deficit hit a fifth straight annual record in 2006, driven by a record oil import bill and a flood of goods from China, a government report showed on Tuesday.

AFP - The vice chairman of the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, is expected to visit New Delhi to discuss India's foreign investment policies, a government official said.

Reuters - Johnson & Johnson said on Monday it believed that some of its foreign units had made improper payments related to the sale of medical devices in two unspecified small-market countries, spurring a top executive to retire immediately.

Reuters - Fast-food company Yum Brands Inc. reported a 2.6 percent rise in quarterly earnings on Monday as a lower tax rate and strong profit growth in China offset fallout from an E. coli outbreak at some Taco Bell restaurants in the United States.

Business Reuters - A $1.3 billion small-business tax cut package aimed at winning the first minimum wage increase in more than a decade advanced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday. More Info...  

AP - A rift between The Coca-Cola Co. and some bottlers has been eased as the world's largest beverage maker announced Monday that several suits over its plan to distribute Powerade to Wal-Mart stores directly through the retailer's warehouses were being dropped. Coca-Cola also said it will work with the bottlers "to develop and test new customer service and distribution systems."

AP - Free-trade policies that make it easier for U.S. companies to sell their products are important to the economy's vitality, President Bush said Monday as he projected a year of good — though somewhat slower — economic growth.

Reuters - Home Depot Inc. said on Monday it was considering a sale, spin-off or initial public offering of its professional supply business to focus on its retail stores, reversing a controversial policy of former CEO Robert Nardelli to expand the unit.

Reuters - Coca-Cola Co. has reached an agreement under which several of its bottlers would dismiss lawsuits against the world's largest soft-drink company and two of its largest bottlers, ending a dispute over the distribution of its beverages.

Reuters - Australian newspaper publisher John Fairfax Holdings Ltd. said its first-half net profit fell 2.7 percent amid tough conditions in some markets and as it made acquisitions to deter potential predators. More Info...  

Business Reuters - World oil prices fell by more than 1 percent on Monday, deepening earlier losses, after Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi was quoted as saying markets were healthier and an industry source said that one South Korean refiner would receive an increase in Saudi supplies in March. More Info...  

Reuters - An $8.7 billion takeover bid for Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd. by a consortium led by Macquarie Bank Ltd. is fair and reasonable, an independent expert said on Monday. More Info...  

Reuters - The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States rose slightly over the past three weeks and could push higher because much of a rise in crude oil has not been passed on to consumers, an industry analyst said on Sunday.

Reuters - Vodafone Group Plc has won the battle for a controlling stake in India's No.4 mobile operator Hutchison Essar with a bid that values it at around $19 billion including debt, a source and India's Essar group said on Sunday. More Info...  

Reuters - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke looks set to tell Congress this week that the U.S. economy is sound, but that the central bank is still concerned that inflation, while moderating, may not fully come to heel. More Info...