Business - Page 38

AP - The trade deficit fell for a third straight month as the U.S. bill for foreign oil declined to the lowest level in 16 months and American exports hit an all-time high.

Business

Reuters - Genentech Inc. said on Wednesday its fourth-quarter profit jumped 75 percent on surging sales of Lucentis, its new treatment for the leading cause of blindness in the elderly, and rising demand for its cancer drugs, and its shares rose 1.6 percent after hours.

Reuters - CanWest Global Communications Corp. and a private-equity unit of Goldman Sachs & Co. have entered into a deal to buy Canadian specialty-TV group Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. (AACb.TO) for C$2.3 billion ($1.96 billion), the companies said on Wednesday.

AFP - US clothing retailer Gap Inc. announced the imminent departures of two senior managers days after top executives reported a disappointing Christmas sales season to shareholders.

Reuters - Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (6752.T) will spend about 280 billion yen ($2.36 billion) to build the world's largest plasma display factory in western Japan, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Reuters - BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. , the No. 3 warehouse club operator, said on Tuesday it would close its 46 in-store pharmacies and two ProFoods restaurant supply clubs as part of a broader restructuring. More Info...  

Reuters - Alcoa Inc. said on Tuesday that fourth-quarter profit rose as a result of high metal prices and strong demand from aerospace, commercial transportation and building markets.

Business

Reuters - Apple Computer Inc. on Tuesday unveiled an iPod mobile phone featuring a large, smooth color screen, sending its shares up 8 percent as the company attempts to parlay its dominance in digital music players into new areas of growth.

AP - After an uninspiring start to 2007 on Wall Street, investors unnerved by the market's apparent lack of direction might consider investing in mutual funds that straddle both the stock and bond markets as a way to help weather dips in performance. More Info...  

Reuters - Motorola Inc. said on Tuesday it had completed its acquisition of Symbol Technologies Inc. , a maker of bar code and inventory scanning technology.

AFP - The luxury car market in the United States is gunning higher even with high fuel prices, the economy sputtering and much of the auto industry spinning its wheels.

AP - Women's apparel retailer Talbots Inc. said Tuesday it expects to break even in the fourth quarter rather than post a profit because of recent slow sales at its Talbots stores and the J. Jill brand it acquired last year for $517 million. More Info...  

Reuters - The U.S. economy is, overall, moving upward and showing signs of accelerating again, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Japanese Finance Minister Koji Omi, a Japanese Finance Ministry official said on Monday. More Info...  

Reuters - Retailer Home Depot Inc. said on Monday the company's bylaws had been changed to require that two-thirds of independent directors approve the compensation of the chief executive. More Info...  

Business

Reuters - Sprint Nextel Corp. said on Monday revenue will be flat or slightly higher in 2007 and profit will remain under pressure due to lower margins, sending its shares down 8 percent.

Reuters - Online photo site Shutterfly Inc. said on Monday that Chairman Jim Clark, co-founder of Web pioneer Netscape Communications, had resigned, saying securities regulations had "gone too far."

Reuters - Citigroup Inc. said on Monday it will close most of its Japanese consumer finance branches and take a $370 million fourth-quarter loss in that unit because of new laws that makes it tougher for lenders to profit. More Info...  

AP - Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. slipped Monday after a Goldman Sachs analyst lowered her rating on the world's largest retailer, saying that its strategy isn't clear and its turnaround plan is taking longer than expected to execute.

Reuters - Boston Scientific Corp. said on Monday it had fourth-quarter net sales of $489 million from its heart rhythm management products and announced a plan to reallocate research and development resources in the unit that will result in 500 to 600 job cuts in the current quarter. More Info...  

Reuters - HSBC Chairman Stephen Green told the Financial Times he planned to run the bank as a "double act" with Chief Executive Michael Geoghegan, who would lead its management team to deliver the strategy. More Info...