Health reform bill allows for Hawaii to opt out
9:53
Hawaii would be allowed to opt out of key requirements of national health care reform legislation, the only state given such a privilege because it already has its own comprehensive health insurance law. Hawaii's...
Public Storage 3Q results better than expected
8:51
Public Storage on Thursday reported third-quarter results that were better than analysts had expected as it benefited from more favorable foreign exchange rates. The storage company, based in Glendale, Calif., posted...
Obama set to sign a big tax break for homebuyers
8:43
Missed out on Cash for Clunkers? Congress has another deal for you: Buy a home before May 1 and collect up to $6,500 from the government. If you're a first-time homebuyer, get up to $8,000. As part of the government's...
CBS show sales help offset drop in 3Q ad revenue
8:40
The sale of popular TV shows partly offset a drop in third-quarter advertising revenue at CBS Corp. but the company said ad trends are improving in the final three months of the year. "The light at the end of the...
Judge throws out LA deal for digitizing billboards
8:32
A judge on Thursday overturned a settlement allowing major outdoor advertising companies to convert more than 800 billboards in Los Angeles into digital displays, but declined to revoke permits already granted for about...
CBS' Moonves on Oprah: `We're in dialogue'
8:25
CBS Corp. on Thursday was faced with rumors about the possible departure of Oprah Winfrey's talk show from broadcast television to her own cable channel, The Oprah Winfrey Network. CBS Corp. Chief Executive Leslie...
Kan. group cuts revenue forecast $235M
8:17
A group of economists and policy-makers slashed Kansas tax collection estimates Thursday by $235 million, reflecting signs of continued weakness in the state economy. The new forecast for the remainder of the state's...
Harris Stratex Networks reports fiscal 1Q loss
8:06
Harris Stratex Networks Inc., which makes wireless equipment, said Thursday it swung to a fiscal first-quarter loss, mostly due to restructuring and other one-time charges. Sales results fell short of what Wall Street...
JDS Uniphase reduces loss in its fiscal 1Q
7:40
JDS Uniphase Corp. said Thursday its fiscal first-quarter loss narrowed as demand for the company's communications equipment rose from fourth-quarter levels. The company also issued second-quarter sales guidance well...
Virginia utility to return $400M, trim rates
7:38
Virginia's largest electric utility has agreed to settle a pending rate case that will return nearly $400 million to customers and drive down monthly electric bills. The settlement announced Thursday would reduce by...
Fannie Mae seeks $15 bln in US aid after 3Q loss
7:33
Fannie Mae is asking for an additional $15 billion in government aid after posting another big loss in the third quarter as the taxpayer bill from the housing market bust keeps rising. The government-controlled company...
Red Robin 3Q profit falls as fewer people eat out
7:29
Casual dining chain Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. said Thursday its profit fell 8 percent on lower sales as people ate out less during the recession. Red Robin, based in Greenwood Village, Colo., said it had fewer...
California Pizza Kitchen 3Q profit jumps
7:22
Restaurant chain California Pizza Kitchen said it boosted third-quarter profit by nearly 17 percent by cutting costs and expects 18 new stores to open next year. The Los Angeles-based company on Thursday reported net...
Skyworks Solutions ups outlook for current quarter
7:06
Semiconductor maker Skyworks Solutions Inc. said Thursday that revenue will grow in the current quarter, and set a profit target above analysts' expectations. Skyworks said it would earn 25 cents per share, excluding...
Skyworks Solutions 4Q profit rises
7:04
Skyworks Solutions Inc., which makes semiconductors for wireless products, said Thursday its profit increased as lower operating costs offset a slight decline in sales. The company said it earned $56 million, or 32...
Int'l Game Technology reports fiscal 4Q loss
6:58
International Game Technology on Thursday posted a fiscal fourth-quarter loss, but said it thinks demand for its slot machines and casino management systems has stabilized. The company posted a loss of $21.3 million,...
American Water Works exec named trade group leader
6:52
American Water Works Co. said Thursday the president of its American Water Services and American Water Works Service Co. was elected chairman of the Design-Build Institute of America for 2010. John Young has been a...
Chen promoted as CEO of Actions Semiconductor
6:51
Chinese semiconductor company Actions Semiconductor Co. said Thursday it has promoted Niccolo Chen to be its new CEO. Chen, who also holds the position of chief strategy officer and general manager, takes over for...
Alkermes takes 2Q loss, cuts full-year estimates
6:48
Biotech drug developer Alkermes Inc. said relocation charges and stock-based compensation costs pushed it to a loss in the fiscal second quarter. Alkermes said it lost $8.7 million, or 9 cents per share, in the quarter...
Money fund assets fell to $3.339T in latest week
6:47
Total money market mutual fund assets fell by $31.26 billion to $3.339 trillion for the week, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday. Assets of the nation's retail money market mutual funds rose by $703 million...
Bebe Stores posts loss for 1Q as sales plummet
6:36
Clothing retailer Bebe Stores Inc. said it posted a loss for its fiscal first quarter as its sales plummeted. In the three months that ended Oct. 3, Bebe lost $4.2 million, or 5 cents per share, compared with a profit...
Starbucks says more customers visit and spend more
6:32
More people are visiting Starbucks Corp. coffee shops this year than last, and they're spending more money when they do, an executive said Thursday. But it was the company's hefty cost-cutting that boosted its profit...
Holly Corp. posts 53 percent drop in 3Q profit
6:30
Independent petroleum refiner Holly Corp. said Thursday its third-quarter profit fell 53 percent because of lower gas prices and reduced refinery margins industrywide. For the three months ended Sept. 30, net income...
Group divided on worker's comp privatization
6:29
A legislative task force recommended Thursday that Oklahoma's workers' compensation agency be privatized, but it was divided on how to achieve that. Following months of study, the Task Force on the Privatization of...
Fannie Mae offers borrowers option to foreclosure
6:25
Can't pay the mortgage? You still might be able to stay in your home. Government-controlled mortgage company Fannie Mae is going to give borrowers on the verge of foreclosure the option of renting their homes for a...
Crocs profits in 3Q with one-time tax gain
6:24
Crocs Inc., seller of ventilated rubber shoes, said Thursday it moved to a profit in the third quarter as it recorded a big one-time gain from taxes and sales inched up. Investors sent the shares lower after hours in...
Stanley Works cuts forecast on Black & Decker deal
6:23
Hand tool maker Stanley Works on Thursday cut its 2009 earnings forecast to account for a charge stemming from its planned $4.5 billion purchase of rival Black & Decker Corp. Shortly after the market closed...
Health insurers weather storms heading into 2010
6:22
Rising unemployment, swine flu and the threat of health care reform all ganged up on managed care companies in the third quarter and could hurt their performance heading into 2010. But most of the large publicly traded...
On the Call-DirecTV CEO Larry Hunter
6:20
DirecTV Group Inc. is in an enviable position, as one of the few pay-TV operators seeing an increase in new subscribers in the third quarter. A partnership with AT&T Inc. to cross-market their services helped...
Senate Democrats advance climate bill without GOP
6:18
Senate Democrats sidestepped a Republican boycott Thursday, pushing a climate bill out of committee in an early step on a long and contentious road to passage. Other committees still must weigh-in on the measure, but...
Treasurys mixed amid fresh signs of low inflation
6:18
Treasury prices traded in a narrow range Thursday as investors welcomed additional signs that inflation is likely to remain in check. In late trading, the 10-year note, often used as a benchmark for interest rates on...
Citi files plans to spin off Primerica in IPO
6:16
Citigroup Inc. filed plans for an initial public offering of its Primerica Inc. life insurance unit late Thursday, and said it will sell the rest of the unit after it goes public. Divesting Primerica is part of Citi's...
Recalls: wooden playsets, travel mugs
6:15
The following recalls have been announced: ___ About 275,000 Adventure Playsets wooden playsets, manufactured in the United States and distributed by Adventure Playsets of Amarillo, Texas, because the materials in the...
Hansen Natural 3Q profit up but misses forecasts
6:13
Hansen Natural Corp., which makes sodas and energy drinks, said Thursday its third-quarter profit rose 8 percent on continued strength of its Monster Energy drinks and a growing share of the energy drink market at gas...
BofA says credit environment remains difficult
6:11
Bank of America Corp. on Thursday reiterated that the current credit environment will remain difficult into next year, as unemployment is likely to continue to rise. Brian Moynihan, head of the bank's consumer and...
Nasdaq OMX Group 3Q profit rises on cost cuts
6:11
Global exchange operator Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. said Thursday its profit rose as it cut costs and recorded fewer special charges during the third quarter. Amid an increasingly competitive marketplace, Nasdaq OMX's...
Judge throws out LA deal for digitizing billboards
6:10
A judge overturned a settlement allowing major outdoor advertising companies to convert more than 800 billboards in Los Angeles into digital displays, but declined to revoke permits already granted for about 100...
On the Call: MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren
6:09
Part of the struggle for Las Vegas casinos to overcome is eroding convention business. Companies have canceled meetings as they tighten spending and seek to avoid bad blood with shareholders or a bad image with others...
Stocks surge on jobs data, Cisco forecast
6:09
A bright forecast from Cisco Systems and upbeat economic news sent stocks soaring Thursday and propelled the Dow Jones industrials back above 10,000. The rally, coming a day before the government's October employment...
MGM Mirage loses $750M as CityCenter's value drops
6:07
MGM Mirage's latest casino project isn't open yet, but a drop in the $8.5 billion complex's value combined with falling revenue companywide to push the casino operator into the red in its third quarter, the company said...
How the major stock indexes fared on Thursday
6:07
A bright forecast from Cisco Systems and upbeat economic news sent stocks soaring Thursday, propelling the Dow Jones industrials back above 10,000. The rally, coming a day before the government's October employment...
Dynegy posts 3Q loss on sale of plants
6:03
Power company Dynegy Inc. said Thursday that it posted a second straight big quarterly loss as it continues to write down the value of plants that it is selling as part of a deal to bolster finances. The Houston...
NetJets Inc. to lay off 495 pilots nationwide
6:03
Private air service NetJets Inc., unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc, says it will lay off up to 495 pilots nationwide because of a drop in demand. The decision announced Thursday was based on a review of...
DirecTV shows subscriber gains, as rivals see loss
6:01
Satellite TV operator DirecTV Group Inc. was one of the few pay-TV companies to gain subscribers in the third quarter, though earnings stayed steady because of the higher costs it incurred attracting and serving those...
Insurer Cigna's 3Q profit grows 92 percent
5:58
Managed care company Cigna Corp.'s third-quarter profit soared 92 percent, as improving equity markets spurred a big turnaround in a discontinued business that hurt the insurer last year. Philadelphia-based Cigna said...
Business Highlights
5:51
October sales offer relief to merchants NEW YORK (AP) _ Stores are heading into the period with slashed inventories, determined not to have the fire sales that characterized last Christmas. But shoppers are still...
Court rules Tyson Foods to pay $250K in labor suit
5:49
A federal court has ruled that Tyson Foods Inc. violated federal labor standards for not paying production line employees for the time it takes them to put on and remove protective and sanitary gear. The company was...
EPA to impose standards on PVC plant emissions
5:46
The Environmental Protection Agency will set new nationwide emission standards for makers of polyvinyl chloride, commonly known as the plastic PVC, under a settlement with environmental groups announced Thursday. EPA...
October results at 30 major retailers
5:46
How October sales at 30 chains compared with October 2008: _ Discount stores BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. -1.1 pct Costco Wholesale Corp. 5 pct Target Corp. -0.1 pct ___ _ Drugstores Rite Aid Corp. -0.5 pct Walgreen...
Feds: 14 charged in insider trading case
5:45
Two attorneys and Wall Street professionals were among 14 people charged Thursday in a widening $53 million insider trading case that has snared one of America's richest men and shown white collar suspects to be using...