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Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

Funrise wins fight over bubble bottle

WOODLAND HILLS - Funrise Toy Corp. and Wing Hing announced Wednesday that they have reached an amicable settlement of their legal dispute concerning Funrise's proprietary Gazillion Bubbles bubble fluid bottle.

Terms were not announced.

But as part of the settlement, Wing Hing has agreed not to make or sell any bubble fluid bottle that is the same or substantially similar to Funrise's product.

Woodland Hills-based Funrise manufactures and distributes children's toys, and licenses brands such as Tonka, Disney, Scooby-Doo and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Wing Hing is a Hong Kong-based exporter and manufacturer engaging in the design, marketing and production of bubble fluid, bubble bottles and bubble-related toys.

HP shares surge to 52-week high

SAN JOSE - Shares of Hewlett-Packard Co. surged to a new 52-week high Wednesday after the computer and printer maker's fiscal third-quarter results easily surpassed Wall Street expectations, though a one-time tax adjustment led to a sharp decrease in earnings.

HP shares rose $3.12, or 13.16 percent, to close at $26.82 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock, which rose as high as $26.15 on Wednesday, had previously traded in a 52-week range between $16.73 and $25.25.

For the three months ended July 31, HP earned $73 million, or 3 cents per share, compared with $586 million, or 19 cents per share, in the same period last year. Profit fell due to one-time tax adjustments from the repatriation of $14.5 billion in foreign earnings.

MS will keep Discover card

NEW YORK - Morgan Stanley Chief Executive John Mack made his first major move to revamp the Wall Street firm Wednesday, announcing that the company will not spin off its Discover Financial Services credit card arm, as was considered under former CEO Phil Purcell.

Critics have said the credit card division has been only modestly profitable and unrelated to the company's high-end financial services. Discover has generated strong cash flow and consistent earnings for the company, however, giving Morgan Stanley liquidity for its other investment banking, asset management and brokerage divisions.

The company's board of directors instead chose to sell Morgan Stanley's aircraft-leasing division, AWAS.

Northwest, union still negotiating

MINNEAPOLIS - The union that represents Northwest mechanics said Wednesday that two days of mediated talks with the airline led to some progress in heading off a looming strike, but that a deal was not yet within reach.

Representatives for Eagan-based Northwest and the mechanics union have been negotiating in Washington, D.C., since Monday morning, in the hopes of heading off a strike that could start at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time Saturday.