Business Briefs - Thursday

TECHNOLOGY

Analyst sets lofty goal for Apple

The computer, iPod and soon-to-be released iPhone maker rose after Piper Jaffray said the company could sell 45 mil phones in '09. Apple's hyped phone is slated to be released June 29 and will carry a price tag of $499-$599. Piper Jaffray said that the average selling price will come down to $338 by '09. Other analysts think that these estimates are a bit of a reach, but concede it is possible. Shares edged up 0.4% to 124.07, a closing high.

Dell pulls plug on LCD TV sales

The computer maker said it is exiting from the LCD television business to focus on its PC products. Dell, the No. 2 computer maker, said the TVs were in a limited number of markets that included the U.S. and Japan. The company, which is in the midst of an overhaul, entered the LCD TV business in late '03. Shares fell 1.3% to 26.99.

MEDIA

Time Warner may sell cable unit

The media giant said it could separate its majority-owned cable service company in 5 years, but it had not made a decision yet. Time Warner TWX's stake in Time Warner Cable could diminish over time as the cable unit begins buying other cable properties, Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons said. Also, about AOL, Persons said the company would consider options at the end of the year. Shares fell 1.5% to 20.45.

Group mulls rival Dow Jones bid

The CEO of Philadelphia Media Holdings, an investor group, said he could be willing to pay as much as the $5 bil offer made by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. NWS for Dow Jones. The group bought the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News last year and now is interested in the Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones dipped 0.3% to 60.

FINANCE

CBOT calls ICE buyout dangerous

If Intercontinental Exchange is able to win its hostile bid for the Chicago Board of Trade, CBOT officials said, CBOT's futures trading business would be in jeopardy BOT. CBOT's CEO warned that the entire franchise would be at risk because of ICE's current technology. This is the first time CBOT officials have talked about the bid since its was made. Shareholders will vote on the deal on July 9. CBOT dipped 0.2% to 198.71. ICE tumbled 4.1% to 146.71.

UBS UBS, a Swiss bank, agreed to pay Enron creditors $115 mil to settle a lawsuit related to equity transactions, the successor to Enron said. UBS also agreed to withdraw a $5.5mil claim it had against the Enron estate as part of the settlement. UBS slid 3.2% to 61.07. Wachovia WB, the fourth-largest U.S. bank, said it plans to more than double its private banking group to 540 over the next three years in a bid to attract more wealthy clients, with emphasis on Calif., Texas, N.Y. and Fla. Wachovia dipped 1% to 52.85. GAMING

Wynn Resorts slows Macau plan

The casino operator said it would open only a portion of its Wynn Macau expansion in Q3 because new Chinese gov't visa requirements restrict visitation to Macau from Guangdong province. Wynn Resorts WYNN said it would monitor the effect of competition from the opening of the Venetian Cotai in Aug. and the opening of the MGM Grand Paradise in Nov. Also, its board approved a $1.2 bil share buyback. Shares fell 3% to 93.46.

Shuffle Master SHFL, which makes gaming supplies, plunged nearly 11% to 17.51 after its Q2 earnings missed views. Its poor showing weighed on casinos, with the Las Vegas Sands falling 2.6% and the MGM Mirage slipping 1.5%. MEDICAL

Biomet OKs $11.4 bil buyout bid

The orthopedic device maker accepted a sweetened $46 a share takeover bid from a group of private equity firms. The offer for Biomet is up from a previous $10.9 bil bid. The buyers include Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and TPG. The offer still needs 75% shareholder approval. Biomet rose 3% to 45.56.

Medco reclaims big federal deal

The pharmacy benefits manager won a 3-year Federal Employee Program contract to provide mail order and specialty pharmacy services. News of the deal, worth $2 bil a year in sales, lifted Medco MHS 1.5% to 78.24. Medco had previously lost the mail-order deal to Caremark. CVS/Caremark also inked a smaller FEP deal, boosting its stock 0.9% to 37.57.

Merck migraine remedy on track

An experimental drug to relieve migraine headaches met primary goals in a midstage trial without cardiovascular side effects seen with current treatments. Merck MRK said it remains on track to apply for U.S. approval of MK-0974 in 2009. If approved, it would compete with members of the triptan class of migraine drugs, including GlaxoSmithKline's GSKtop-selling Imitrex. Merck slid 0.8% to 50.34. Glaxo dipped 0.2% to 51.34.

Analogic tops on cost reduction

The maker of technology used in computerized medical and security equipment said Q3 earnings nearly tripled to 50 cents a share, beating views by 13 cents. Revenue rose 3% to $83.9 mil, below views. Cost reduction contributed to the result. Analogic ALOG also sold its 17% ownership of Bio-Imaging Research. Shares rose 2.2% to 67.98.

TRANSPORTATION

Toyota hybrid sales roll past 1 mil

The Japanese automaker's global sales of hybrid vehicles hit 1 mil, a decade after the first Prius went on sale. Toyota Motor TM said that of those hybrids, nearly 345,000 were sold in Japan and 702,000 were sold abroad. Sales of Toyota hybrids increased more than 17 times between 1998 to last year. Toyota edged down 0.2% to 123.13.

FOOD

Smithfield misses, will cut costs

The pork producer raised Q4 profit nearly 4 times to 34 cents ex items, missing views by 2 cents. Sales rose 15% to $3.06 bil. Smithfield Foods SFD has been raising prices to combat rising costs and plans more moves to cut costs in its manufacturing operations. It projected stronger sales in '08. Shares fell 1.6% to 31.88.