Business Briefs - Wednesday

TECHNOLOGY

Yahoo beefs up its online ad team

The Internet giant said it will buy online advertising network BlueLithium for $300 mil in cash. Yahoo's YHOO purchase along with a previously announced deal such as a buyout of Right Media and its system upgrades are part of Yahoo's attempt to regain ground on Google GOOG. BlueLithium provides tracking technology, known as "behavioral targeting." Shares edged up 0.5% to 24.10.

Sun planning a 4-1 reverse split

The leader in UNIX-based servers will ask shareholders to approve a reverse stock split to boost the price and perception of Sun Microsystem's JAVA shares. The proposal will be put to a vote at its annual meeting Nov. 8. Sun's stock soared during the dot-com boom to over $64 a share, but its shares were battered when Internet startups that had been snatching up its powerful computers suddenly went bankrupt. Shares fell 2.4% to 5.37.

Palm cans smart phone sidekick

The maker of the Treo smart phone said it has canceled plans to release a small laptop-like product it called Foleo, that was to serve as a smart-phone companion. Foleo was supposed to be released during the summer, but Palm's PALM CEO said the company will not release it and instead will focuson its next-generation operating system and smart phones that will work with it. Palm will take a charge of less than $10 mil for canceling Foleo. Shares dipped 0.3% to 15.09.

LSI Corp., LSI a chipmaker, said it will buy Tarari, a silicon and software maker, for $85 mil in cash. It said the acquisition will enhance its position in making security software applications. Tarari's sales last year were $3.2 mil. Shares fell 1% to 7. CONSUMER

Mattel pulls more toys off shelves

The toy giant confirmed its third major recall of Chinese-made products, including 675,000 accessories for its top-selling Barbie doll, because of excessive amounts of lead paint. Mattel MAT also recalled 90,000 units of its GeoTrax locomotive line and about 8,900 Big Big World 6-in-1 Bongo Band toys, both from the company's Fisher-Price brand. Last month, Mattel recalled 19 mil faulty Chinese-made toys. It edged up a penny to 21.98.

FOOD/BEVERAGES

ConAgra popcorn called toxic mix

The food giant and No. 1 producer of microwave popcorn said it will change the formula for its Orville Redenbacher and Act II brands over the next year to remove a flavoring chemical that has been linked to a lung ailment in popcorn plant workers. ConAgra's CAG move comes after a doctor at a leading lung research hospital said that consumers, not just factory workers, may be in danger from buttery popcorn fumes. It fell 1.6% to 25.42.

Tyson Foods warns lower 07 EPS

The meat producer cut its '07 EPS outlook to 72-89 cents vs. views of 88 cents. Tyson Foods TSN said its beef business has been affected by higher live cattle costs and a drop-off in revenue due to a disruption in the S. Korean beef trade. Also, high live hog prices affected profit, the company said. It tumbled 13% to 19.17.

Coca-Cola KO said it will help build a $45 mil recycling plant as part of its goal to recycle or reuse every plastic bottle it sells in the U.S. The company did not set a target date for meeting that goal. About 10% of its plastic bottles are recycled, the company said. Shares fell 1.3% to 53.69. FINANCE

MGIC, Radian terminate merger

Mortgage insurers said they are abandoning plans to merge, citing troubles in the mortgage industry. MGIC Investment had agreed in Feb. to pay about $5 bil in stock for rival Radian Group. But MGIC said it did not believe it had to complete the deal because their joint interest in subprime mortgage investor C-Bass could be worthless. To end the deal, neither party paid each other to get out the agreement. MGIC shares fell 1% to 30.05.

Congress nears student loan pact

Congress was close to agreeing on a bill to cut federal subsidies to student loan firms and raise federal grants for students, lawmakers said at a House-Senate conference meeting. Once an agreement is reached, the final bill will be sent to President Bush, who also favors cutting subsidies for the $85 bil student loan industry. The changes should affect major student lenders such as Sallie Mae SLM, Citigroup CO, Bank of America BAC, JPMorgan Chase JPM and others.

TRANSPORTATION

Foreign travel boosts Continental

The airline said its August traffic rose 8.1%, led by strong foreign traffic, as capacity climbed 4.4%. Continental Airlines CAL said international flights increased 10.9%, led by a 15.2% gain in its transatlantic routes. Results were dragged down by a 4.9% decline in regional flights. Continental slid 1.6% to 34.07.

Southwest Airlines LUV, a discount carrier, said its traffic rose 12.1%, while capacity increased by 8.1%. Occupancy grew 2.9 percentage points to 80%. The number of flights rose 6.5% to 101,407. It fell 1.4% to 15.09. Republic Airways RJET, an operator of commuter flights, said its Aug. traffic rose by 30.2% as capacity rose 21.5%. Occupancy increased 5.2 percentage points to 78.7%. It dipped 0.3% to 19.06. Car side air bags to be required

New passenger vehicles by 2013 will be required to have head protection in side crashes, according to new regulations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The head-protection technology, when used in SUVs, reduced the number of deaths by 52% according to one study. Side-impact vehicle crashes killed 9,200 people in the U.S. in 2005, the most recent figures available, accounting for 29% of motorists killed in roadway accidents. Toyota slid 1.4%, GM and Ford fell more than 2.5%

ENERGY

Total sets output, spending targets

The oil giant said it is aiming for average production growth of 4% a year in 2006-10. Total TOT expects '07 production will be "a few percentage points" above '06 level. It said capital expenditures remain in line with its previously announced $16 bil target. Shares fell 0.7% to 75.19.

ConocoPhillips COP said it still has not reached an agreement on compensation with Venezuela, which took over control of its oil production in the South American country. Shares fell 1.6% to 82.12. MEDICAL

Amgen up on Senate bill move

The biotech company rose 1.9% to 52.32 after the U.S. Senate made a move to pass a resolution requesting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reconsider a reimbursement decision on anemia drugs. Medicare decided in July to restrict reimbursement of low-dose levels of drugs, affecting Amgen's AMGN Aranesp. That drug was the company's No. 1 seller in '06 with $4.12 bil in sales.

Pfizer: Lipitor safer than generic

The drug giant said switching patients from its cholesterol drug Lipitor to generic Zocor was associated with a 30% increased risk of heart attacks, strokes or death, compared with patients who remained on Lipitor, citing its own study. Pfizer PFE's Lipitor has been losing market share amid pressure from health plans who promote the use of cheaper generics such as Zocor, which is manufactured by Merck MRK. Pfizer fell 1.5% to 24.71. Merck slipped 0.6% to 49.40.

Noven Pharmaceuticals NOVN, a maker of drug patch technology and products, said its board approved a $25 mil stock buyback. Shares slid 0.4% to 15.48. Forest Laboratories FRX soared 10% to 41.53 following a U.S federal appeals court's decision to uphold the validity of a patent on the company's antidepressant, Lexapro. The court also upheld an injunction preventing a proposed generic product by Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries TEVA. Teva rose 0.3% to 43.74. Bayer BAY, the German drugmaker, said it will delist from the NYSE to lower costs. Shares fell 2% to 78.14, but are still up 46% since the beginning of the year. The NYSE fell 1.5% to 72.70. RETAIL

DSW misses, but keeps outlook

The shoe retailer's Q2 earnings fell 57% to 15 cents a share, missing views by 16 cents. DSW's DSW revenue rose 16% to $348.7 mil, just shy of expectations. The company said a rise in promotions hurt its gross margins. Its same-store sales rose 5.9%. DSW reiterated its '07 EPS guidance of $1.63-$1.68, which is below $1.67 estimates. Shares tumbled 7.3% to 28.81.