Industries

Wal-Mart Considers First Hong Kong Yuan Bond Sale, Asia Chief Price Says Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, is considering selling yuan bonds in Hong Kong as China opens its markets, according to Asia Chief Executive Officer Scott Price.

Nike Rises After Third-Third Profit More Than Doubles, Topping Estimates Nike Inc., the world’s largest maker of athletic shoes, jumped to its highest level in more than 27 years in U.S. trading after reporting third-quarter profit that more than doubled and exceeded analysts’ estimates.

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Oil Drops for First Time in Three Days as Dollar Gains, Crude Stocks Rise Oil fell for the first time in three days as a stronger dollar trimmed demand for commodities and a report showed U.S. crude stockpiles increased last week.

Saudi Aramco Said to Buy Term Gasoil Cargoes; Shipments Start to Arrive Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest state-owned oil company, began receiving gasoil cargoes this month as part of an agreement to buy 7 million barrels of the fuel this year, traders familiar with the transaction said.

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Analyst Research Settlement Change Backed by SEC, Banks Rejected by Judge A federal judge in New York rejected a proposed change to a 2003 settlement that would have relaxed the separation between research analysts and investment bankers.

Regions Financial CEO Ritter Forfeits $12.3 Million By Retiring This Year Regions Financial Corp. Chief Executive Officer Dowd Ritter, who’s stepping down after two straight annual losses, is giving up $12.3 million in promised compensation by retiring this year.

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Teva Agrees to Buy Ratiopharm in Transaction Valuing Company at $5 Billion Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. agreed to buy Ratiopharm GmbH for 3.63 billion euros ($5 billion), ending a nine-month battle for Germany’s second- biggest maker of generic medicines.

J&J's Alzheimer Drug Test Results May Be Pushed Back 2 Years Until 2012 One of the most eagerly anticipated studies of a drug for Alzheimer’s disease may not yield results until 2012, two years later than had been forecast.

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Travelers Awards Fishman $21.6 Million for 2009 as Profit, Shares Advance Travelers Cos., the largest U.S. property-casualty insurer by market value, boosted Chief Executive Officer Jay Fishman’s pay by 42 percent as profit climbed and the company joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Bank of America Sues First American Over Unpaid `Lien Protection' Claims Bank of America Corp. stepped up efforts to curtail the cost of soured mortgages by suing First American Corp., claiming the title insurer refused to cover more than 5,500 loans that caused $535 million of losses.

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Starwood-Led Group to Invest Up to $905 Million in Extended Stay Debt Deal Starwood Capital Group, TPG Capital and Five Mile Capital Partners agreed to invest as much as $905 million in Extended Stay Hotels Inc. in a recapitalization plan that would allow the hotel chain to emerge from bankruptcy.

General Growth Plans to Submit a New Reorganization Proposal, Lawyer Says General Growth Properties Inc. will submit by next week a new proposal to reorganize its holding company that would give it more than $6 billion in cash and another $250 million to back a rights offering. It also won permission to reorganize five property-owning units.

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China Mobile Quarterly Profit Rises 3.3% as Mobile-Phone Use Increases China Mobile Ltd., the world’s biggest phone company by market value, posted a 3.3 percent increase in fourth-quarter profit as an economic rebound boosted phone usage, offsetting a slowdown in customer growth.

Malone's Liberty, Elliott Said to Drop Out of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Bidding John Malone’s Liberty Media Corp. and hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. have decided not to bid for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. movie studio, according to people with knowledge of the bidding.

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FedEx Profit More Than Doubles on Increased Air Shipments in Asia, Europe FedEx Corp., the world’s largest cargo airline, said quarterly profit more than doubled on increased shipments in Asia and Europe.

Porsche, Ford's Lincoln Top J.D. Power Vehicle-Dependability Study in U.S. Porsche SE’s namesake brand led J.D. Power & Associates’ annual study of vehicle dependability, while Ford Motor Co.’s Lincoln topped General Motors Co.’s Buick, last year’s leader, and Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus.

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