Rapid Trade

Rates to rise as Fed balances act - BBC News

FinFacts Ireland

Rates to rise as Fed balances act BBC News -23 minutes ago The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates for a fourteenth time in a row on Tuesday. Analysts forecast that borrowing costs will rise by a quarter percentage point to 4.5%, in what will be the last meeting for chairman Alan Greenspan. Commentary: New Fed chief faces different worldMarketWatch Markets Could Test New Fed ChairmanLos Angeles Times Houston Chronicle -BusinessWeek -Globe and Mail -Washington Post -all 1,111 related

Exxon's mother of all profits - Melbourne Herald Sun

GameSHOUT

Exxon's mother of all profits Melbourne Herald Sun -2 hours ago OIL giant Exxon Mobil has ridden soaring energy prices to a world record $US36.13 billion ($A48.15 billion) profit. The company, a major producer in the Bass Strait, saw its profit increase 43 per cent in 2005, up from $US25.33 billion in 2004. Exxon posts $36.1 billion in profits, highest in US historySeattle Times Exxon turns in $14b whopperSydney Morning Herald Los Angeles Times -New York Times -San Diego Union Tribune -Chicago Tribune -all 704 related

Merck 4th-Qtr Profit Rises; Revenue Little Changed (Correct) - Bloomberg

CNN/Money

Merck 4th-Qtr Profit Rises; Revenue Little Changed (Correct) Bloomberg -4 hours ago Merck& Co., the third-largest US drugmaker, said fourth-quarter profit rose 1.7 percent as the company cut costs. Revenue was little changed after a decline in prescriptions… Merck results better than expectedReuters AFX NEWS BRIEFING: Pharmaceuticals and chemicals highlights to 15…Forbes Canadian Business -MSN Money -Carlisle Sentinel -ABC News -all 133 related

Ex-Wal-Mart exec pleads guilty to fraud - BusinessWeek

Business news in brief from around New Jersey - Newsday

Local business news in brief - Cincinnati Post

Victor Industries'Shareholders to Benefit from Post Merger Dividend
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 31, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — The management of Victor Industries (OTCBB:VICI) has determined it to be in the best interests of shareholders, should the merger with FSP be successfully completed, to form a new company to better service the soil additive and environmental remediation products Victor currently markets.

Norsk Hydro: Organizational and Leadership Changes to Execute Strategic Shift
OSLO, Norway, Jan. 31, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — Hydro divides Aluminium into two separate business areas to ensure effective execution of the strategic shift that includes repositioning upstream and urgent measures to increase profitability and ensure cash generation downstream.

Mediware Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2006 Results
LENEXA, Kan., Jan. 31, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — Mediware Information Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:MEDW) reported total revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2006 of $9.4 million compared to $9.2 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2005. Operating income for the quarter just ended was $383,000 versus $1.5 million for the prior year quarter. Net income for the quarter just ended was $398,000, or 5 cents per basic and fully diluted share, compared to net income of $949,000, or 12 cents per basic and fully diluted share in the comparable quarter of fiscal 2005. Second quarter results were affected by transition costs associated with hiring a new chief executive officer, annual tradeshows, and non-cash stock option compensation expense.

Wataire Industries Shareholders Update
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 31, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — As per Wataire Industries Inc.'s (Pink Sheets:WTAF) press release dated January 17,2006 regarding a proposed forward one for two stock split, all documented shareholders of Wataire Industries have been sent shareholders proxies. As stated in the release, the proposed stock split is subject to shareholder approval.

Lahey Clinic Medical Center is Latest Hospital to Select Mediware's MediMAR and MediCOE Solutions
LENEXA, Kan., Jan. 31, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — Mediware Information Systems (Nasdaq:MEDW) today announced that Lahey Clinic Medical Center of Burlington, MA., will expand its long-term relationship with Mediware and implement MediMAR(r) and MediCOE(tm) at its 293-bed hospital facility.

Novo Nordisk A/S: Director/PDMR Shareholding
BAGSVAERD, Denmark, Jan. 31, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — In accordance with Section 28a of the Danish Securities Trading Act, Novo Nordisk is required on a daily basis to publish trading in Novo Nordisk shares by the company's board members, executives and their associated persons as reported by those persons to Novo Nordisk.

The Nomination Committee Proposes Seven Members to Metso Board of Directors
HELSINKI, Finland, Jan. 31, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — The Nomination Committee established by the Metso Annual General Meeting on April 4, 2005, proposes to the next Annual General Meeting, which is planned to be held on April 4, 2006, that the number of board members be increased from six to seven. The Committee proposes Christer Gardell, Managing Partner of Cevian Capital, and Professor Yrjo Neuvo be elected as new members of the Metso Board.

Southeast 2006 SuperCommunity Bank Conference, February 6th and 7th
ATLANTA, Jan. 30, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — The Southeast SuperCommunity Bank Conference will be held in Atlanta on February 6th and 7th. The Conference is sponsored jointly by twenty-six community banks, presenting to an audience of institutional investors, high net-worth individuals and analysts from leading investment banking firms.

Law + Business News - SEC and Japan Financial Services Agency … - Lawfuel (press release)

Morning business news - RTE.ie

Here is the business news: it's different from 1962 - but … - Scotsman

Business news in brief - Philadelphia Inquirer

Pennsylvania business news in brief - Centre Daily Times

Business News short takes - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (subscription)

Business news in brief from around New Jersey - Newsday

Morning business news - RTE.ie

People in business news - Annapolis Capital

Business news briefs: 1/31/06 - Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Search for Finer Yarn Becomes a Trade Tangle
This is a yarn about yarn, one that has a Georgia textile manufacturer tangled up with other domestic mills in an international trade dispute about its quest for a particular type of fine-spun cotton yarn.
Cindy Skrzycki

Ebbers's Prosecutors Questioned on Tactics
NEW YORK, Jan. 30 — Federal judges hearing former WorldCom Inc. chief executive Bernard J. Ebbers's appeal of his fraud conviction sharply questioned prosecutors Monday about whether the government used the immunity process to take an unfair tactical advantage.

Brooke A. Masters

Jury Chosen for Lay, Skilling
Former Enron executives' trial, which starts Tuesday, caps an era of corporate scandal.
Carrie Johnson

Exxon Posts Record Profit
Exxon Mobil Corp. yesterday reported the highest profit in U.S. history: $10.71 billion for the fourth quarter of 2005 and $36.13 billion for the entire year.
Justin Blum

Contacts With Lobbyists Curbed
Republican and Democratic lawmakers are canceling their regularly scheduled meetings with lobbyists as the fallout from the Jack Abramoff scandal continues to roil Capitol Hill.
Jeffrey H. Birnbaum

Federal Mine Agency Considers New Rules To Improve Safety
After one of the deadliest months for coal mining in years, federal mine regulators last week began formally considering safety improvements to help miners survive underground fires and explosions. Among the proposals: mandatory caches of oxygen tanks and breathing masks inside every coal mine.

Joby Warrick

Ebbers's Prosecutors Questioned on Tactics
NEW YORK, Jan. 30 — Federal judges hearing former WorldCom Inc. chief executive Bernard J. Ebbers's appeal of his fraud conviction sharply questioned prosecutors Monday about whether the government used the immunity process to take an unfair tactical advantage.
Brooke A. Masters

With New Leader, Foreign Aid Program Is Taking Off
After getting off to a painfully slow start, President Bush's signature foreign aid program is poised to begin ramping up the amount of money it spends on development projects in poor countries, according to its new chief executive — who vows that the impact will be "transformative."

Michael A. Fletcher and Paul Blustein

Contacts With Lobbyists Curbed
Republican and Democratic lawmakers are canceling their regularly scheduled meetings with lobbyists as the fallout from the Jack Abramoff scandal continues to roil Capitol Hill.

Jeffrey H. Birnbaum

No Fuel for Bulls in Exxon Mobil Profit
Exxon Mobil Corp. today reported the biggest annual profit ever earned by an American company. The $36 billion in earnings was enough to lift Exxon Mobil stock, but not enough to keep the Dow Jones industrial average from falling.
Jerry Knight

Exxon Posts Record Profit
Exxon Mobil Corp. yesterday reported the highest profit in U.S. history: $10.71 billion for the fourth quarter of 2005 and $36.13 billion for the entire year.
Justin Blum

Greenspan's Legacy
Washington Post economics reporter Nell Henderson will be online to discuss the legacy of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who retires after 18 years on Jan. 31.
Nell Henderson

Arlington Activist Pursues Quest To Lead His Salvadoran Home City
When Arlington activist Hugo Salinas announced his mayoral candidacy last year, he chose a hotel ballroom a block from the White House and spoke to a crowd of supporters that included some of the area's well-known Latino leaders and businessmen.
Annie Gowen

Jury Chosen for Lay, Skilling
Former Enron executives' trial, which starts Tuesday, caps an era of corporate scandal.
Carrie Johnson

Federal Mine Agency Considers New Rules To Improve Safety
After one of the deadliest months for coal mining in years, federal mine regulators last week began formally considering safety improvements to help miners survive underground fires and explosions. Among the proposals: mandatory caches of oxygen tanks and breathing masks inside every coal mine.
Joby Warrick

Federal Mine Agency Considers New Rules To Improve Safety
After one of the deadliest months for coal mining in years, federal mine regulators last week began formally considering safety improvements to help miners survive underground fires and explosions. Among the proposals: mandatory caches of oxygen tanks and breathing masks inside every coal mine.
Joby Warrick

In Calif., Internal Lawsuits Served Up at Burger Chain
LOS ANGELES — There's trouble brewing in the best burger chain in the West. From the company that invented the drive-through, canned the carhop and to this day still shuns microwaves, freezers and warming bins, an in-house power struggle is causing consternation among the cognoscenti of a good…
John Pomfret

Controversial Industries Have Backed Boehner
Two controversial industries — for-profit colleges and trade schools, and private student lenders — have been the major sources of financing for Rep. John A. Boehner's bid to become House majority leader. Boehner has been an outspoken advocate for each interest, and has used his chairmanship to…

Thomas B. Edsall

Growth in 4th Quarter Reached a 3-Year Low
The U.S. economy slowed sharply in the last three months of 2005 to the weakest pace in three years, as consumers, businesses and government all pulled back on spending, the Commerce Department reported yesterday, raising concerns about the strength of the expansion this election year.
Nell Henderson

Savings Rate at Lowest Level Since 1933
WASHINGTON — Americans' personal savings rate dipped into negative territory in 2005, something that hasn't happened since the Great Depression. Consumers depleted their savings to finance the purchases of cars and other big-ticket items.
MARTIN CRUTSINGER

Taming the Predators
The practice of predatory lending strips billions of dollars in home equity from low-income and minority consumers each year, according to the Center for Responsible Lending, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and policy organization.
Michelle Singletary

Amid Katrina's Ruins, Black Colleges Survive
NEW ORLEANS — Dillard University is just a quarter of a mile from one of the canal breaches that flooded this city. With the exception of the chapel, every building on the campus of the historically black college was inundated by two to five feet of water that poured in and stood for three weeks….
Julia Cass

Make 'em Provide Pensions
The long-predicted ice age is settling in on America's private pension system, as companies large and small, profitable and unprofitable, announce the freezing of their traditional plans, the kind that once promised a lifetime income for retirees.
Albert B. Crenshaw

Jury Chosen for Lay, Skilling
Former Enron executives' trial, which starts Tuesday, caps an era of corporate scandal.
Carrie Johnson

Lazear Tapped to Lead President's Economic Council
President Bush plans to nominate Stanford University business professor Edward P. Lazear, a specialist in workplace issues, to become chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, the White House announced yesterday.

Nell Henderson

The Face of Giant's Comeback Strategy
Andrea Astrachan walked the aisles of the Giant Food store in Columbia Heights on a recent morning, taking notes and shaking hands with everyone from store managers to cashiers.
Ylan Q. Mui

European Stocks Rise, Led by BP, Shell as Oil Near 4-Month High - Bloomberg

Japanese Stock Prices Rise - Houston Chronicle

Japanese stock prices rise - BusinessWeek

Opening Statements Next Step in Enron Case - nwitimes.com

Exxon posts record profit - Billings Gazette

Tons of US beef piled up in Japan - BusinessWeek

Nifty zooms to new high at 3,004.50 - Zee News

Kraft extends layoffs, closings - Baltimore Sun

Long-awaited Enron trial to start - Baltimore Sun

Business Briefs column - Winnipeg Sun

Crew Gold Corp.: Notification of Trade
LONDON, Jan. 30, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — Crew Gold Corporation ("Crew") (TSE:CRU) (OSE:CRU) (Frankfurt:KNC) (Other OTC:CRUGF): On January 30, 2006, Jan A Vestrum, President and Chief Executive Officer of Crew, bought 4,200,000 shares in Crew at NOK 8.88 by way of the fulfilment of a previously announced forward contract, sold 4,200,000 shares in Crew at NOK 10.60 and bought 4,200,000 shares in Crew at NOK 10.75 by way of a new forward contract with maturity April 20, 2006.

Photo Release — Northrop Grumman Names David S. Harvey, William E. Carty, Edgar A. Smith, and Louise Ussery Vice Presidents
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 30, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has appointed four vice presidents to key positions within the company's newly formed Technical Services sector, effective immediately.

NorthStar Realty Finance Announces Treatment of 2005 Dividend
NEW YORK, Jan. 30, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. (NYSE:NRF) today announced the tax treatment of its common stock dividends paid during the 2005 calendar year. The three dividend payments made during the 2005 calendar year totaled $0.53 per share of common stock. This amount does not include the $0.27 per share dividend payable on or about February 10, 2006, with respect to the fourth quarter of 2005. For tax reporting purposes, 100% of the dividend distributions made in 2005 will be classified as ordinary, non-qualified dividends and no portion of the dividends represented a return of capital.

Bitfone Bolsters Executive Team With New CFO
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif., Jan. 30, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — Bitfone Corporation (www.bitfone.com), the pioneer and patent holder of firmware over-the-air (FOTA) update technology for mobile phones, today announced that it has appointed Bill Beyer to its executive team as chief financial officer.

Fox&Hound Restaurant Group Announces Determination of Superior Proposal
WICHITA, Kan., Jan. 30, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — Fox&Hound Restaurant Group (Nasdaq:FOXX) announced that, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Amended and Restated Agreement and Plan of Merger among the Company and affiliates of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (the"LLCP Merger Agreement"), the Company's Board of Directors has determined that the previously announced offer of affiliates of Newcastle Partners, LP and Steel Partners II, LP to enter into a negotiated tender offer/merger for $16.30 per share in cash (the"Newcastle/Steel Offer") is a superior offer to the existing $16.00 per share offer of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners made pursuant to the LLCP Merger Agreement.

Southeast 2006 SuperCommunity Bank Conference, February 6th and 7th
ATLANTA, Jan. 30, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — The Southeast SuperCommunity Bank Conference will be held in Atlanta on February 6th and 7th. The Conference is sponsored jointly by twenty-six community banks, presenting to an audience of institutional investors, high net-worth individuals and analysts from leading investment banking firms.

First Horizon Bank Announces Extension of Banking Day with 8 p.m. Cut-off for Deposits
MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 30, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — First Horizon Bank announced today that all of its full-service financial centers in the Mid-Atlantic region have extended the cut-off time for deposit posting until 8 p.m. Customers will now receive same-day posting on all transactions processed in the financial centers Monday through Friday until 8 p.m. First Horizon is the only area bank to process customer transactions made that late in the day and have the items posted to their accounts at midnight.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court to Confirm ATA Holdings Corp. Plan of Reorganization
INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 30, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — ATA Holdings Corp. (the"Company") (Pink Sheets:ATAHQ) and four of its subsidiaries, including ATA Airlines, Inc. (the"Reorganizing Debtors"), today received oral confirmation by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana of their First Amended Plan of Reorganization (POR). The Judge indicated that he would enter a written order confirming the POR tomorrow. This approval clears the way for the Company to emerge from Chapter 11 by late February 2006.

Photo Release — Northrop Grumman Names Elizabeth D. Iversen Vice President of Mission Assurance at Electronic Systems
BALTIMORE, Jan. 30, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has appointed Elizabeth D. Iversen as sector vice president of mission assurance for the company's Electronic Systems sector.

Internal Hydro Completes Renewable Energy Unit Plans for European Production
TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 30, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — Internal Hydro International Inc., (OTCBB:IHDR) (www.InternalHydro.com) announces that it has completed unit design and production work for inclusion by Cm2 for production of the Energy Commander V low impact hydro unit. IHDR further announces that it has had the successful inclusion of the engineering for the unit coordinated between Cm2 and IHDR for full production of the 30 Kilowatt unit. The unit as being built by Cm2 will provide an always ready 30 kilowatts of electricity for constant use by industrial and natural flow users.

Northwest Bancorporation, Inc. Announces Fourth-Quarter Financial Information
SPOKANE, Wash., Jan. 30, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — Northwest Bancorporation, Inc. (OTCBB:NBCT) President and CEO Randall L. Fewel today announced fourth-quarter net income for the company of $566,376 and full-year earnings of $2,160,213 for the twelve months ending December 31, 2005. Fourth-quarter 2005 earnings were higher than for the same quarter in 2004, increasing by 0.4% from $564,009. Fourth-quarter 2004 results were aided by a $50 thousand tax accrual adjustment. For the full year, net income increased 10.0% over the $1,964,317 earned in 2004.

Momentum Continues to Build for DVD-RAM Format At 2006 International CES
SECAUCUS, N.J., Jan. 30, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — The RAM Promotion Group (RAMPRG), an industry organization formed to promote the awareness and adoption of the DVD-RAM format, today announced that DVD-RAM made a strong push into 2006, as evidenced by over 50 DVD-RAM compatible products debuted at this year's International CES. RAMPRG member companies including Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi-LG Data Storage, Inc., Hitachi Maxell, Ltd., LG Electronics Inc., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic), Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., TEAC Corporation, Toshiba Corporation and Victor Company of Japan, Limited (JVC), all announced or exhibited innovative product lines featuring DVD-RAM compatible recorders, camcorders, players, PC drives and media.

Federal Mine Agency Considers New Rules To Improve Safety
After one of the deadliest months for coal mining in years, federal mine regulators last week began formally considering safety improvements to help miners survive underground fires and explosions. Among the proposals: mandatory caches of oxygen tanks and breathing masks inside every coal mine.
Joby Warrick

Bernanke Inherits an Experienced Fed Staff
Alan Greenspan was unreachable on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, as terrorists destroyed several blocks in the financial heart of New York City. Returning from a bankers' conference in Switzerland, the Federal Reserve chairman was flying in a jet over the Atlantic — depriving the central bank of…
Nell Henderson

Bush Choses Prof to Head Economic Council
WASHINGTON — President Bush has chosen a Stanford University business professor to chair his Council of Economic Advisers, the White House announced Monday.

AP

No Fuel for Bulls in Exxon Mobil Profit
Exxon Mobil Corp. today reported the biggest annual profit ever earned by an American company. The $36 billion in earnings was enough to lift Exxon Mobil stock, but not enough to keep the Dow Jones industrial average from falling.

Jerry Knight

Jury Chosen for Lay, Skilling
Former Enron executives' trial, which starts Tuesday, caps an era of corporate scandal.
Carrie Johnson

Top Enron Officials' Trial Begins Today
The outcome of the criminal trial of former Enron Corp. executives Kenneth L. Lay and Jeffrey K. Skilling, which opened with jury selection today, will write the coda to four years of battle over whether government can effectively police corporate wrongdoing.
Ben White and Carrie Johnson

Growth in 4th Quarter Reached a 3-Year Low
The U.S. economy slowed sharply in the last three months of 2005 to the weakest pace in three years, as consumers, businesses and government all pulled back on spending, the Commerce Department reported yesterday, raising concerns about the strength of the expansion this election year.
Nell Henderson

Online Overtime
For the football fanatic, the lead-up to Super Bowl Sunday is exhilarating, but it's also draped in a creeping melancholy: The high-adrenaline, beer-sozzled party days of the football season are winding down.
Steven Levingston

In China, a Rare Return
TANQIU VILLAGE, China On almost every other day, Cai Weilan wakes up hundreds of miles away in a cramped factory dormitory, facing another long shift making sweaters for strangers across the ocean.
Peter S. Goodman