Wall Street Journal
Icahn Places Starting Bid for Fontainebleau
Carl Icahn outbid Penn National Gaming to place a starting bid of $155 million for the Fontainebleau, the stalled Las Vegas hotel-and-casino project whose construction is expected to cost nearly $3.5 billion.
Campbell Soup Net Rises 17%
Campbell Soup's earnings rose 17% as margins improved. The company raised its forecast and said soup sales began rising as the quarter closed.
MAN's Chief Executive Resigns
MAN SE's chief executive, Hakan Samuelsson, unexpectedly resigned his post at the European truck maker, effective immediately.
H-P Profit Rises on Cost Cutting
Hewlett-Packard's quarterly profit rose 14% as cost cutting boosted profit margins in its services business and offset lower sales in its computer and printer divisions.
AIG's Rescue Bedevils U.S.
Federal officials are pressing the U.S. pay czar to ease up on compensation restrictions at AIG for 2010, arguing that the firm, and ultimately the taxpayer, would suffer if the curbs are too severe.
ESPN Plans Portuguese for World Cup
ESPN plans to broadcast 2010 World Cup soccer games in Portuguese on its Spanish-language channel, hoping to steal some viewers from Univision.
Lloyds Raises $14 Billion
The U.K. bank said it had raised the maximum $14 billion of contingent core Tier 1 and core Tier 1 capital through its non-U.S. bond exchange offer, and said the U.S. exchange offer is already heavily over-subscribed.
PPR's Chief Aims to Strip French Retail Units
François-Henri Pinault, PPR's chief executive, plans to sell the French company's European retail divisions, including electronics retailer Fnac and the Conforama discount-furniture stores.
People's United to Acquire Financial Federal
People's United Financial agreed to acquire Financial Federal in a deal valued at $738 million, increasing its presence in the equipment-finance sector.
Analog Devices Profit Falls 27%
Analog Devices Inc.'s fiscal-fourth-quarter profit dropped 27% on lower sales and margins, but the company reported a double-digit increase in order rates from the third quarter.
Microsoft, News Corp. Discuss Web Pact
Microsoft and News Corp. have held discussions about a partnership that could result in News Corp. removing its newspaper content from Google's search engine while continuing to feature it on Microsoft's online properties.
Peet's Coffee Raises Offer for Diedrich
Peet's and Green Mountain Coffee are in a bidding war for Diedrich Coffee, highlighting the sudden popularity of single-serve coffee pods.
Vivendi Increases Stake in Canal Plus France
French private broadcaster Television Francaise 1 said it has agreed to sell its 9.9% stake in Canal Plus France to Vivendi for $1.12 billion.
China Banks Warned on Capital
China's banking regulator told banks to comply with capital requirements or face sanctions, the latest signal that Beijing is worried about risks in the financial system.
Eni to Buy Oil Stakes in Uganda
Italy's Eni is to acquire stakes in two Ugandan oil fields from U.K.-listed Heritage Oil for $1.35 billion.
Google Buys Display-Ad Start-Up
Google agreed to buy Teracent, which has developed technology designed to deliver customized display ads in real time. Terms weren't disclosed.
J.P. Morgan Appoints China Chief
J.P. Morgan said it has appointed Linklaters LLP's Asia managing partner Zili Shao as its new China chairman and chief executive.
Hershey Trustees Back Cadbury Bid
The trust that controls Hershey is pushing it to launch a rival $17 billion bid for Cadbury that would include more cash than Kraft's offer.
BJ Services Swings to a Loss
Low demand for oil-field and pumping services hurts BJ, in what could be one of its last quarters as an independent company.
Price Dispute Delays NBC Deal
GE and Vivendi remain hundreds of millions of dollars apart as they try to agree on a price tag for the sale of a minority stake in NBC Universal.