updated Wed December 12, 2007

Ulta Salon Expects Competitive Holiday Season, Offers Fourth-Quarter, Full-Year Outlook

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (AP) -- Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc., a beauty-products retailer that went public in October, said Tuesday it is facing tough competition during the holiday season and offered fou...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Nanosphere Shares Spike After Analysts Initiate Coverage With Bullish Ratings

NEW YORK (AP) -- Nanosphere Inc. shares spiked on Tuesday after analysts initiated coverage of the diagnostic test company with bullish ratings, citing its cutting-edge nanoparticle technology and strong pipeli...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Hewlett-Packard 2009 Guidance Roughly in Line With Wall Street's Expectations

NEW YORK (AP) -- Breaking with its streak of outperforming analyst expectations, Hewlett-Packard Co. on Tuesday forecast fiscal 2009 earnings and revenue roughly in line with Wall Street's predictions. The worl...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

EIA Chief Tells Lawmakers Oil Will Average $85 a Barrel in 2008, Partly Due to Speculation

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Oil prices are expected to jump more than 18 percent per barrel in 2008 as speculators continue flocking to markets with tighter supplies and increased demand, the head of the Energy Departme...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Roark Capital Group Buys Boston-Area Distribution Center From Weyerhaeuser

ATLANTA (AP) -- Private equity firm Roark Capital Group said Tuesday it completed its acquisition of a Boston-area distribution center operated by wood products provider Weyerhaeuser Co.Terms were not disclosed...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

General Dynamics Receives $49 Million Contract for Abrams Tank Technical Support

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (AP) -- Defense contractor General Dynamics said Tuesday it received a U.S. Army contract worth $49 million to provide technical support for the Abrams tank.The contract covers engineeri...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Wacker Chemie Buys Out Joint Ventures With Air Products

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Chemical company Wacker Chemie AG said Tuesday it will buy out its two joint ventures with Air Products and Chemicals Inc. in an effort to strengthen its global polymers business.The ...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Agrees to Provide Nuclear Reactor Parts for Possible Exelon Plant

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy said Tuesday it has received a tentative multimillion-dollar order from power plant operator Exelon Corp. to provide parts for two possible nuclear reactors. The de...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Poland's Vistula River Contaminated by Fuel Oil Leak

WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- Some 150 emergency workers and firefighters have contained a spill of approximately 100 tons of fuel oil that leaked into Poland's Vistula river after a pipeline malfunction, officials sa...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Anchorage Daily News Publisher to Retire; McClatchy Names Successor

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Mike Sexton said he will retire as president and publisher of the Anchorage Daily News early next month.The McClatchy Co. named veteran newspaper executive J. Patrick Doyle, 55, to rep...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Prices at the Pump Slip Below $3 a Gallon for First Time Since November; Oil Rises on Fed View

NEW YORK (AP) -- Gas prices fell below $3 a gallon Tuesday for the first time since Nov. 4, extending a trend that's expected to last through the heavily traveled Christmas and New Year's holidays.Oil futures, ...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Gap Director Robert J. Fisher Sells 337,084 Shares of Company Stock

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A director of apparel retailer Gap Inc. sold 337,084 shares of common stock, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.In a Form 4 filed Monday with the SEC, Robert J. Fisher r...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Goodrich Signs Seven-Year Contract With Emirates Airline to Provide Maintenance Support

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Goodrich Corp., which supplies parts and services for the aviation and defense markets, said Tuesday it signed a multimillion dollar maintenance support contract with Dubai-based airline...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Cousins Properties Inc. Joins With Prudential Real Estate to Build Atlanta Office Building

ATLANTA (AP) -- Real estate investment trust Cousins Properties Inc. said Tuesday it has formed a venture with Prudential Real Estate Investors to develop, own and operate an Atlanta office building.The expecte...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

AmerisourceBergen to Reaffirm Fiscal 1st-Quarter, 2008 Guidance at Investor Meeting

VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (AP) -- AmerisourceBergen Corp., one the nation's largest drug distributors, said Tuesday it plans to reaffirm its fiscal first-quarter and 2008 guidance at its investor meeting in New York. A...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Shares Fall on Higher 3rd-Quarter Inventory Level, Expenses

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (AP) -- Shares of Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. fell Tuesday, after the beauty-products retailer said fiscal third-quarter rose 16 percent, but added inventory levels and expenses ...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Amazon.com Advances After Saying It Will Buy Stake in Bill Me Later; EBay Rises, Google Slips

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Amazon.com Inc. rose Tuesday after saying it will buy a stake in Bill Me Later Inc. and make its payment service available on Amazon's Web site, in what was otherwise quiet trading fo...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

China Denies It Deleted Parts of Communique With Japan

BEIJING (AP) -- China on Tuesday denied Japanese accusations that it deleted sections of a communique released after the two sides held high-level economic talks -- a move that could jeopardize warming relation...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Thousands of Post Offices to Extend Hours for Holidays

WASHINGTON (AP) -- About 7,000 post offices will be open for extended hours during the holiday season, the Postal Service said Tuesday.It expects nearly 1 billion cards, letters and packages to be mailed Decemb...

updated Wed December 12, 2007

Visual Sciences Chief Executive James MacIntyre Sells 85,000 Shares

NEW YORK (AP) -- The chief executive of Visual Sciences Inc., a Web analytics company, sold 85,000 shares of stock, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday.In a Form 4 filed with the SEC...