COMPANIES

ConocoPhillips the third-largest U.S. oil company, reported a much higher-than-expected quarterly profit on strength in its refining business, sending its shares up 2 percent.

Air Canada agreed on Tuesday to withdraw its appeal against an arbitrator's ruling on pensions for new hires at the airline after the union representing its check-in and call-center staff threatened job action.

Ford Motor Co. posted lower third-quarter earnings after misjudging the threat of higher commodity costs and writing down the value of hedge positions.

As many Americans and others throughout the world grapple with making a comeback in lingering difficult economic conditions from the 2008 Great Recession, here are 5 lessons to learn from Ford Motor Company for dealing with and coming back from hard times.

Sprint Nextel posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss but its full year forecast showed the costs of selling Apple Inc.'s iPhone could hurt the results for the rest of the year.

Olympus Corp Chairman and President Tsuyoshi Kikukawa stepped down on Wednesday in response to a widening scandal over dubious acquisition deals, as sources said Japan's securities watchdog was looking into the 92-year-old firm's past dealings.

Olympus Corp announced Wednesday that its chairman and president Tsuyoshi Kikukawa had stepped down over media reports of a widening scandal, as sources said Japan's main securities watchdog was looking into the 92-year-old firm's dubious acquisition deals.

The cost of college in the United States rose sharply for the 2011-2012 school year, continuing a multiyear pattern in which public school increases outpaced private school hikes and both eclipsed the average rate of inflation by significant amounts, the College Board reported on Wednesday.

The Chrysler Group LLC is all set for a major presence in the forthcoming 2011 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas.

Nomura Holdings , Japan's largest investment bank, is planning major cost cuts that will like have the biggest impact on its loss-making European operations, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Rajat Gupta, former Goldman Sachs director and former head of McKinsey & Co, will surrender to the FBI on Wednesday to face criminal insider trading-related charges, a person familiar with the investigation said.

The Range Rover Evoque has won the Motor Trend 2012 SUV of the Year award, beating the likes of the Jeep Wrangler, the Ford Explorer and the Dodge Durango.

As Groupon pitches its initial public offering plans to investors, analysts continue to give tepid views on the stock's prospects.

Miranda Kerr, or rather her girls, has been selected to wear Victoria's Secret limited edition bejeweled bra, though she is not the first model to wear the some-odd-million dollar Fantasy Bra.

Although all members were re-elected to News Corporation's board of directors Friday, shareholder votes showed that not everyone is happy with the company's leadership.

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd (CP.TO:Quote) expects demand to ship oil by rail from the prolific Bakken field to continue to rise, with most of the crude destined for Gulf of Mexico refineries, the railway's executives said on Tuesday.

Guns and bloodshed may be the perfect gifts to ensure a merry Christmas for Target Corp .

The New York Times' lawyers on Monday sent a case-and-desist letter to the Huffington Post over the title of a blog written by former Times writer, Lisa Belkin, WWD reported.

U.S. vaccine advisers on Tuesday voted to recommend that boys be routinely vaccinated with Merck & Co's Gardasil vaccine to protect them from human papillomavirus or HPV infections, which cause genital warts and oral, penile and anal cancers in males and cervical cancers in women.

Peabody Energy Corp's (BTU.N) quarterly profit beat Wall Street estimates as the largest U.S. coal producer realized higher pricing in all regions and domestic volumes increased.

BP said on Tuesday it wanted to return to Libya and resume oil and gas exploration work, which it halted earlier this year due to the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi's rule.

BP has turned a corner after the Gulf of Mexico disaster, its chief executive said on Tuesday, predicting the British oil firm would now return to output and cashflow growth and rejecting calls for a fundamental restructuring of the group.

Maersk Drilling has struck a four-year $780 million deal with BP for a deepwater rig, and aims to increase its fleet by 6-8 rigs within five years.

United Parcel Service reported a higher quarterly profit as increased pricing, cost cutting and technology improvements helped compensate for domestic shipping volume dulled by a sluggish economy, and it affirmed its outlook for record 2011 results.

The Case-Shiller home price index reported small increases in prices of 0.2 percent for 20 major cities between June and August. However, annual returns were down 3.8 percent for the 20 cities measured, compared to August 2010.

Delta Air Lines Inc's quarterly profit fell short of Wall Street expectations because of higher fuel costs, and its shares sank more than 6 percent in morning trading.

U.S. diesel engine maker Cummins Inc lowered its revenue and profit margin forecasts for 2011, blaming an uncertain global economy, and its shares fell 7 percent in premarket trading.

3M Co's quarterly earnings fell well short of expectations due to weakness in the electronics market, the debt crisis in Europe and inventory-reduction moves by its customers, sending the company's shares down 6 percent in early trading.

After spending a summer sidelined by fears of an exhausted consumer and nearly stopped dead on their tracks by the market correction of early August, the stocks of athletic shoe and apparel makers (and the specialty retailers that put those products in consumer’s hands) have been sprinting into marathon season, outperforming the wider footwear and apparel sectors and setting one or two all-time records along the way.