COMPANIES

Fedex Corp reported third quarter earnings on Thursday and said it expects further staff reductions.

Specialty apparel retailer Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc said it faced significant risk of violating its consolidated secured leverage ratio as early as the first half of fiscal 2009.

Option volume in Citigroup on Wednesday skyrocketed, as the bank's calls became more popular than the S&P 500 SPDR SPY.P exchange-traded fund, typically a top favorite among the options crowd.

NIKE Inc, the world's leading retailer of athletic footwear and apparel maker, said Wednesday its sales dropped in the third quarter of 2009.

On Wednesday, Oracle released an adjusted profit report of 35 cents on revenue of $5.5 billion in its fiscal third-quarter beating the Wall Street's expectations.

Luxury carmaker BMW said on Wednesday it intended to stay independent despite the decline in vehicle demand, as Ford Motor Co became the second carmaker to offer securities backed by auto loans to take advantage of a U.S. program aimed at thawing consumer credit for new vehicles.

A plan to expand a controversial U.S. ballistic-missile shield into Eastern Europe is being scrutinized as part of a 2010 budget request to be sent to Congress next month, the Pentagon's chief financial officer told Congress on Wednesday.

VeraSun Energy Co said Wednesday that Valero Energy emerged as the successful bidder to acquire seven plants from the bankrupt ethanol maker.

Malaysia's Maxis Communications Bhd is investing $10 billion in its Indian unit Aircel to accelerate its expansion in the world's fastest-growing mobile market, and is interested in bidding for 3G spectrum.

Merrill Lynch & Co has taken full control of its Indian unit DSP Merrill Lynch after Hemendra Kothari, the subsidiary's founder and chairman, said he had sold his 10 percent stake to the firm ahead of his retirement.

What a difference a year makes.

Investors at Starbucks Corp's annual meeting on Wednesday will be searching for answers on the coffee chain's cost-cutting measures and ideas to galvanize growth despite weakening global consumption.

Media company Discovery Communications Inc has sued Amazon.com, accusing the online retailer's Kindle of infringing its patent on electronic book technology.

Japan's drugmakers will sit out a wave of consolidation sweeping through the industry, focusing instead on integrating past acquisitions and smaller, bolt-on deals.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc affirmed its medium term production growth plans and said its dividend would rise over 1 percent this year as it unveiled flat oil and gas reserves at the end of 2008 compared with 2007.

Pfizer Inc, the world's largest drugmaker, launched a $13.5 billion debt sale in five parts on Tuesday, said IFR.

The Hearst Corp plans to roll out the final print edition of its ailing Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Tuesday then move it online, ending speculation about the fate of the 146-year-old newspaper as crumbling advertising and the Internet wallop the industry.

UCBH Holdings, Inc said today it has recorded an additional loan loss about $40 million pre-tax, will allows the company’s fourth quarter net loss to $$82.9 million increase and 2008 full year net loss increase of $76.4 million from $50.1 million as previously reported.

On March 16 for the second consecutive year, Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. worked with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to assess the global nominees for the WEF's Young Global Leaders for 2009.

Performers often scalp tickets to their own performances, using TicketsNow.com and StubHub.com as outlets, says Nine Inch Nails founder Trent Reznor in a blog posting.

The Hearst Corp plans to roll out the final print edition of its ailing Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Tuesday then move it online, ending speculation about the fate of the 146-year-old newspaper as crumbling advertising and the Internet wallop the industry.

President Barack Obama voiced outrage on Monday over large bonus payments awarded to top employees of insurer AIG and ordered his treasury secretary to legally block them if possible.

The Hearst Corp plans to transform its ailing Seattle Post-Intelligencer into an online business, ending speculation about the fate of the 146-year-old newspaper as crumbling advertising wallops the industry.

Chrysler LLC's proposed deal with Fiat SpA is worth up to $10 billion for the cash-strapped U.S. automaker and could preserve 5,000 North American manufacturing jobs, Chief Executive Bob Nardelli said on Monday.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc and a parade of European banks were the major beneficiaries of $93 billion in payments from AIG -- more than half of the U.S. taxpayer money spent to rescue the massive insurer.

Ford Motor Co announced further production stoppages at its European operations and warned of more possible cuts ahead as it tries to combat a sharp decline in demand.

Goldman Sachs raised its rating on Goodrich Corp and downgraded Spirit Aerosystems Inc, saying investors should go long on aerospace stocks with significant aftermarket exposure and short those with original equipment (OE) exposure.

Wachovia Capital Markets downgraded Sprint Nextel Corp to market perform from outperform, citing higher churn at the company's iDen customer segment in the first quarter, sending its shares down 9 percent.

What a difference a year -- and a recession -- makes for the food industry.