COMPANIES

The New York Times Co. said Tuesday that it intends to sell its group of nine network-affiliated TV stations in order to concentrate on its newspaper and digital businesses.

Best Buy Co. Inc. on Tuesday reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, boosted by new store openings and sales of high-priced electronics, easing fears that consumers were pulling back on spending.

McDonald's announced on Tuesday its worldwide restaurant comparable sales have increased by 6 percent in August from 3.4 percent last year.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. announced on Monday it expects to report estimated revenues of $110-million for the second quarter of the 2007 financial year, dropping from a revenue of $140-million for last year's second quarter.

U.S. auto sales have been slipping as domestic automakers have struggled to boost sales amid high gas prices this year - a trend that will continue into next year, industry executives and analysts said.

Campbell Soup Co. reported Monday that its profit fell 54 percent in its fourth quarter, largely because of expenses related to the sale of its British business.

Volkswagen of America Inc. is the greenest automaker according to a survey released on Monday, which ranked the Golf, Jetta and the new Beetle as the lowest emission-releasing vehicles.

The flashy accessories that accompany top designs on fashion runways are well beyond the budgets of many a fashionista, but even the most cash-strapped consumer has one way to copy the looks - rent it.

Bristol-Myers Squibb's board faces pressure to show investors it is addressing the fallout from sudden competition to the drug maker's top product and a stock that has lost more than half its value since early 2002

Shares in Volkswagen fell more than 2 percent on Monday ahead of a vote by German metalworkers union IG Metall on whether to reopen its contract with Europe's biggest carmaker.

Unilever violated corporate governance rules when it said in 2004 it would convert some preference shares into common shares, Dutch shareholder activist group VEB has concluded from an investigation commissioned by the enterprise chamber of the Amsterdam court.

DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group has decided against a cooperation deal with German car maker Volkswagen to produce a new sub-compact car, a German magazine said on Saturday.

Amelia James would consider it an insult to her grandmother to shop at the former Marshall Field's department store, a beloved Chicago institution renamed Macy's on Saturday to the dismay of many ardent shoppers.

A series of scandals at oil giant BP Plc's U.S. operations, has shaken investors' faith in its head John Browne and prompted some to re-examine the record of a man often rated among the world's most respected CEOs.

American Airlines was flying high in 2001. Its parent company had averaged $1 billion in annual profit for four years, it had just scooped up iconic TWA to become the world's largest airline, and its stock price was at an all-time high.American Airlines was flying high in 2001. Its parent company had averaged $1 billion in annual profit for four years, it had just scooped up iconic TWA to become the world's largest airline, and its stock price was at an all-time high.

Ford Motor Co.'s new chief executive Alan Mulally will receive $18.5 million in one-time compensation to join the troubled automaker, the company said in a regulatory filing on Friday.

Activist investor Nelson Peltz and former Snapple Beverage Group Chief Executive Michael Weinstein appear to have won seats on the H.J. Heinz Co. board of directors, the ketchup maker said on Friday.The two were part of a dissident slate of directors proposed by Peltz's Trian Group, which had sought five positions on the 12-member Heinz board.

As China evolves from a nation of savers to one of borrowers and investors, banks are salivating over the prospects, but risks loom in a market where consumer credit is a novelty and competition is intensifying.

Volkswagen AG intends to keep driving profit growth beyond the record 5.1 billion euros ($6.6 billion) before tax it has targeted for 2008, management told analysts on Monday.

Russia's leading aluminum firm, RUSAL, will take over its main competitor SUAL and the aluminum industry assets of Glencore to create the world market leader, a source close to the deal told Reuters on Wednesday.

Foster's Group Ltd., Australia's biggest beer and wine maker, said on Wednesday it was not aware of any takeover proposals, sending its shares down as much as 3 percent.

Inco Ltd. on Tuesday urged shareholders to reject a C$19.35-billion ($17.4 billion) all-cash offer from Brazilian firm Companhia Vale do Rio Doce., and said it still backed a friendly offer from U.S.-based Phelps Dodge Corp.

German sports goods firm Adidas expects a turnaround in sales at U.S. subsidiary Reebok by the end of the year, a German magazine quoted the group's chief executive as saying.

German drugs and chemicals group Bayer unveiled a revamp at its agrochemicals unit after strong healthcare earnings helped the company post a 14 percent rise in second-quarter operating profit on Tuesday.

Federal investigators are examining whether BP Plc manipulated crude oil and unleaded gasoline markets, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that cited lawyers and traders close to the case.

Anglo-Dutch consumer products group Unilever NV/Plc said on Monday it agreed to sell the bulk of its frozen foods business to private equity group Permira Funds for 1.725 billion euros ($2.2 billion).

None of the options Ford Motor Co. may be considering - selling off its luxury brands, creating global alliances, taking itself private - would do much to solve the struggling automaker's basic problems, analysts said.

Weyerhaeuser Co. on Wednesday said it agreed to merge its fine paper business and related assets with Domtar Inc. n a $3.3 billion transaction.

French car group Renault had no comment on Wednesday on a report that Bill Ford had called its chairman and chief executive Carlos Ghosn to explore possible cooperation.