Amazon.com Inc. revenue up 51%The Internet retailer Amazon.com Inc. posted a 51 percent increase in sales Tuesday, blowing past Wall Street estimates. Seattle-based Amazon.com reported $9.91 billion in second-quarter sales, up from $6.57 billion a year ago. Amazon said its profit declined 8 percent to $191 million, or 41 cents a share. Analysts had expected per-share profit of 34 cents on sales of $9.37 billion.
Despite loss, Chrysler cheered by sales gainChrysler reported a second-quarter net loss because of the cost of paying back its government loans but said improved vehicle sales were a sign that its overall revival was gaining traction. The company, majority-owned by Italian automaker Fiat, reported a loss of $370 million, mostly because of a $551 million one-time charge to repay loans from the U.S. and Canadian governments. Without the charge, Chrysler said it would have posted net income of $181 million. A year ago, it lost $172 million. The automaker also reported revenue rose 30 percent to $13.7 billion, vs. $10.5 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Ford posts ninth straight quarterly profitFord Motor Co. on Tuesday said second-quarter earnings declined 7 percent, to $2.4 billion, from the period a year earlier, largely because of higher costs for raw materials and new product development. But it was the ninth consecutive quarterly profit for Ford. The second-quarter profit, equal to 59 cents a share, compares with earnings of $2.6 billion, or 61 cents a share, in the second quarter of 2010. Revenue increased 13 percent, to $35.5 billion, and sales rose 7 percent.
Clorox spurns Icahn's latest offerClorox Co., the maker of the namesake bleach, rejected Carl Icahn's second, $10.7 billion takeover bid, saying the $80-a-share offer is "inadequate." The board of the Oakland, Calif.-based company earlier rejected his bid of about $10.2 billion.
BP swings to profit but misses estimatesBP reported a profit in the second quarter, saying higher oil and gas prices made up for lower production and rising costs. The British company reported profit of $5.6 billion in the April through June period, below the average forecast of $6 billion from 12 analysts surveyed by Reuters. That compared with a loss of $17 billion in the year-earlier period, when BP had to set aside billions of dollars to deal with the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Soros hedge fund to jettison outside investorsBillionaire hedge-fund manager George Soros is returning money to outside investors in his $25.5 billion firm. Soros, who turns 81 next month, will hand back the money, less than $1 billion, by the end of the year. Soros' sons said they took the decision because new financial regulations would have required the firm to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission by next March if it continued to manage money for outsiders.
Dunkin Brands IPO picks up $422.8 millionDunkin' Brands Group Inc., the operator of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, raised $422.8 million in its U.S. initial public offering, pricing its shares above the top end of the marketed range. The Canton, Mass.-based company sold 22.3 million shares at $19 each, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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