Abbott Labs axing 3,000 after Solvay deal Abbott Laboratories said Tuesday it will eliminate 3,000 jobs and take almost $1.3 billion in charges over the next two years as it integrates its Solvay pharmaceuticals business. Abbott, which employs almost 90,000 people, said most of the jobs to be cut are based in Europe, and almost all of them are part of Solvay's operations. Abbott completed the $6.2 billion deal for the pharmaceuticals unit of Belgium-based Solvay in February.
Joblessness rises in 27 states More than half of U.S. states saw their unemployment rates rise in August, the largest number in six months, as hiring weakened across the nation. The jobless rate increased in 27 states last month, the Labor Department said. It fell in 13 and was unchanged in 10 states and Washington, D.C. That's worse than the previous month, when the rate rose in only 14 states and fell in 18. It's also the most states to see an increase since February.
Petroleum prices fall, at Nymex and at pump Oil prices fell on Tuesday: Benchmark oil lost $1.34 to settle at $73.52 a barrel on the last trading day for the October contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Many traders moved to the November contract, where the price fell $1.22 to settle at $74.97 a barrel. At the pump, the national average for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline fell half a cent overnight to $2.721, according to AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service.
Clorox to sell STP and Armor All Clorox Co., the maker of household-cleaning products, agreed to sell its STP and Armor All auto-care brands to private-equity firm Avista Capital Partners for about $780 million in cash. The deal for the businesses, which had global sales of about $300 million in the year ended June 30, probably will close by the end of the year, Clorox said Tuesday in a statement. Clorox plans to use the proceeds to buy back stock.
Former Disney secretary pleads guilty A former assistant to a top executive at Walt Disney Co. pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud charges, admitting her role in the quest to sell secrets about the company's finances to financial companies before the information was made public. Bonnie Hoxie, 33, formerly the secretary to Disney's head of corporate communications, entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Manhattan in a plea deal with the government. Sentencing was set for Dec. 21.
CalPERS awarded big bonuses as fund shrank As its investment portfolio was losing nearly a quarter of its value, the country's largest public pension fund doled out six-figure bonuses and substantial raises to its top employees, an analysis by the Associated Press has found. Board member Tony Olivera said the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) tried to reduce the bonuses but was under contractual obligations to pay them. Virtually all of CalPERS' investment managers were awarded bonuses of more than $10,000 each, with several earning bonuses of more than $100,000 during the 2008-09 fiscal year. The cash awards were distributed as the fund lost $59 billion.
Profit forecast tripled for world's airlines An industry trade association more than tripled its profit forecast for the world's airlines, to $8.9 billion, this year, citing steady gains in passenger demand and a strong rebound in the air freight market. But the International Air Transport Association warned that the outlook for 2011 remained uncertain particularly in Europe and North America. The world's airlines were last profitable in 2007, when they reported combined earnings of $12.9 billion.
FROM NEWS SERVICES
