AP
Business Highlights
Friday July 18, 6:34 pm ET

Oil prices tumble in biggest weekly drop ever

NEW YORK (AP) -- The price of oil recorded its biggest weekly drop ever, and a gallon of gas finally pulled back from its record high. So is it time to declare the energy bubble popped? Experts won't go that far just yet.

"It's too early to say we've seen the worst of it," said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst of the Oil Price Information Service in Wall, N.J.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery fell 41 cents Friday to settle at $128.88 on the New York Mercantile Exchange -- well below its trading record of more than $147 a week earlier.

Wall Street mixed after earnings reports

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street closed out an impressive week with a mixed performance Friday after disappointing high-tech earnings punctured some of investors' enthusiasm over better-than-expected bank earnings reports.

The Dow rose 49.91, or 0.44 percent, to 11,496.57, adding on to a 483-point gain Wednesday and Thursday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.36, or 0.03 percent, to 1,260.68, and the Nasdaq dropped 29.52, or 1.28 percent, to 2,282.78.

For the week, the Dow rose 3.57 percent, the Nasdaq increased 1.95 percent, and the S&P rose 1.71 percent.

Citigroup posts $2.5B loss, but beats expectations

NEW YORK (AP) -- Citigroup has become the latest big bank to quell Wall Street's worries about a financial sector implosion, posting a $2.5 billion second-quarter loss that was smaller than expected.

Citi rose nearly 9 percent Friday and helped lift other financial stocks, having joined JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. in convincing investors that the prognosis for the sector, while gloomy, may not be as dire as the market feared.

Citigroup, the nation's largest banking company by assets, lost the equivalent of 54 cents per share in the April-June period. In the same timeframe last year, the bank earned $6.23 billion, or $1.24 per share.

The shortfall was tamer than the 66-cent-per-share loss that analysts, on average, were expecting, according to Thomson Financial.

Teva to buy Barr Pharma for more than $7 billion

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Teva Pharmaceutical said Friday it will buy rival generic drugmaker Barr Pharmaceuticals for nearly $7.5 billion in a move that will boost Teva's dominance as the world's biggest generic drugmaker.

The deal continues consolidation of the generic-drug sector, driven by growth prospects as governments and other payers turn to the lower-priced medications and by the impending expiration of brand-name drug patents worth billions of dollars a year.

Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. said acquiring Montvale, N.J.-based Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc., the world's No. 4 generic drug maker, will also expand its presence in U.S. and other key markets, from Russia to Eastern and Central Europe.

Republic rejects Waste Management unsolicited bid

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- The trash talking has begun. In a stinging letter Friday, garbage hauler Republic Services Inc. rejected an unsolicited $6.19 billion cash offer from larger rival Waste Management Inc., saying the proposal "seriously undervalues" its company.

Republic, the nation's third-largest waste collector, instead wants to stick with its own deal announced last month to buy No. 2 Allied Waste Industries Inc. The all-stock agreement was worth about $6.07 billion at the time.

The investment office that manages the assets of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust also disagreed with the deal. BGI owns 15.6 percent of Republic and 2.3 percent of Waste Management.

Freddie Mac takes step toward issuing stock

NEW YORK (AP) -- Mortgage financier Freddie Mac took a step toward issuing common and preferred stock to help bolster its balance sheet Friday when the Securities and Exchange Commission accepted its registration statement filed earlier in the day.

Freddie has committed to raising at least $5.5 billion amid a turbulent time for it and fellow mortgage giant Fannie Mae. The pair have been hit hard over the past year by mounting losses tied to the downturn in the mortgage market, and the government was forced to step in over the weekend to reassure Wall Street of the companies' solvency.

Fannie Mae raised $7.4 billion earlier this year to strengthen its balance sheet, while Freddie Mac had indicated plans to raise $5.5 billion, but has been waiting to initiate the offerings because its stock is not yet registered with the SEC.

Mattel's 2Q profit falls sharply, but tops views

NEW YORK (AP) -- Mattel Inc. said Friday its second-quarter profit fell by nearly half as higher costs offset strong sales of toys related to summer movies like "Kung Fu Panda" and the latest Batman film and the benefit from the weaker dollar.

The results still beat Wall Street's expectations. That, combined with Mattel's legal victory in a case against the maker of Bratz dolls, sent the shares soaring nearly 12 percent. The company also said it may raise prices again this spring.

Mattel, which makes Barbie, Hot Wheels and Fisher-Price toys, said quarterly profit dropped 48 percent to $11.8 million, or 3 cents per share, from $22.8 million, or 6 cents per share, a year ago.

Revenue rose 11 percent to $1.11 billion, including a 15 percent rise in international sales that came mainly from the benefit of a weaker dollar. U.S. sales grew just 3 percent.

Honeywell 2Q profit rises 18 pct, boosts view

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Second quarter earnings rose 18 percent at Honeywell International Inc. and the diversified manufacturer raised its 2008 forecast Friday as its global reach helped buffer the company from the deep woes faced by the U.S. economy.

Morristown, N.J.-based Honeywell earned $723 million, or 96 cents per share, beating Wall Street forecasts for the quarter ending June 30. It earned $611 million, or 78 cents per share, a year ago. Sales rose 13 percent to $9.67 billion from $8.54 billion a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting earnings of 94 cents per share on $9 billion in revenue.

Crude prices help lift Schlumberger 2Q profit

HOUSTON (AP) -- Oilfield services provider Schlumberger Ltd. opened the petroleum sector's midyear earnings period on a strong note Friday, reporting a nearly 13 percent jump in profit driven by robust spending among customers searching for new sources of crude and natural gas.

Unless the global economy goes into the tank, Schlumberger said it expects continued brisk spending on exploration and production as energy companies try to benefit from high commodity prices.

The company, a bellwether oilfield services contractor, said its net income rose to $1.42 billion, or $1.16 a share, compared with $1.26 billion, or $1.02 per share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose to $6.75 billion from $5.64 billion a year earlier.

WTO publishes trade ruling against China

GENEVA (AP) -- The World Trade Organization made public its first official condemnation of Chinese commercial practices on Friday, releasing a February ruling that sided with the United States, the European Union and Canada in a dispute over car parts.

The verdict -- findings of which were obtained by The Associated Press five months ago -- found that China was breaking trade rules by taxing imports of auto parts at the same rate as foreign-made finished cars.

In the sweeping decision, the three-member WTO panel ruled against China on nearly every point of contention with the U.S., the 27-nation EU and Canada.

By The Associated Press

The Dow rose 49.91, or 0.44 percent, to 11,496.57, adding on to a 483-point gain Wednesday and Thursday.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.36, or 0.03 percent, to 1,260.68, and the technology-focused Nasdaq composite index dropped 29.52, or 1.28 percent, to 2,282.78.

For the week, the Dow rose 3.57 percent, the Nasdaq increased 1.95 percent, and the S&P rose 1.71 percent.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery fell 41 cents Friday to settle at $128.88 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In other Nymex trade, heating oil futures fell 5.23 cents to settle at $3.6915 a gallon while gasoline futures edged up 0.73 cent to $3.1709 a gallon. Natural gas futures rose 3.3 cents to $10.57 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude futures for September delivery rose 88 cents to settle at $130.19 on the ICE Futures Exchange.