Business news briefs for 02/10/12
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Two Westinghouse Electric Co. nuclear reactors being built in Georgia were approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Thursday -- the first since 1978. The Cranberry-based firm designed the AP1000 plants, which are being built by Southern Co. of Atlanta.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is warning people about fraudulent emails pretending to come from the agency and notifying recipients about purported changes to FDIC insurance coverage. "Recipients should consider the intent of this email as an attempt to collect personal and confidential information, or to load malicious software" onto their computers, the agency said.
Mylan Inc. said it received final regulatory approval for the generic version of Doryx 150 mg. delayed-release antibiotic tablets made by Mayne Pharma and marketed by Warner Chilcott. Mylan is prohibited from selling the medication until after a decision in Warner Chilcott's patent infringement lawsuit against Mylan. A decision in the trial, which is under way, is expected in March, Mylan said.
PepsiCo plans to cut 8,700 jobs and boost marketing spending for its brands by as much as $600 million as Chief Executive Officer Indra Nooyi works to turn around the world's largest snack-food maker. The job cuts, which represent about 3 percent of PepsiCo's global workforce, and other measures may save about $1.5 billion by 2014, the Purchase, N.Y.-based company said Thursday in a statement. Fourth-quarter net income advanced to $1.42 billion, or 89 cents a share, from $1.37 billion, or 85 cents, a year earlier, PepsiCo said in a separate statement. Excluding some items, profit was $1.15 a share, beating the $1.12 average of analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
The number of people seeking unemployment aid neared a four-year low last week. The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications for unemployment benefits fell 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 358,000. That's the second-lowest level since April 2008.
Wholesale businesses increased their stockpiles sharply in December, although the gains are expected to slow in coming months, a development that could curb overall economic growth. The Commerce Department says wholesale businesses boosted inventories by 1 percent in December after no increase in November. The rise came as sales rose 1.3 percent, the best showing in nine months and more than double the 0.5 percent November sales gain. The gain pushed stockpiles to $473.9 billion, 22.5 percent above their 2009 lows.
First Published February 10, 2012 12:00 am
