24th of December 2004 News
الأخبار كما ظهرت في الصفحة الأولى لصحيفة نيويورك تايمز في ٢٤ ديسمبر ٢٠٠٤
Scripture Sent With News Is Read in Different Ways
Date: 24 December 2004
By Neela Banerjee
Neela Banerjee
International Bible Society's insertion of copy of New Testament with Sunday supplement sections of Colorado Springs Gazette draws protests; some Jews and Muslims object to being proselytized in their homes and journalists debate whether tactic is free speech or skating too close to endorsement of particular religion; publisher Bob Burdick says papers do not have to back away from political or religious ideas; society has placed such insertions in papers in other cities (M)
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SUPERMARKET OPERATOR TO SELL DISTRIBUTION CENTERS
Date: 24 December 2004
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
The Penn Traffic Company, which operates 109 supermarkets in the Northeast, said yesterday that it planned to sell five distribution centers in New York and Pennsylvania for $37 million as part of a plan to emerge from bankruptcy. The Equity Industrial Partners Corporation will purchase the centers, then lease them back to Penn Traffic for an initial term of 15 years, according to papers filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court in New York. Penn Traffic, which is based in Syracuse, N.Y., filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2003.
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DANAHER TO BUY MAKER OF ELECTRICAL TESTING EQUIPMENT
Date: 24 December 2004
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
The Danaher Corporation, the maker of Craftsman hand tools and Fluke electronic testing equipment, has agreed to buy LEM Instruments for about $57 million in cash, adding business in Europe. LEM Instruments, which produces electrical measurement equipment, generated about $45 million in revenue in fiscal 2004, Danaher said. Danaher is buying the unit, which has been unprofitable, from LEM Holding, based in Geneva. LEM Instruments will become part of Danaher's electronic testing business. Danaher, based in Washington, made more than $1.58 billion in purchases this year before the LEM acquisition. The sale is expected to close in the first quarter, the company said.
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INSURER SAYS IT USED INAPPROPRIATE SALES PRACTICES
Date: 24 December 2004
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
The W.R. Berkley Corporation, a property and casualty insurer, said it found potentially inappropriate sales practices during an internal review prompted by the New York attorney general's investigation of industry collusion. The review found limited instances of conduct that could be characterized as involving inappropriate solicitation at one unit, W.R. Berkley said. Berkley is based in Greenwich, Conn.
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VERTRUE TO BUY MANAGER OF PLASTIC SURGERY CENTERS
Date: 24 December 2004
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Vertrue Inc., which sells membership programs offering discounts on travel, fashion and health care, agreed to buy My Choice Medical Holdings Inc., a management company for plastic surgeons, for $33 million. My Choice, a closely held company that also offers Internet advertising services, is profitable and will add to earnings in fiscal 2005 and 2006, Vertrue's chief financial officer, James B. Duffy, said. He declined to provide specific dollar amounts. The purchase gives Vertrue entry into the cosmetic surgery market and bolsters its online marketing power, Mr. Duffy said. Vertrue, which bought the online dating service Lavalife earlier this year for $113.7 million, seeks to increase revenue and profit by offering customers a wider range of services. My Choice, which is based in Stroudsburg, Pa., manages more than 90 plastic surgery centers.
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ROYAL AHOLD TO SELL 2 SUPERMARKET CHAINS
Date: 24 December 2004
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Royal Ahold, the Dutch food retailer that owns Stop & Shop stores in the United States, agreed to sell its Bi-Lo and Bruno's supermarket chains to Lone Star Funds for as much as $660 million to pay down debt. Ahold will receive $560 million on closing the sale and may get an additional $100 million within 18 months, a spokesman, Walter Samuels, said yesterday. The supermarket chains, whose stores are in southeastern states including Alabama and North Carolina, will keep their debt. Ahold expects to complete the sale in the first quarter of 2005. Ahold intends to raise 2.5 billion euros from asset sales by the end of 2005 to reduce debt. Ahold, which is based in Zaandam, the Netherlands, will still have the Giant supermarket chain and the Internet grocer Peapod in the United States. Lone Star, based in Dallas, is a private investment company that manages more than $13 billion in assets and investments.
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BRISTOL-MYERS ASKS F.D.A. TO APPROVE DIABETES DRUG
Date: 24 December 2004
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, the drug maker, said yesterday that it had asked federal regulators to approve its once-a-day diabetes drug. If the drug is approved, Bristol-Myers will sell it with Merck & Company. Both Bristol-Myers, based in New York, and Merck, based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., are hoping the drug, called muraglitazar, will help sales as competition increases for other medicines. The drug could have peak worldwide sales of more than $1 billion, John Boris, an analyst at Harris Nesbitt Gerard in New York, said last month. Merck agreed in April to pay Bristol-Myers as much as $375 million to share the rights to the drug. The companies said at the time that they planned to split costs and would jointly develop and sell the product. Merck is looking to make up sales lost when it withdrew Vioxx from the market.
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ALASKA AIRLINES REVISES 3RD-QUARTER NET INCOME DOWN
Date: 24 December 2004
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Alaska Airlines Inc. revised third-quarter net income lower by 7.9 percent because of a clerical error in accounting for a frequent-flier program. The revised third-quarter net income is $61 million, down from $66.2 million reported previously, the airline said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing yesterday. The error reduced third-quarter net income for the parent company, Alaska Air Group of Seattle, to $74 million from $79.2 million. Alaska Airlines mistakenly recorded revenue from partners in its frequent-flier program who offer bonus miles as an incentive to use their products, said Caroline Boren, an Alaska Air spokeswoman.
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World Business Briefing | Mideast: Trade Agreement Broadened
Date: 24 December 2004
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Israel and Jordan expanded a 1995 trade agreement between the countries to eliminate duties by 2010, the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Israel said. The accord will go into effect at the beginning of next year, cutting Jordanian duties on imports from Israel by a third and duties on Jordanian exports to Israel by half, the minister of industry and trade, Ehud Olmert, said. The duties will continue to decline until they are eliminated in 2010, the ministry said.
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World Business Briefing | Europe: Sweden: Bid For Phone Stake
Date: 24 December 2004
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
TeliaSonera, the Nordic region's largest phone company, offered 484 million euros ($648 million) to buy the rest of the Estonian phone company, Eesti Telekom, in its second attempt in less than a year to purchase the company. TeliaSonera, based in Stockholm, increased its stake in Eesti Telekom to more than 50 percent and will make a mandatory public offer for all shares, it said. The company will offer 7.02 euros cash for each share. Estonia owns 27 percent of Eesti Telekom.
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