Latest Business Wires

The worst is behind Elizabeth Arden Inc., an analyst said Thursday, upgrading the stock to "Buy" as he cited cost savings and sales opportunities at Wal-Mart Stores.

Intel Corp. is paying $1.25 billion to Advanced Micro Devices Inc., its largest rival in the market for computer processors, to settle all antitrust and patent suits, the companies said Thursday.

The Obama administration's pay czar says he is "very concerned" about scaring away top talent at seven firms that took the biggest bailouts.

Activision Blizzard estimates that it sold about 4.7 million copies of its "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" game worth $310 million in the first 24 hours in North America and the United Kingdom, making it the biggest-selling launch in the history of entertainment.

United Technologies Corp. on Thursday said it will acquire General Electric Co.'s fire detection and security business for $1.82 billion.

Lee Enterprises Inc., publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and dozens of other newspapers, says it earned a small profit in the third quarter, helped by cost cuts and lower prices for paper.

Meridian Bioscience Inc. said Thursday its profit rose 16 percent in its fiscal fourth quarter due to strong sales of its rapid flu test, which is marketed as a potential detector of swine flu.

American depositary shares of Ctrip.com International Ltd. rose sharply in premarket trading Thursday after the Chinese travel service company reported demand for hotels and airline tickets boosted its third-quarter profit.

The Top 20 Concert Tours ranks artists by average box office gross per city and includes the average ticket price for shows in North America. The previous week's ranking is in parentheses. The list is based on data provided to the trade publication Pollstar by concert promoters and venue managers.

German building company and airport operator Hochtief AG said Thursday its third quarter net profit improved 44 percent and said it was increasing its order backlog outlook for the full year.

Turkey says it has successfully modernized 171 tanks and is in talks with the government of Chile to overhaul tanks there.

Shares of Brocade Communications Systems Inc. fell in premarket trading Thursday as analysts said the the maker of networking gear would be hurt by Hewlett-Packard Co.'s acquisition of 3Com Corp.

An analyst on Wednesday downgraded shares of CKE Restaurants Inc., which owns and operates the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's fast food chains, saying that sales are sluggish at stores open more than a year.

Dehaier Medical Systems filed for an initial public offering Thursday. The medical device company wants to sell 1.25 million to 1.5 million shares at $7 to $9 each.

Parts of a remote central Utah canyon decorated with ancient Indian art are being nominated for the National Register of Historic Places.

Drug developer MAP Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Thursday it secured a committed equity financing facility under which it can sell up to $60 million in stock to Azimuth Opportunity Ltd.

West Texas cotton producer Steve Smith continued to harvest Wednesday, happy that the weather on this end of the growing season is far better than its beginning.

The country's understaffed land ports of entry need massive investments in infrastructure, technology and personnel to avoid becoming the path of choice for human and drug smugglers, according to a report released Wednesday by a border advocacy group.

A huge increase in the application fee for oil and gas companies to drill on federal land is unfair and won't speed up review of drilling permits, industry officials said Wednesday.

Israel has signed a $350 million deal to supply dozens of unmanned surveillance aircraft to Brazil's national police, a defense official said Thursday.