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• Airgas profit rises on higher gas sales, tank rentals Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 7:39 AM ET

  Jan 24- Industrial gas supplier Airgas Inc reported a 14 percent higher third-quarter profit as gas sales and storage tank rental revenue rose by 6 percent. Profit rose to $82.9 million, or $1.05 per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, from $72.6 million, or $0.93 per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 5 percent to $1.21 billion.

• 3M profit up 3.9 percent in quarter Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 7:39 AM ET

  The company said on Thursday that fourth-quarter profit came to $991 million or $1.41 per share, compared with $954 million, or $1.35 per share, a year earlier.

• INTERVIEW-Gunvor eyes U.S. oil, gas assets Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 7:37 AM ET

  DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 24- Swiss-based trading house Gunvor, once dominant in the Russian crude oil market, is looking at new oil and gas opportunities in the United States, its chief executive said on Thursday.

• Agrium lifts earnings forecast on strong fertilizer sales Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 7:36 AM ET

  Jan 24- Canadian fertilizer maker and farm products retailer Agrium Inc raised its fourth-quarter earnings forecast on Thursday, as strong grain and oilseed prices spurred demand for its fertilizer products over the fall season in North America.

• Bristol-Myers beats forecasts, as newer drugs deliver Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 7:32 AM ET

  Jan 24- Bristol-Myers Squibb Co reported better than expected quarterly sales and earnings, fueled by strong sales of newer treatments for leukemia, melanoma and diabetes. The U.S. drugmaker on Thursday said it earned $925 million, or 56 cents per share, in the fourth quarter. That compared with $852 million, or 50 cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter.

• UPDATE 1-Southwest Airlines posts lower profit as costs rise Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 7:30 AM ET

  Jan 24- Southwest Airlines Co reported lower quarterly profit on Thursday as it wrestled with higher costs for fuel, maintenance materials and salaries.

• European share flatline on mixed earnings, economic data Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 7:19 AM ET

  *Telcos boosted by Vodafone gains.

• CORRECTED-Xerox fourth-quarter revenue in line with St estimate Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 7:18 AM ET

  Jan 24- Xerox Corp on Thursday reported fourth-quarter revenue in line with expectations. The company said revenue was flat at $5.9 billion and earnings per share, excluding items, were 30 cents. Analysts looked for revenue of $5.88 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

• INTERVIEW-Turkish Airlines to order over 100 narrow-body planes Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 7:18 AM ET

  *Airbus, Boeing eye world's fastest-growing major carrier. ISTANBUL, Jan 24- Turkish Airlines, the world's fastest-growing carrier, plans to order more than 100 narrow-body planes by the end of March, underlining its position as a key client for global planemakers after buying billions of dollars worth of larger models in 2012..

• Raytheon sees lower 2013 earnings after Q4 drop Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 7:16 AM ET

  WASHINGTON, Jan 24- U.S. arms maker Raytheon Co on Thursday forecast a drop of up to 9 percent in adjusted earnings per share this year as it reported that fourth-quarter earnings per share fell 7 percent on nearly unchanged sales.

• Xerox fourth-quarter revenue in with Street estimate Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 7:07 AM ET

  Jan 24- Xerox Corp on Thursday reported fourth-quarter revenue in line with expectations. The company said revenue was flat at $5.9 billion and earnings per share, excluding items, were 33 cents, up 14 percent. Analysts looked for revenue of $5.88 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

• UPDATE 2-Barclays CEO wants to keep large investment bank Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 7:06 AM ET

  HONG KONG/ LONDON, Jan 24- Barclays wants to remain a big player in investment banking even though the British bank is cutting costs and jobs in that business, including at least 70 in its Asian division.

• Entrepreneurs plan D.C. road trip to talk up immigration reform Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 6:59 AM ET

  SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 24- San Francisco- based entrepreneur Garrett Johnson is usually too busy with his messaging start-up for much travel, but one issue has inspired him to cross the country: immigration reform.

• Southwest Airlines posts lower quarterly profit Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 6:56 AM ET

  Jan 24- Southwest Airlines Co reported lower quarterly profit on Thursday as it wrestled with higher costs for fuel, maintenance materials and salaries. Net income fell to $78 million, or 11 cents a share, for the fourth quarter, from $152 million, or 20 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding items, profit was 9 cents a share.

• Embraer books Republic Airways deal worth up to $4 billion Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 6:51 AM ET

  SAO PAULO, Jan 24- Brazil's Embraer SA, the world's largest maker of regional jets, said on Thursday it signed a deal to provide Republic Airways Holdings Inc with 47 E-175 jets, with an option to acquire an additional 47 aircraft. If all 94 planes were delivered, the value of the contract could reach about $4 billion at list prices, Embraer added.

• Lockheed sees higher earnings, weaker sales for 2013 Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 6:50 AM ET

  Jan 24- Lockheed Martin Corp, the Pentagon's biggest supplier, said on Thursday that it expected higher earnings this year despite weakening sales, citing a record backlog and continued efforts to cut costs.

• PRECIOUS-Gold slips to 1-week low as investors' confidence wanes Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 6:43 AM ET

  LONDON, Jan 24- Gold fell to a one-week low on Thursday after a repeated failure to break above a key chart level hurt investors' confidence in the metal, and as U.S. policymakers postponed talks on extending the U.S. debt ceiling. Spot gold slipped to a low of $1,675.04 and was down 0.4 percent at $1,677.99 an ounce at 1118 GMT.

• Antwerp builds a gateway to EU: world's biggest lock Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 6:42 AM ET

  *Antwerp building 340 mln euro lock, ready for 2016. ANTWERP, Belgium, Jan 24- Belgium is building the world's largest lock- as wide as a 19- lane highway- ready to welcome the latest generation of giant ships after Europe's brace of new trade deals.

• Apple's weak results spark fresh round of price target cuts Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 6:34 AM ET

  Jan 24- Weaker-than-expected holiday sales of Apple Inc's iPhone reinforced fears that it is losing its dominance in smartphones, driving down its shares and drawing another round of stock price target cuts early on Thursday.

• UPDATE 2-Monte Paschi faces $1 bln loss on 'surprise' trades Thursday, 24 Jan 2013 | 6:27 AM ET

  MILAN, Jan 24- Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Italy's third biggest bank, revealed on Thursday it could face losses of as much as 720 million euros on past trades in financial derivatives which new management only recently discovered.