Business Briefs: Boeing nets orders for nine jets this week
Published 12:01 am Friday, March 25, 2011
The Boeing Co. logged 10 new orders for the week and one cancellation for a 737, according to an update on the company’s Web site posted Thursday. The only order the company hadn’t previously announced was for four 777s from an unidentified customer. Boeing also added the EL AL order for four 737s, which it announced Wednesday and the Korean Air order for two 747s announced last Friday. Boeing also revealed that FedEx had ordered four 777s; that order was attributed to an unidentified customer. The new orders bring Boeing’s tally to 76 net orders through March 22.
Walgreen to buy drugstore.com
Drugstore operator Walgreen Co. said Thursday it will spend about $429 million to buy online retailer drugstore.com in a deal that gives it access to 3 million online customers. The largest U.S. drugstore operator will give drugstore.com shareholders $3.80 in cash for each share of stock — more than double the $1.79 closing price of drugstore.com’s stock on Wednesday.
Software sales boost Oracle profits
Database software maker Oracle Corp. said Thursday its net income rose 78 percent in the fiscal third quarter, helped by a rise in new software license sales and the benefit of three full months of revenue from Sun Microsystems, a company it acquired last year. Net income for the quarter that ended on Feb. 28 increased to $2.1 billion, or 41 cents per share, from $1.2 billion, or 23 cents per share a year earlier. Excluding certain items, Oracle earned 54 cents per share, more than Wall Street was expecting.
Post CEO spurns $1.2 million bonus
The Washington Post Co.’s longtime CEO turned down a $1.2 million bonus last year to keep his compensation package unchanged from the previous year. Donald Graham could have collected the seven-figure payment as part of a long-term incentive plan covering 2007 through 2010, according to regulatory documents filed Wednesday. The sacrifice left Graham’s 2010 pay package at $412,740, the same as in 2009, according to an Associated Press calculation. The compensation mostly consisted of the same $400,000 salary he has received since he became CEO in 1991. The rest represented retirement contributions. The Post is The Herald’s parent company.
Fed chief adds four news conferences
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will begin holding news conferences four times a year to answer questions about the Federal Reserve’s policy decisions. It represents a significant shift in strategy for the central bank, one that will give it a chance to defend actions that in recent months have faced harsh criticism. The decision, which was announced Thursday, comes after the Fed held an unusual videoconference last fall in large part to discuss the need to improve its communications with the public.
From Herald news services
