Moving quickly to buttress sagging crude oil prices, OPEC announced Wednesday it would cut output by 1 million barrels a day, or 4 percent of its official target level. The decision by all 11 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is aimed at supporting prices at around $25 a barrel in the face of eroding demand in the group’s key markets in the United States, Europe and Asia. The cut is to take effect Sept. 1. Energy analysts said the move likely will have minimal effect on U.S. gas prices, which are shaped mostly by demand and refining capacity.
A divided Federal Communications Commission cleared News Corp.’s $4.4 billion bid to buy television station owner Chris-Craft. With final approval in hand, Fox Television Stations, part of the News Corp. family, can complete the deal, which gives it 32 stations reaching nearly 41 percent of U.S. viewers. Technically, the deal brings News Corp. in violation of a federal rule that only allows a company to reach only 35 percent of the population through its TV stations.
Strong pharmaceutical sales led to double-digit profit gains at Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Pharmacia Corp., the companies reported Wednesday. Schering-Plough Corp.’s second-quarter earnings were flat at $634 million, or 43 cents a share, as manufacturing problems continue to plague the maker of Claritin allergy medication, Nasonex Nasal Spray and Dr. Scholl’s foot care products. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s second-quarter profits rose 10 percent to $1.2 billion, or 61 cents a share, compared with $1.09 billion, or 54 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenues increased 7 percent to $4.71 billion from $4.42 billion. Peapack, N.J.-based Pharmacia Corp.’s profits rose 53 percent to $737 million, or 55 cents a share, compared with $479 million, or 37 cents a share, from last year’s second quarter.
Xerox Corp. said a weak economy is stalling efforts to return to profitability. Xerox, which reported a $281 million net loss and a 13 percent decline in revenue Wednesday, said it may not record a profit until the fourth quarter. The loss of 40 cents a share for the three months that ended June 30, compared with a profit of $202 million, or 27 cents a share, in the second quarter last year.
Despite a dearth of Web sites in Spanish, the number of adult Hispanics online continues to grow in the United States, reaching 50 percent of Hispanics, said a survey released Wednesday. The Pew Internet and American Life Project also found the Hispanic online population as a group to be younger and poorer than the overall Internet population.
From Herald news services
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