Financial Summary
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(AP) - The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Thursday, May 15, 2008:
Report: Investor to lead fight against Yahoo board
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Billionaire investor Carl Icahn reportedly has decided to lead a mutiny against Yahoo Inc.'s board in an attempt to pressure the directors into reviving negotiations to sell Yahoo to Microsoft Corp. To turn up the heat on Yahoo's board, Icahn has lined up a slate of 10 directors to nominate as replacements, The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site Wednesday, citing an unnamed person close to the matter.
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Banking group Mizuho sees 50 percent profit drop
TOKYO (AP) _ Mizuho, Japan's No. 2 banking group, took a beating from U.S. subprime credit problems, reporting Thursday a 50 percent drop in profit for the fiscal year. Mizuho Financial Group Inc. recorded 311.22 billion yen ($2.97 billion) in profit for the fiscal year ended March 31, down 49.8 percent from 620.97 billion yen the previous year.
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Ask.com acquires Dictionary.com, other references
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Ask.com has bought a stable of Internet reference sites that includes Dictionary.com in its latest effort to distinguish itself from online search leader Google Inc. and other much larger rivals. Besides Dictionary.com, Ask is picking up Thesaurus.com and Reference.com in its acquisition of Lexico Publishing Group LLC. Terms of the deal, set to be announced Thursday, aren't being disclosed.
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Sony shares rise in Tokyo after upbeat earnings
TOKYO (AP) _ Sony shares jumped nearly 9 percent in Thursday trading in Tokyo, a day after the Japanese electronics and entertainment company released upbeat earnings that included a record fiscal year profit. Sony stock closed at 5,270 yen ($50) midday, up 8.7 percent from the previous day, as the market welcomed the strongest sign in years of the Tokyo manufacturer's path to recovery. Sony has taken a beating in recent years after falling behind rivals in digital music players and flat-panel TVs.
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Report: GE set to auction appliance business
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) _ General Electric Co. plans to auction off its Louisville, Ky.-based appliances business, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. GE has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to run an auction for the appliance division, according to the newspaper, which quoted unidentified sources. The sale could yield between $5 billion and $8 billion, the Journal reported.
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Electronics maker NEC's profit more than doubles
TOKYO (AP) _ NEC Corp.'s profit for the fiscal year through March more than doubled from the previous year as the Japanese electronics maker's mobile phone and computer-chip businesses swung to profit. NEC, which did not provide numbers for the quarter, reported Thursday a 22.68 billion yen ($216 million) profit for the fiscal year ended March 31 _ a dramatic rise from 9.13 billion yen profit the previous year.
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Global market expected to drive cancer drug growth
WASHINGTON (AP) _ The global market for cancer drugs will grow twice as fast as that for all other pharmaceuticals as the developing world spends more on health care, a new report says. China, Brazil, Russia and other emerging countries are becoming bigger customers for pharmaceuticals as they invest more in treating and diagnosing cancer, according to a report issued Thursday by IMS Health.
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Politically popular farm bill gets election-year boost
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Rising food costs and the upcoming election have fueled bipartisan support for a politically popular $290 billion farm bill full of extra money for food stamps and farm subsidies, despite strong opposition from President Bush. The Senate is expected to approve the five-year bill and send it to Bush on Thursday, one day after the House supported the legislation overwhelmingly. Supporters garnered 318 votes in that chamber, 28 more than needed to override his promised veto. 100 Republicans voted for the bill.
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Oil cos. expect battles over polar bear listing
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) _ The lawyers aren't clearing their calendars just yet, but the oil industry is bracing for some courtroom battles to maintain its stake in Alaska's oil-rich fields now that the Interior Department has listed polar bears as a threatened species. About 15 percent of the nation's oil is being produced in Alaska, and soaring prices for the commodity are pushing companies to look farther and farther offshore to the floors of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, which are frozen much of the year.
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Senate sends oil-reserve bill to president
WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Senate late Wednesday approved and sent to the White House legislation directing President Bush to temporarily halt oil shipments into the government's emergency reserve, hoping to lower energy prices. Final approval came without debate after Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada received assurances from other senators, including Republicans, that no one would object.
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Gold Prices
LONDON (AP) _ Gold bullion opened Thursday at a bid price of $865.00 a troy ounce, down from $867.30 late Wednesday.
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Japan Markets
TOKYO (AP)_ Japanese shares rose Thursday, lifted by an overnight gain on Wall Street and Sony Corp.'s upbeat earnings. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 133.19 points, or 0.9 percent, to 14,251.74, marking its fourth consecutive gain.
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Dollar-Yen
TOKYO (AP)_ The dollar slipped against the yen on Thursday, but analysts said there was underlying support in a better-than-expected report on U.S. consumer prices. The U.S. currency stood at 104.90 yen midafternoon in Tokyo, down from 105.06 yen in New York late Wednesday.
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