AP Business Highlights

On Monday February 8, 2010, 8:51 pm EST

Reports: Toyota plans to recall 300,000 Priuses

TOKYO (AP) -- Toyota plans to recall about 300,000 Prius hybrids worldwide over a brake problem and is likely to notify both the U.S. and Japanese governments Tuesday, news reports said, as a top executive will testify before U.S. lawmakers about defects that have tarnished its reputation for quality and safety.

The recall of the gas-electric Prius will cover the latest version of the cars that went on sale from May last year, Kyodo News agency reported late Monday.

Kyodo, which did not identify its sources for the information, said the automaker planned to notify authorities in Japan on Tuesday and probably also in the U.S. on the same day.

Dow closes below 10,000 for first time in 3 months

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Dow Jones industrial average closed below 10,000 for the first time in three months Monday on nagging concerns about debt loads in Europe.

Shares of big banks pulled the market lower, extending a slump that has led to four straight weekly losses. The Dow fell 103.84 to 9,908.39.

Rising deficits in weaker European economies including Greece, Portugal and Spain have raised questions about the health of the global financial system.

Greece's finance minister said Monday the government is preparing to boost some taxes to shore up its finances. But civil servants opposed to cutbacks have pledged to strike on Wednesday.

CIT names ex-Merrill CEO Thain as chairman, CEO

NEW YORK (AP) -- CIT Group Inc., the lender that is trying to regain its former stature after almost collapsing during the financial industry crisis, said late Sunday it has hired the former Merrill Lynch & Co. CEO as its chairman and chief executive.

Thain is also trying to repair his own image. He brokered Merrill's sale to Bank of America Corp. as the credit crisis peaked in the fall of 2008, but was forced to resign after the deal closed because of controversy over employee bonus payments and mounting losses at the investment bank.

CIT, which lends to more than 3,000 businesses including supermarkets and department stores, went through bankruptcy reorganization late last year after it failed to restructure billions of dollars in debt. It was also hurt by rising loan losses as more customers fell behind on repaying loans.

Transformers drive Hasbro 4Q profit increase

NEW YORK (AP) -- Strength in its boys' brands like Transformers and Nerf, along with its core game brands including Scrabble and Monopoly, should boost Hasbro's results in 2010, the company said Monday.

The owner of the G.I. Joe, Tonka and Playskool brands also said it expects sales and earnings per share to grow this year, although it didn't offer specifics.

Combined with strong fourth-quarter earnings, the positive news sent Hasbro shares up 12 percent, and they briefly touched a 52-week high. Hasbro has seen earnings-per-share grow for nine years straight and revenue for five. The quarter's big sellers for boys -- Transformers, G.I. Joe, Nerf, Play-Doh and Tonka -- helped sales climb 12 percent to $1.38 billion, from $1.23 billion a year earlier.

Electronic Arts posts smaller loss, outlook poor

NEW YORK (AP) -- Electronic Arts Inc. is showing a smaller net loss in its last quarter even though its video game sales declined.

On an adjusted basis, the publisher of games like "Madden" earned a profit slightly above analysts' muted expectations. But the company's profit and revenue forecasts were below expectations and EA shares slipped in after-hours trading Monday.

Electronic Arts posted a net loss of $82 milllion, 20 cents per share, for the October-December period. In the same period a year earlier it lost $641 million, $2 per share.

Revenue fell 25 percent to $1.24 billion.

US magazine circulation falls 9 pct at newsstands

NEW YORK (AP) -- Purchases of U.S. magazines at newsstands and other retail outlets fell 9 percent in the second half of 2009, a slight improvement from the 12 percent year-over-year decline in the first half of the year.

Those figures released Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations show how the weak economy continues to batter the magazine industry at a time when consumers have plenty of free reading alternatives available online.

Newsstand and other single-copy retail sales are important for publishers because they charge more per copy than they do for subscriptions, which fell 1.1 percent in last year's second half.

CVS Caremark 4Q profit grows 11 percent

NEW YORK (AP) -- CVS Caremark Corp., one of the nation's biggest drugstore operators, said Monday its profit rose 11 percent in the fourth quarter as results improved for its pharmacy benefits management business.

The Woonsocket, R.I., company said it earned $1.05 billion, or 74 cents per share, in the last three months of 2009, up from $949 million, or 65 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time costs, CVS earned 79 cents per share -- a penny ahead of the average analyst estimate, according to Thomson Reuters.

Revenue grew 7 percent to $25.82 billion from $24.14 billion but fell short of Street estimates of $26.22 billion.

HHS secretary asks insurer to justify rate hike

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration on Monday asked California's largest for-profit health insurer to justify plans to hike customers' premiums by as much as 39 percent, a move that could affect some 800,000 customers.

In a letter to the president of Anthem Blue Cross, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said she was very disturbed to learn of the planned increases, calling them "extraordinary." She said they were hard to understand in light of the profitability of Anthem's parent company, WellPoint Inc.

Peggy Hinz, a spokeswoman for Anthem, said she would check whether the letter had been received.

Wintry weather drives energy prices higher

NEW YORK (AP) -- Energy prices climbed Monday as another winter storm was expected to dump even more snow on the East Coast.

Already, parts of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington are blanketed in about three feet of snow, knocking out power for tens of thousands of people and forcing government offices to close.

As those regions dig out and warm up, analysts said they expected to see sizable draws on the country's supply of natural gas and heating oil. Mid-Atlantic states are some of the biggest natural gas and heating oil consumers in the country.

Super Bowl is most watched TV show ever

NEW YORK (AP) -- The New Orleans Saints' victory over Indianapolis in the Super Bowl was watched by more than 106 million people, surpassing the 1983 finale of "M-A-S-H" to become the most-watched program in U.S. television history, the Nielsen Co. said Monday.

Compelling story lines involving the city of New Orleans and its ongoing recovery from Hurricane Katrina and the attempt at a second Super Bowl ring for Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning propelled the viewership. Football ratings have been strong all season.

Nielsen estimated Monday that 106.5 million people watched Sunday's Super Bowl. The "M-A-S-H" record was 105.97 million.

By The Associated Press

The Dow fell 103.84, or 1 percent, to 9,908.39.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 9.45, or 0.9 percent, to 1,056.74, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 15.07, or 0.7 percent, to 2,126.05.

Benchmark crude for March delivery gained 70 cents to settle at $71.89 a barrel on the Nymex, rebounding from an 8 percent drop last week. In London, Brent crude gained 52 cents to settle at $70.11 on the ICE futures exchange.

In other Nymex trading in March contracts, gasoline rose less than a penny to settle at $1.894 a gallon. Natural gas gave up 11.4 cents to settle at $5.401 per 1,000 cubic feet.