Disney to buy comic book powerhouse Marvel for $4B
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Walt
Disney Co. is buying Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and
stock, bringing such characters as Iron Man and Spider-Man into the family of
Mickey Mouse and WALL-E.
Under the deal, which was
announced Monday and is expected to close by the end of the year, Disney will
acquire the rights to 5,000 Marvel characters. Many of them, including the
Fantastic Four and the X-Men, were co-created by the comic book legend Stan
Lee.
Stocks end strong month with
a bout of selling
NEW YORK (AP) -- After
giving the stock market solid gains during August, investors still worried
about the economy backtracked a bit during the final day of the month.
Stocks fell in light trading
Monday after a plunge in China's main stock market sent a wave of selling
around the world and added to concerns that stocks have rocketed too high, too
fast. The Dow fell 47.92, or 0.5 percent, to 9,496.28.
The Standard & Poor's
500 index, which is the basis for many mutual funds, ended August higher to
post its sixth straight monthly gain. It is up 50.9 percent since early March,
the best run since 1938.
Baker Hughes to buy BJ
Services in $5.5B deal
HOUSTON (AP) -- Oilfield
services company Baker Hughes Inc. said Monday that it will buy BJ Services Co.
in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $5.5 billion to diversify the services it
offers and compete better with industry leaders.
Baker Hughes customers will
get a one-stop shop for a variety of services. Notably BJ Services' pressure
pumping business will go to Baker Hughes, which will help clients with
unconventional gas and deepwater fields, said Chad Deaton, Baker Hughes
Chairman, President and CEO.
Southwest faces Tuesday
deadline to replace parts
DALLAS (AP) -- Southwest
Airlines Co., facing a deadline of Tuesday for settling a dispute with
regulators over the use of unapproved parts, said Monday the parts were
installed on almost twice as many planes as it first believed.
The airline also has
suspended the maintenance firm that got the parts from a subcontractor.
Southwest said Monday it has
replaced the unapproved parts in more than 25 planes but needs more time to
find parts for the remaining jets and an extension to avoid a disruption in its
service to its customers.
Without an extension, the
Federal Aviation Administration could force the airline to ground some planes.
Oil settles below $70 on
China worries
UNDATED (AP) -- Oil prices
fell nearly 4 percent to below $70 a barrel Monday as a steep drop in China's
stock market raised doubts about the strength of the U.S. and global economic
recovery.
Benchmark crude for October
delivery lost $2.78 to settle at $69.96 on the New York Mercantile Exchange,
the first time oil has ended a trading day below $70 in about two weeks.
Major refiner China
Petroleum & Chemical Corp. fell by the daily maximum 10 percent after the
company said it does not expect to significantly boost production, while
PetroChina, the Shanghai index's heaviest weighted share, fell 6.7 percent.
Head of Boeing's commercial
jets to step down
CHICAGO (AP) -- Boeing Co.
said Monday that Scott Carson will step down as head of the company's
commercial airplane division and retire at the end of the year.
The Chicago-based company
said Carson will be succeeded on Tuesday by the head of its defense business,
Jim Albaugh.
Boeing's commercial aircraft
operation has struggled with sharply lower orders amid the global economic
downturn, which has hurt demand for air travel and cargo services. It also has
grappled with problems arising from its new 787, a next-generation aircraft
that's been delayed five times. Boeing said last week the lightweight plane
will fly for the first time by year's end.
Survey finds support for
Fed, jitters on spending
NEW YORK (AP) -- Economists
are pleased with the Federal Reserve's policy on interest rates but skeptical
of the government's ability to rein in spending, curb greenhouse gases or
overhaul health care, a new survey finds.
The latest semiannual survey
by the National Association for Business Economics, set to be released Monday,
indicates almost 70 percent of the 266 economists surveyed earlier this month
think the Fed's monetary policy is "about right," up from 63 percent
in March and 56 percent a year ago.
The results come as
indicators point to an improving economy, presenting policy makers with
wrenching decisions over how quickly to roll back measures taken in the past
year to avert a financial collapse.
Wal-Mart to sell goods from
other vendors on Web
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) --
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has launched an addition to its online business that has
outside retailers selling nearly 1 million new items through Walmart.com, a
move that could help the world's largest retailer catch up in the online world.
The Walmart Marketplace has
products from categories that include home, baby, toys, apparel, sporting goods
and sports memorabilia. The company said it picked the retailers -- including
eBags, CSN Stores and Pro Team -- because they have large product assortments
and solid customer service track records.
Huntsman makes $415M bid for
Tronox assets
NEW YORK (AP) -- Chemical
company Huntsman Inc. has offered to pay about $415 million for Tronox Inc.'s
titanium dioxide and electrolytics businesses in a deal that would make
Huntsman the world's second-biggest maker of a whitener used in products as
diverse as food, plastics and paint.
Texas-based Huntsman Inc.
said Monday that it signed a "stalking horse" agreement last Friday
with Oklahoma City-based Tronox Inc., which filed for bankruptcy protection in
January.
That means other companies
may submit competing bids for Tronox's assets before a bankruptcy court
auction, which will likely take place in the fourth quarter of this year.
Drugstores to start giving
flu shots Tuesday
NEW YORK (AP) -- Drugstore
operators are beginning their seasonal flu shot campaigns several weeks early
this year, saying they expect greater demand for the vaccine in a year when the
swine flu strain has dominated the news.
CVS Caremark Corp. and
Walgreen Co. are making flu shots available starting Tuesday, while Rite Aid
Corp. said some of its pharmacists are already giving the shots. The vaccine is
intended to prevent the seasonal flu and is separate from vaccines for swine
flu. A swine flu vaccine could be ready by mid-October.
CVS said it was offering the
shots three or four weeks earlier than usual. Walgreen said it started giving
flu shots Oct. 1 last year.
By The Associated Press
The Dow fell 47.92, or 0.5
percent, to 9,496.28.
The S&P 500 index fell
8.31, or 0.8 percent, to 1,020.62, while the Nasdaq fell 19.71, or 1 percent,
to 2,009.06.
Benchmark crude for October
delivery lost $2.78 to settle at $69.96 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In other Nymex trading, gasoline
for September delivery fell 7.59 cents to settle at $1.9859 a gallon and
heating oil dropped 8.11 cents to settle at $1.7792 a gallon. Natural gas shed
5.6 cents to settle at $2.977 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude
settled down $3.14 at $69.65.