Industries

Coca-Cola Fourth-Quarter Profit Rises 55% as Sales Gain in India, China Coca-Cola Co., the world’s largest soft-drink maker, said fourth-quarter profit gained 55 percent as volume sales grew in China and India. The shares rose the most in more than five months.

McDonald's January Sales Rise 2.6%, Top Estimates, on Demand in Asia, U.K. McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest restaurant company, said global sales rose 2.6 percent in January, topping some analysts’ estimates, as demand in Asia and the U.K. countered a decline in the U.S.

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India to Complete Building First Oil Storage Tank by Middle of Next Year India will complete building its first crude oil storage terminal by the middle of next year as it seeks to insulate the country against price fluctuations and ensure fuel supplies.

Vessels Used for Oil Floating Storage Dropped 20% in January, Broker Says The number of vessels used to store crude oil and diesel fuel fell by 20 percent in January as the financial incentive to keep supplies dissipated, said Simpson, Spence & Young Ltd., the world’s second-largest shipbroker.

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MetLife Said to Weigh Using $8 Billion of Stock to Fund AIG Alico Buyout MetLife Inc. may use stock to pay for more than half of the planned $15 billion purchase of an American International Group Inc. life insurance unit, said three people with knowledge of the matter.

Commonwealth Bank Forecasts Stronger Demand for Loans After Record Profit Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the nation’s biggest lender, forecast strengthening demand for loans and fewer bad debts after posting record profit in its fiscal first half as the financial crisis abates.

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Gilead's Quad Pill for AIDS May Overtake Atripla Sales, COO Milligan Says Gilead Sciences Inc., the world’s biggest maker of AIDS medicines, will begin three final-stage tests in 2010 for a four-drug combination pill against HIV that has the potential to generate $4 billion a year by 2014.

Amgen's Denosumab Helps Bones of Prostate Cancer Patients More Than Rival Amgen Inc.’s experimental drug denosumab reduced the rate of fractures in patients with prostate cancer, a use that may help the drug gain a broad market as a bone-strengthening treatment.

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MetLife Said to Weigh Using $8 Billion of Stock to Fund AIG Alico Buyout MetLife Inc. may use stock to pay for more than half of the planned $15 billion purchase of an American International Group Inc. life insurance unit, said three people with knowledge of the matter.

Paulson Tells Buffett U.S. to Get `Every Penny' of Bailout Back from Banks Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, responding to a question from billionaire Warren Buffett, said the U.S. government will be repaid in full for the funds it put into the country’s lenders.

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`Blind Pools' Lose Appeal as Ziman, Callahan Plan Real Estate IPO Comeback Richard Ziman and Timothy Callahan want to raise money in the equity market after selling their real estate companies for a combined $12 billion before the property crash. Investors may balk at bankrolling their return.

Terreno IPO Prices on Third Attempt After Size of Offering Reduced by 42% Terreno Realty Corp., the first U.S. company to postpone an initial public offering this year, raised $175 million in its third attempt after chopping the amount it sought to raise by 42 percent.

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Disney Profit Tops Analysts' Estimates on TV Gains, Stablizing Parks Unit Walt Disney Co., the world’s biggest media company, reported fiscal first-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates as TV revenue rose and theme-park results stabilized.

Google Adds Social-Networking Feature to Gmail Program, Taking on Facebook Google Inc., the world’s most popular search engine, added a social-networking feature to its Gmail e- mail software, taking on market leader Facebook Inc.

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Toyota Faces U.S. Recall Probe With Lobbying Budget Bigger Than Chrysler's Toyota Motor Corp. is armed with one of the auto industry’s biggest lobbying budgets as it faces U.S. government and congressional inquiries into millions of vehicles recalled for sudden acceleration.

Honda Expands U.S. Recall to 378,758 More Autos to Fix Flaws in Air Bags Honda Motor Co., Japan’s second- largest automaker, for a second time expanded a U.S. recall for air bags that can deploy with too much pressure, adding 378,758 vehicles.

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