Industries

Wal-Mart Brings Back 300 Items to U.S. Stores After Losing Shopper Visits Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, returned about 300 items to its U.S. stores after their removal last year hurt shopper traffic.

Accor Says Recovery From 2009 Drop in Hotel Revenue May Take Five Years Accor SA, Europe’s largest hotelier, said recovery from last year’s revenue drop will take at least four to five years in Germany and other saturated markets as the possibility for price increases is limited.

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Crude Oil Trades Below $82 a Barrel After Rising on U.S. Fuel Supply Drop Crude oil traded below $82 a barrel after rising on a government report that showed U.S. fuel supplies declined, adding to signs of demand recovery in the biggest energy-consuming nation.

Senate Approves Bill That Includes $1-a-Gallon Biodiesel Blending Credit The U.S. Senate approved a bill that extends the $1-a-gallon tax credit for biodiesel, which expired Dec. 31.

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Slim Overtakes Gates, Buffett for Top Spot on Forbes's Billionaires List Mexico’s Carlos Slim beat Bill Gates and Warren Buffett for the top spot on Forbes magazine’s annual list of billionaires, becoming the first person from outside the U.S. to lead the rankings in 16 years.

Macquarie May Seek Further Purchases in U.S. in `Once-in-Generation' Push Macquarie Group Ltd., which made five North American acquisitions in 2009, may buy more U.S. assets and add bankers servicing mid-sized companies to gain a larger slice of the world’s biggest investment-banking market.

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J&J Pushed Drug's Sale to Elderly After U.S. Warned of False Safety Claims Johnson & Johnson made plans to reach $302 million in geriatric sales for its antipsychotic Risperdal just months after federal regulators said the company falsely claimed the drug was safe and effective with the elderly, according to internal documents.

Abbott to Buy Facet for $27 a Share, 54% More Than Biogen's Rejected Offer Abbott Laboratories, maker of the arthritis medicine Humira, succeeded in its bid for Facet Biotech Corp. by offering 54 percent more than Biogen Idec Inc. in its rejected takeover effort.

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MetLife Expands Beyond `Slow Growth' U.S. With Alico Buy, Henrikson Says MetLife Inc., the insurer spending $15.5 billion to buy an overseas unit from American International Group Inc., said lower growth in the U.S. market is prompting expansion abroad.

AIG's `Money in the Door' Asset Sales Garner $3.2 Billion for Bondholders American International Group Inc. bondholders reaped at least $3.2 billion after the bailed-out company announced deals to sell its two largest non-U.S. life insurance divisions for $51 billion.

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Apollo Said to Triple Property Assets With Buy of Citigroup Investing Unit Apollo Management LP agreed to buy Citigroup Inc.’s real estate investment unit in a move that will more than triple the value of the private-equity firm’s property assets, a person with knowledge of the deal said yesterday.

Silverstein Faces `Imminent Default' on Debt for 575 Lexington, Fitch Says New York developer Larry Silverstein, who teamed with the California State Teachers Retirement System to buy a 35-story skyscraper in 2006, now faces “imminent default” on debt tied to the property, Fitch Ratings said today.

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FTC Said to Ask Google Rivals for Statement on AdMob, May Signal Challenge U.S. regulators are seeking sworn declarations from Google Inc. competitors and advertisers as part of their probe of the Internet company’s bid to buy AdMob Inc., indicating the government may challenge the deal, said people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Global Box-Office Sales Rose to a Record $29.9 Billion in 2009, MPAA Says Global box-office sales increased 7.6 percent to a record $29.9 billion last year, helped by 3-D movies and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”

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Geely May Need to Invest `Minimum' $1.4 Billion to Revive Volvo Auto Brand Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. may have to spend at least 10 billion kronor ($1.4 billion) to revive Volvo Cars after buying the Swedish brand from Ford Motor Co., Volvo union officials and board members said.

British Airways Lurches Closer to Cabin Crew Strike as Union Talks Fail British Airways Plc lurched closer to a strike by its 12,000 flight attendants after talks over cost cuts broke down.

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