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INDIANAPOLIS - A highly respected health-care executive who was abruptly fired last spring was clearly more than just Wall Street's darling. In a series of lawsuits, the former chief financial officer of WellPoint Inc. is depicted as a corporate Casanova who romanced dozens of women simultaneously, made them extravagant promises and then went back on his word.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Construction equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. sees rough economic times ahead in the U.S. but forecast strong sales and profit growth for 2008 on the strength of its international business and the benefits of a weak dollar. Caterpillar said its profit rose 11 percent in the fourth quarter and 4 percent for all of 2007, in spite of declines in North American sales.
LOS ANGELES - Investor concerns that Bank of America Corp. will pull out or force a lower price for its proposed buyout of Countrywide Financial Corp. could intensify next week when the troubled mortgage lender discloses its fourth-quarter financial results. After posting its first quarterly loss in 25 years last fall, Countrywide declared it would be profitable through this year. Many analysts doubt that claim.
Tyson Foods, the world's largest meat company, will cease beef slaughter operations at its Emporia plant, cutting about 1,500 jobs, more than half its work force at that facility.
GRANTS, N.M. - When a uranium boom hit this former logging and farming community in the mid-1970s, housing was so scarce people slept in campgrounds and cemeteries. Then the so-called "Uranium Capital of the World" suffered the bust in the '80s. These days, something is stirring again. Hotels are booked, restaurants and retail businesses are busy, and local drilling companies are swamped with work. With the price of uranium up to $90 to $100 per pound - after a low in 2003 of $7 a pound - Grants is anticipating good economic times ahead.
NEW YORK - Wall Street ended a tumultuous week with a sharp decline after two days of stunning gains as investors turned cautious and cashed in some of their winnings. The Dow Jones industrial average still managed to record its first weekly advance of 2008, even as it fell more than 170 points on the day.