AGFA SELLS FILM, LABS: Agfa-Gevaert, one of the oldest names in the photography business, said Thursday it was selling its consumer film and photo labs business to the team running it to allow the company to focus on its more profitable medical imaging and graphics businesses. The move comes as sales of traditional rolls of film have declined with the spread of digital cameras, which use computerized imaging instead of film for picture-taking. The managers of the film unit agreed to buy it for $216.6-million.
ORANGE JUICE FUTURES CLIMB: Orange juice prices for November delivery rose in New York to a 10-month high of 73.5 cents a pound as the Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency in Gainesville said an early review showed Hurricane Charley probably ruined 20 percent of the citrus crop in Florida. "The majority of it is oranges," said Kevin Kelly, executive director of the agency. A 20 percent loss of Florida's estimated production of 242-million boxes this year represents 48-million boxes, each weighing about 90 pounds.
NORTEL TO CUT 3,500 JOBS: Nortel Networks said Thursday it will slash its work force by 3,500, or 10 percent, as it struggles to recover from an accounting scandal that toppled three top executives and led to a criminal investigation and lawsuits. The company's U.S. traded shares rose 14 cents, nearly 4 percent, to close at $3.74 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. Thursday's notice repeated that Nortel's stated profit of $732-million for 2003 would be cut in half. It estimated earnings for the first half of this year at just above break-even.
OHIO SUES BEST BUY STORES: Ohio authorities sued Best Buy Co. Inc. on Thursday, saying the electronics retailer engaged in unfair and deceptive business practices. Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro said his office has received hundreds of complaints over several years, the most common being that the retailer repackaged used goods and sold them as new and failed to honor rebates, refunds, exchange programs and extended service contracts. "We are aware of the lawsuit filed, and we currently are investigating the claims," Best Buy spokesman Jay Musolf said.
GROKSTER, STREAMCAST WIN RULING: The makers of two leading file-sharing programs are not legally liable for the songs, movies and other copyright works swapped online by their users, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday in a stinging blow to the entertainment industry. Among other reasons, the court said Grokster Ltd. and StreamCast Networks Inc., unlike the original Napster, were not responsible because they don't have central servers pointing users to copyright material. The entertainment industry could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
EARNINGS
Stein Mart Inc.: The Jacksonville department store chain reported a net gain in the second quarter because of increases in sales and prices, and the closing of 24 stores in the past year. Stein Mart also raised its estimate for third-quarter earnings.
Gap Inc.: Sales and profits fell in the second quarter because of disappointing summer clearance sales and the cost of retiring some of debt early, the company reported Thursday. Gap beat analysts' lowered expectations of profits for the quarter by 3 cents.
Nordstrom Inc.: Profit jumped 62 percent on strong sales and lower markdowns, the Seattle department store chain said Thursday, but results missed Wall Street's forecast of 77 cents a share.
Limited Brands: The Columbus, Ohio, retailer reported a better-than-expected 45 percent jump in second-quarter earnings, helped by successful semiannual sales at Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works chains. It also raised its earnings outlook for the year.
Barnes & Noble Inc.: The bookseller posted a 35 percent drop in second-quarter earnings Thursday, hurt by a debt-redemption charge, but core results beat Wall Street's estimates.
