Industries

German Exports Unexpectedly Slumped in January, Erasing December's Jump German exports unexpectedly slumped in January, erasing December’s jump and ending a four-month streak of gains.

Hennes & Mauritz CEO Persson Sees Economy Being `A Little Better' in 2010 Hennes & Mauritz AB Chief Executive Officer Karl-Johan Persson said the economy will be “a little better” this year and confirmed that Europe’s second-largest clothing retailer plans to open 240 stores in 2010.

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Crude Oil Is Little Changed Before Report Forecast to Show Inventory Gains Oil traded little changed before a report forecast to show that crude inventories grew for a sixth week in the U.S., the world’s largest energy user.

OPEC Raises Forecast for Oil Demand on Lower Estimate for Gas Liquids The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it will need to pump more crude than previously forecast this year after cutting its outlook for production of natural gas liquids.

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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.

AIG's `Money in the Door' Asset Sales Reap $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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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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Chile Quake to Cost $4 Billion to $7 Billion, Munich Re, Swiss Re Estimate The Chile earthquake, the fifth strongest in a century, may cost insurers $4 billion to $7 billion, according to estimates today from the world’s largest reinsurance companies.

Munich Re Sticks to Profit Target After Earthquake in Chile, Winter Storm Munich Re, the world’s biggest reinsurer, reiterated its profit target for 2010 after the Chile earthquake and a winter storm in Europe last month.

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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.

U.S. Mortgage Applications Index Increased for a Second Week, MBA Reports Mortgage applications in the U.S. rose for a second week, led by an increase in purchases that may indicate the renewal of a homebuyer tax credit is starting to invigorate demand.

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China Mobile Agrees to Buy 20% of Pudong Development Bank for $5.8 Billion China Mobile Ltd., the world’s biggest phone company by market value, agreed to buy 20 percent of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. for 39.8 billion yuan ($5.8 billion) to expand its electronic-payment business.

AOL Chief Armstrong Targets Web Ad Billions With Sales, Content Hirings AOL Inc. said it’s “laser focused” on getting a share of an estimated $20 billion gap in online advertising, as marketers race to catch up with consumers on the Internet.

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British Airways, American Airlines Offer to Give Up Slots in EU Settlement British Airways Plc and AMR Corp.’s American Airlines offered to give up at least four takeoff and landing slots in the U.S. and U.K. to win approval for their proposed trans-Atlantic alliance.

Toyota's `Bargains' May Boost U.S. Sales 30% in March, Edmunds.com Says Toyota Motor Corp., battling a two- month slide in U.S. sales amid recalls of millions of vehicles, may rebound this month after introducing an incentive campaign, Edmunds.com said.

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