IN BRIEF
HOUSTON
Continental said to be talking with American
Continental Airlines, already in consolidation talks with United Airlines, also has had discussions with American Airlines, according to a report.
Continental and Dallas-based American, a unit of AMR Corp., declined comment on the report that first appeared in the Houston Chronicle on Friday afternoon.
Mark Adams, a Continental pilot who's communications chair for the local affiliate of the Air Line Pilots Association, said he thinks it would make sense for American to be interested in a deal.
"I don't think you can discount them," Adams told the Chronicle.
NEW YORK
Stock prices mixed amid economic news
Stocks finished mixed as lackluster economic reports offered Wall Street little incentive to place big bets ahead of a long weekend.
Data on manufacturing, consumer confidence and import prices reminded investors on Friday that the economy is struggling. As a result, a week that began with a rally closed on a subdued note.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 28.77, or 0.23 percent, to 12,348.21. The blue-chip index ended the week with a gain of 1.36 percent.
Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up 1.13, or 0.08 percent, to 1,349.99 to finish the week with a 1.40 percent gain. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 10.74, or 0.46 percent, to 2,321.80 to close the week with an advance of 0.74 percent.
MINNEAPOLIS
Shares of foodmakers rise 4 percent or more
Hormel and Smucker both reported higher earnings despite a slow economy, and Heinz said profits would be at the high end of expectations. Earnings slipped at Campbell Soup, but it said it would do what other foodmakers already have -- pass along higher costs to customers. Shares of all four rose 4 percent or more on a day when the broader market was mixed.
All foodmakers have been struggling with high fuel prices and rising costs for ingredients such as wheat and corn -- which in turn have driven up prices for animal feed. Many have passed along price increases to customers. Hormel's Jennie-O Turkey Store turkey has been especially vulnerable because Hormel owns turkey farms -- meaning it is exposed directly to higher feed prices.
LOS ANGELES
Countrywide reports more foreclosures
Countrywide Financial Corp. said Friday home loan delinquencies and foreclosures rose in January as more borrowers struggled to make their mortgage payments.
The nation's largest mortgage lender and servicer said loan delinquencies as a percentage of unpaid principal balance increased to 7.47 percent last month from 7.2 percent in December and 4.32 percent in January 2007.
Loan servicers collect mortgage payments and distribute them to the owners of the mortgages. The Calabasas, Calif.-based lender services mortgages totaling about $1.48 trillion.
Foreclosures pending as a percentage of unpaid principal balance increased to 1.48 percent in January, from 1.44 percent in December and 0.77 percent in January 2007.
Countrywide shares rose 1 cent, or 0.14 percent, Friday to close at $6.93 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Kimball Hill may seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Kimball Hill, a closely held homebuilder active in six U.S. states including Nevada, said it may file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as demand for new homes tumbles.
The company has violated terms of one of its borrowing agreements and is negotiating changes to the loan, the Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based Kimball Hill said Thursday in a regulatory filing. The company said if it can't obtain waivers and debt repayments are accelerated, it may not be able to repay the loan. The company had $541.8 million in notes payable at Dec. 31, according to the filing.
Kimball Hill has hired financial advisory firm Alvarez & Marsal North America LLC and is "considering a number of alternatives," including appointing a chief restructuring officer and filing for bankruptcy. Kimball Hill sells houses in markets such as California, Florida and Las Vegas.
NEW YORK
Newspaper publishers create ad sales network
Four major newspaper publishers have created an online advertising sales network in the latest industry attempt to claw back ad dollars that are increasingly migrating to the Internet.
Gannett Co. and Tribune Co., the largest and second-largest publishers in the country, are joining Hearst Corp. and The New York Times Co. to form a company that will sell online ad space across a network of newspapers in many large cities including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
The joint venture, which launched on Friday, will be based in Chicago and operate under the name QuadrantOne. It won't include USA Today or The New York Times itself, which already have significant online ad sales operations of their own. It will include The Boston Globe, which is owned by The New York Times Co.
NEW YORK
Global banks facing more writedowns
Global banks face up to $203 billion in further write-downs from the crisis facing bond insurers and from bad bets on mortgage-backed securities and leveraged buyouts, UBS AG said Friday.
"The problem is broadening from just subprime CDO write-downs to potentially a much bigger credit problem" that may touch even prime mortgages, credit cards and commercial real estate, UBS analyst Philip Finch said in a research note.
This is unwelcome news for international banks, which already suffered $150 billion in credit market-related write-downs tied to last year's subprime fallout.
UBS itself wrote down more than $18 billion in assets last year and may need to write down up to another $18 billion this year, a Citigroup analyst said Thursday.
NEW YORK
Manufacturing report sends Treasurys higher
Long-term Treasury prices rose Friday after the New York Federal Reserve reported that manufacturing in its region contracted this month.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 0.28 points to 97.75 with a yield of 3.77 percent, down from 3.82 percent late Thursday, according to BGCantor Market Data.
The 30-year long bond gained 0.78 points to 96.75 with a yield of 4.58 percent, down from 4.65 percent the day before.
