Industries

Wal-Mart Considers First Hong Kong Yuan Bond Sale, Asia Chief Price Says Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, is considering selling yuan bonds in Hong Kong as China opens its markets, according to Asia Chief Executive Officer Scott Price.

Tiger Woods Masters Windfall Nets AT&T, IBM 43% Gain in Advertising Punch Tiger Woods’s return to golf at the Masters Tournament will give sponsors like AT&T Inc. an unexpected boost from their ad dollars, lifting the value of their TV spots by 43 percent, according to a media analyst’s estimate.

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Oil Drops for First Time in Three Days as Dollar Gains, Crude Stocks Rise Crude oil fell for the first time in three days as an increase in the dollar caused investors to sell contracts and lock in gains after prices reached a 10-week high yesterday.

Crude Oil Targets $88 a Barrel as Next `Port of Call': Technical Analysis Crude oil will have $88 a barrel as the next “port of call” if the market this week can surpass technical chart resistance above $83, according to National Australia Bank Ltd.

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`Regulatory Bomb' for Bankers Prompts Societe Generale to Calm Investors Societe Generale SA, France’s second-largest bank by market value, is telling investors that regulators are likely to soften new rules for lenders as governments seek to avoid stifling the economic recovery.

Chinese Banks Are Strong Enough to Withstand Rising Bad Loans, S&P Says China’s banks are financially strong enough to withstand the pressure on profits as non- performing loans increase after record credit growth, according to Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services.

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J&J's Alzheimer Drug Test Results May Be Pushed Back 2 Years Until 2012 One of the most eagerly anticipated studies of a drug for Alzheimer’s disease may not yield results until 2012, two years later than had been forecast.

Roche Will Strengthen Oncology Business, Expand Its Therapeutic Treatments Roche Holding AG plans to strengthen its position in oncology and expand in therapeutic areas such as metabolism and inflammation, introducing at least six new medicines by 2015.

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Travelers Chief Fishman's Bonus Climbs 50% to $7.5 Million on Profit Gain Travelers Cos., the largest U.S. property-casualty insurer by market value, boosted Chief Executive Officer Jay Fishman’s bonus by 50 percent as profit climbed and the company joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

AIG Draws Another $2.2 Billion From Treasury Line to Bolster Insurer Units American International Group Inc., the insurer rescued by the U.S., drew $2.2 billion more from a Treasury Department facility to bolster property-casualty units that will be the core of a scaled-back company.

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China Home Prices Won't Slump Even as Bubble Concerns Mount, Builders Say China’s property prices won’t plunge this year, two of Hong Kong’s biggest developers with operations on the mainland said yesterday, as the World Bank joined economists and hedge fund managers warning of a bubble.

Morgan Stanley's Investa May Allow Exit From its Frozen Funds in 18 Months Investa Property Group, an Australian real estate firm owned by Morgan Stanley, said it aims to open its frozen unlisted funds to redemptions in 12 months to 18 months.

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China Mobile Quarterly Profit Rises 3.3% as Mobile-Phone Use Increases China Mobile Ltd., the world’s biggest wireless carrier by users, posted a 3.3 percent increase in fourth-quarter profit as an economic rebound boosted phone usage, offsetting a slowdown in customer growth.

Malone's Liberty, Elliott Said to Drop Out of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Bidding John Malone’s Liberty Media Corp. and hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. have decided not to bid for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. movie studio, according to people with knowledge of the bidding.

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China's Geely May Take Control of Iconic London Black Cab Maker Manganese Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., the Chinese carmaker seeking to buy Ford Motor Co.’s Volvo Cars, may take control of Manganese Bronze Holdings Plc, maker of the iconic London black cab, the U.K.-based company said.

Honda Plans Lithium-Ion Civic to Narrow Toyota's Hybrid Lead, Kondo Says Honda Motor Co., Japan’s second- largest carmaker, plans to introduce lithium-ion battery-powered hybrid cars as it struggles to narrow Toyota Motor Corp.’s lead in sales of gasoline-electric cars.

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