The spinoff will shrink Altria to include Philip Morris USA, the biggest cigarette maker in the U.S., and a 29 percent stake in London-based SABMiller PLC, which brews Miller Lite beer.

When the spinoff is complete, Altria plans to close its Fifth Avenue headquarters in Midtown Manhattan and cut about 400 jobs in the process, with some employees possibly relocating to a headquarters to be established in Richmond, Va., where Philip Morris USA is based. That plan is projected to save at least $250 million annually.

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FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — DaimlerChrysler AG said Wednesday that its second-quarter profit fell 14 percent and disclosed plans to spend about $10.2 billion buying back nearly 10 percent of its shares as it moves forward without its Chrysler division.

DaimlerChrysler's profit decline excluding results from Chrysler and its finance arm — which did better in the latest quarter than a year ago — was a steeper 20 percent.

The automaker said it earned 1.44 billion euros ($1.91 billion) excluding the operations it sold, compared with 1.8 billion euros a year earlier.

It now expects a charge of 2.5 billion euros for the year from the sale of Chrysler group and its financing arm, less than it had previously thought.

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NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Alltel Corp. shareholders overwhelmingly approved a $24.7 billion buyout Wednesday that put the wireless company in the hands of two private investor groups.

Chief Executive Scott Ford presided over the two-minute meeting, which he described as "our final shareholders meeting."

A tally counted 97.1 percent of the shares in favor of the takeover, Ford said, to mild cheers.

Alltel has been the subject of takeover rumors for years. The company announced in February that it was undertaking a "strategic review," signaling the fifth-largest U.S. wireless company was in play.

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ATLANTA (AP) — Delta Air Lines Inc. said Wednesday that Chief Operating Officer James Whitehurst, who was passed over for the carrier's top job, has resigned.

Outgoing Chief Executive Gerald Grinstein said in a statement that Delta had hoped Whitehurst would stay, but the airline respects "his decision to move on in pursuit of new challenges."

The nation's No. 3 carrier said last week that former Northwest Airlines Chief Executive Richard Anderson would become Delta's CEO on Sept. 1.

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Lego Group reported 5 percent revenue growth in the first half of the year due to higher sales of classic products like its City, Technic and Star Wars lines. The toy maker also raised its full-year earnings forecast.

Lego, known for its colorful plastic building blocks, said Wednesday that pretax profit in the first six months rose 3 percent to 173 million kroner ($32 million) from 168 million kroner in the same period in 2006. The privately owned group does not release quarterly figures and reports net profit only in its full-year report.

Sales increased to 2.96 billion kroner ($542 million) from 2.82 billion kroner in the first half of 2006. Sales to the American market rose "especially well."

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NEW YORK (AP) — Gas prices rose at the pump for the first time in weeks and energy futures jumped Wednesday after the government reported unexpected declines in refinery activity and inventories of gasoline and oil.

The price hikes and inventory declines suggest the refining industry is easing back from what had been a scramble to produce more gasoline to supply the peak summer driving season, which ends this weekend.

Prices at the pump rose 1.3 cents Wednesday to a national average of $2.758 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Retail prices, which typically lag the futures market, peaked at $3.227 a gallon in late May. At the time, gasoline futures rallied as the refining industry experienced an unprecedented number of unexpected maintenance and operational outages.

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Gap Inc. Chief Financial Officer Byron Pollitt is leaving the slumping retailer Sept. 14 to take the same job at credit card issuer Visa Inc., the companies said Wednesday.

Pollitt, 56, will be replaced by one of his top deputies — Samantha Simmons, who is being promoted from senior vice president of corporate finance to executive vice president and acting chief financial officer. Simmons, 44, joined Gap in 2001 as vice president and treasurer.

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NORTHFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Kraft Foods Inc. said Wednesday that its chief financial officer, James Dollive, will retire this fall after nearly three decades with the world's No. 2 food maker.

Timothy McLevish, 52, the CFO for industrial equipment manufacturer Ingersoll-Rand Co., will assume the post Oct. 1.

Dollive, who joined Kraft in 1978, was appointed CFO in 2001. He'll work with McLevish to ensure an orderly transition, the company said. No specific retirement date for Dollive has been announced.

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NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — A bomb threat that caused the evacuation of a Wal-Mart and led employees to wire $10,000 to the caller appears to be part of a broader scam targeting other businesses around the country, authorities said.

An unidentified man called the Newport store Tuesday morning, saying he had a bomb and would harm employees. He also demanded that workers transfer $10,000 to an account, said Newport Police Sgt. James Quinn. The store wired the money, Quinn said.

FBI spokesman Rich Kolko said the threat appears related to a plot in recent days targeting banks and stores near Phoenix, Detroit, Salt Lake City and Philadelphia.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Collective Brands Inc., which changed its name from Payless ShoeSource Inc. earlier this month, said Wednesday its fiscal second-quarter profit declined 23 percent from higher costs and lower sales.

The Topeka, Kan.-based holding company reported earning $24.9 million, or 38 cents per share, during the quarter ended Aug. 4. By comparison, the company earned $32.5 million, or 48 cents per share, during the same period a year ago.