PITTSBURGH — Aluminum maker Alcoa Inc. on Monday said second-quarter profit slipped nearly 4 percent as outage costs at two smelters weighed down results.

Net income fell to $715 million, or 81 cents per share, from $744 million, or 85 cents per share, for the same period last year.

Alcoa, the first of the Dow Jones Industrials to report earnings this quarter, booked $36 million, or 4 cents per share, for curtailment costs at its facilities in Alcoa, Tenn., and Rockdale, Texas.

The recent results also include a restructuring increase of $21 million, mainly from the completion of a joint venture with Sweden's Sapa Group, and a 2 cent-per-share charge linked to Alcoa's outstanding $27.5 billion bid for Canadian rival Alcan Inc.

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CBOT SHAREHOLDERS APPROVE MERGER

CHICAGO — The Chicago Board of Trade got the final go-ahead from shareholders Monday to join forces with its longtime rival in an $11.9 billion deal that will end its 159 years of independence but could make the combined all-Chicago company the world's biggest exchange.

The offer by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. to buy one of the nation's oldest and largest financial institutions won approval at shareholder meetings for both companies after four months of back-and-forth bidding involving upstart IntercontinentalExchange Inc.

The two exchanges said the deal should close within days, creating a new firm named CME Group, a Chicago Board of Trade company.

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STOCKS CLOSE HIGHER AHEAD OF EARNINGS

NEW YORK — Wall Street edged higher in an erratic session Monday as investors were reassured by a drop in Treasury bond yields yet still remained cautious as second-quarter earnings season kicks off this week.

Investors were looking to corporate earnings to help give the market some direction in the coming weeks. Reports had their unofficial start after the closing bell when aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. released results that matched analysts' projections.

In the meantime, Wall Street found some solace as the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dipped to 5.16 percent from 5.18 percent on Friday. There had been some concern that the steady rise in bond yields since June would crimp dealmaking.

Buyout activity continued Monday after Apollo Management LP's Hexion Specialty Chemicals Inc. raised its takeover bid for chemical company Huntsman Corp.; Barron's said FedEx Corp. might be the target of a buyout; and Coventry Health Care Inc. agreed to acquire Florida Health Plan Administrators LLC, owner of Vista Healthplans, for $685 million.

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BP CLOSURE RAISES GAS PRICES

NEW YORK— Gasoline futures rose Monday after BP PLC was forced to shut down a huge oil processing unit for maintenance. In London trading, meanwhile, Brent crude oil retreated from its earlier advance above $76.

At the pump, gas prices continued to inch higher over the weekend. The average national price of a gallon of gas rose 0.3 cent overnight to $2.965. Prices peaked at $3.227 a gallon in late May, then fell steadily until last week when they bottomed out at $2.949 a gallon.

And refinery concerns sent gas prices rising in the futures market.

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CONSUMER BORROWING JUMPS 6.4%

WASHINGTON — Consumer borrowing posted a hefty increase in May, reflecting the biggest jump in credit card debt in six months.

The Federal Reserve reported Monday that consumer credit rose at an annual rate of 6.4 percent in May, far above the small 1.1 percent gain of April.

The increase was propelled by a surge in the category that includes credit cards, which rose at a rate of 9.8 percent in May after having a tiny increase of 0.2 percent in April. The jump in credit card debt was the largest since a 14.5 percent rate of increase in November.

The category of consumer credit that includes auto loans was also up in May, rising at a 4.4 percent rate after a 1.7 percent gain in April.

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APOLLO BOOSTS OFFER FOR HUNTSMAN

DALLAS — Apollo Management LP raised its takeover bid for rival chemical company Huntsman Corp. to about $6.5 billion on Monday, sweetening an offer that was already higher than a competitor's proposal.

Apollo raised the bid by its Hexion Specialty Chemicals Inc. unit by 2.7 percent even though the Huntsman board had judged its earlier offer superior to one that Huntsman had already accepted from the Dutch company Basell.

It wasn't clear whether Apollo raised its bid to impress the Huntsman board — which was still recommending shareholders accept a sale to Basell — or if it was trying to pre-empt a counteroffer from Basell.

A spokesman for Apollo declined to comment. A spokesman for Basell wouldn't say whether the Dutch firm had been preparing a new offer — or would respond to the latest move by Apollo. Basell has until the close of business Tuesday to get back in the bidding.

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DANONE OFFERS $16.8B FOR ROYAL NUMICO

PARIS — Groupe Danone SA, the maker of Dannon yogurt and Evian waters, is strengthening its baby food business with a bid Monday to buy Royal Numico NV for $16.8 billion.

The addition of Numico would make Danone one of the world's largest players in the fast-growing $24 billion baby food industry, which experts expect to grow 25 percent by 2010.

Groupe Danone, is offering 55 euros ($75) per share, which is a 44 percent premium over the average share price over the last three months, according to a joint statement by the two companies.

Netherlands-based Numico, the maker of the Olvarit, Bambix and Nutrilon baby food brands and clinical nutrition products, said its board would recommend that shareholders accept Danone's offer.

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ICAHN INCREASES BID FOR LEAR

DETROIT — Lear Corp. shareholders have a few more days and a slightly sweetened deal to ponder from a group led by billionaire investor Carl Icahn.

The Icahn-controlled American Real Estate Partners LP agreed to increase its offer for Lear by about 3.5 percent to about $2.9 billion, and the automotive supplier said Monday it will delay the shareholder vote on the offer.

American Real Estate Partners increased its price for shares of Lear common stock from $36 a share to $37.25 a share.

The original offer represented a premium of about 4 percent over the stock's value at the time it was made in February by Icahn, already Lear's largest shareholder.

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DELPHI NIXES INVESTMENT PACT

DETROIT — Delphi Corp. said Monday it has scrapped its agreement with a group of investors that was going to kick in up to $3.4 billion to help the struggling auto parts maker emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

But a spokesman for the company said a revised agreement is expected later this month. The move comes after Delphi announced in April that one of the key investors, Cerberus Capital Management LP, was expected to pull out of the deal.

Delphi spokesman Lindsey Williams said Delphi's board of directors will meet July 16 to "consider these matters," but he would not say if a new agreement would be voted on at that time.

Ending the agreement is not expected to stop the company from getting out of Chapter 11 by the end of the year, Williams said.

Delphi announced in December that a group of investors led by Cerberus would inject badly needed capital into the Troy-based company, which was the parts arm of General Motors Corp. until it was spun off in 1999.

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GOOGLE BUYS POSTINI FOR $625 MILLION

SAN FRANCISCO — Google Inc. is buying e-mail security specialist Postini Inc. for $625 million, fortifying the Internet search leader's effort to sell online software services to corporate customers seeking alternatives to Microsoft Corp.'s long-dominant products.

The all-cash deal announced Monday is aimed at reassuring large businesses that have had qualms about entrusting Google to oversee their e-mail systems and other vital applications because of security concerns.