BUSINESS BRIEFS
OPEC undecided on output boost
Associated Press
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. urged OPEC to boost output, but oil ministers appeared undecided on the eve of a key meeting that could help decide whether consumers worldwide will pay more or less at the gas pump and for their heating bills.
With oil markets reaching for the $100 mark a little more than a week ago, traders were betting until recently that the oil ministers of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would opt to increase production when they meet today in Abu Dhabi.
But prices that closed at a record $98.18 a barrel on Nov. 23 are now nearly 20 percent off that mark. While oil prices remain more than 50 percent above levels a year ago, the recent downturn has left the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries torn between conflicting needs — keeping revenues high while presenting an image as a responsible regulator of unstable markets.
MERCK FORECAST SOURS WALL STREET
NEWARK, N.J. — The drug maker Merck & Co. offered profit forecasts for this year and next that fell short of Wall Street expectations, sending its shares lower.
The projections came less than a month after Merck announced it would pay $4.85 billion to settle tens of thousands of lawsuits stemming from its painkiller Vioxx, which it pulled from the market in 2004.
While it expects higher sales of its HPV vaccine Gardasil, diabetes treatment Januvia and its allergy treatment Singulair next year, Merck said generic competition will drive down sales of another top-seller, Fosamax osteoporosis treatment.
CONGRESS GIVES OK TO PERU TRADE
WASHINGTON — Congress gave final approval to a free trade pact with Peru yesterday, handing President Bush his first victory on trade since Democrats gained the majority a year ago.
Although the Senate overwhelmingly approved the agreement, the White House faces tougher battles on the rest of its trade agenda heading into an election year in which globalization's influence on American jobs, the trade deficit and product safety are expected to be hot campaign issues.The vote on the Peru agreement was 77-18. The issue divided Democrats, with 29 voting for the deal and 16 against it, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
DOW CHEMICAL TO TRIM 1,000 JOBS
DETROIT — Dow Chemical Co. said it is cutting 1,000 jobs, or about 2.3 percent of its work force, as part of a plan to rid itself of underperforming businesses and boost its global efficiency.
Dow, one of the nation's biggest chemical makers, said it will exit the automotive sealers business within the next nine to 18 months in North America, Asia and Latin America. It will look at options in its European operations. Other cutbacks include idling a styrene plant in Camacari, Brazil, and closing a cellulose manufacturing facility in Aratu, Brazil.
Subsidiary Union Carbide Corp. will shut down its polypropylene facility in St. Charles Parish, La., before the end of the year, and the company will significantly reduce research and development and other functions at a facility in South Charleston, W.Va.
HOME DEPOT CUTS JOBS, CALL CENTERS
ATLANTA — The Home Depot Inc. is cutting 950 jobs and closing three call centers that handle orders for home installation.
The world's largest home improvement store chain plans to shift the work from those centers to its stores, a move that will improve customer service, a spokesman said.
The call centers that will close Jan. 28 are in Chicago, Dallas and Tampa, Fla. Home Depot will have eight call centers left in North America, Holmes said. There are no plans to close those centers. In March, a Home Depot call center closed in Addison, Texas, cutting 550 jobs.
