Industries

Cadbury Rises to Record; Nestle Mulls Bid, Reuters Says Kraft May Bid More Cadbury Plc rose to a record in London trading after Nestle SA was said to weigh a takeover, the Wall Street Journal said Hershey Co.’s controlling trust wants the U.S. company to make an offer, and Reuters reported that Kraft Foods Inc. may raise its bid.

Hershey's Debt Risk Rises on Speculation Company May Make Cadbury Bid The cost to protect against a default by Hershey Co. approached a record high on speculation that the maker of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups will outbid Kraft Foods Inc. for Cadbury Plc and trigger a debt-rating downgrade.

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Reliance Urged to Pay Less Than $12 Billion for LyondellBasell Industries Reliance Industries Ltd.’s bid for bankrupt chemicals and fuels maker LyondellBasell Industries AF will be “positive” if India’s largest company pays less than $12 billion, brokerage CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets said.

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Bank of America May Name Stopgap CEO to Allow Board More Time for Search Bank of America Corp.’s board may extend its search for a permanent new chief executive officer into 2010 if directors can’t settle on a candidate in the next three days, according to people familiar with the matter.

Goldman Quarterly Earnings Estimate Raised 15% by Hintz on Lower Pay Costs Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s fourth- quarter earnings-per-share estimate was raised 15 percent by Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Brad Hintz, who said he expects the firm to reduce its compensation expense.

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King Pharmaceuticals May Climb as Battered Drug Firms Lure Private Equity King Pharmaceuticals Inc., LifePoint Hospitals Inc. and Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. may be buyout targets as private-equity firms seek companies battered by the economy and poised to gain from the U.S. health overhaul.

Glaxo Pulls Swine Flu Vaccine Batch in Canada to Probe Allergic Reaction Canadian doctors should hold off on using a batch of GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s swine flu vaccine while the company probes reports of higher-than-expected occurrences of a side effect known as anaphylaxis, a spokeswoman for the U.K. drugmaker said today.

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Democrats Show Signs of Disunity on Health Care as Debate Looms in Senate Democrats who united last week to bring a sweeping health-care plan to the U.S. Senate floor still need to settle disagreements in their own ranks to pass President Barack Obama’s top domestic initiative.

Pertamina May Sell Stakes in Insurance, Drilling Units in IPO Next Year PT Pertamina may list some units on the Indonesian stock exchange next year ahead of a plan to offer to the public a stake in the state oil company, Chief Financial Officer Ferederick Siahaan said.

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Existing Home Sales in U.S. Climbed 10.1% Last Month to 6.1 Million Rate Sales of existing U.S. homes jumped 10 percent in October to the highest level since February 2007 as Americans rushed to take advantage of a tax credit, cheaper properties and lower mortgage rates.

New York to Sell $351 Million Bonds as Moody's Urges Lasting Deficit Plan New York seeks bank bids today for $351.3 million of bonds after Moody’s Investors Service said the state’s credit rating may fall if spending cuts aren’t part of plans to close a $3.2 billion budget deficit.

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Oracle Purchase of Sun May Be Blocked by Europe Regulator, Document Says Oracle Corp.’s planned $7.4 billion purchase of Sun Microsystems Inc. may be blocked by European Union regulators because of concerns Oracle might be able to eliminate Sun’s MySQL database product as a competitor, according to an EU document.

Vampire `Twilight' Sequel Has Third-Best Opening Ever With $140.7 Million “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” the vampire love story based on best-selling novels, recorded the third-biggest opening weekend in box-office history with $140.7 million in ticket sales for Summit Entertainment LLC.

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MAN SE Chief Samuelsson Leaves Truckmaker; Pachta-Reyhofen Is Interim CEO MAN SE Chief Executive Officer Hakan Samuelsson will step down with immediate effect, leaving Europe’s third-largest truckmaker after nine years.

Qantas to Spend $4 Billion Over 2 Years Renewing Fleet, Boosting Margins Qantas Airways Ltd., Australia’s largest airline, will spend A$4.4 billion ($4 billion) over the next two years as it purchases new aircraft and embarks on a campaign to shore up margins.

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