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AP Business NewsBrief at 11:38 a.m. EST
(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Kellogg to buy Pringles; P&G, Diamond end dealNEW YORK (AP) _ Kellogg has popped up to buy the Pringles chip brand from Procter & Gamble for $2.7 billion after a similar deal with Diamond Foods was derailed by accounting problems and an executive shakeup at Diamond. The addition will help Kellogg with its goal of becoming as big globally in snacks as it is in cereal. The Pringles business will add to Kellogg's stable of snack brands that include Keebler, Cheez-It and Special K Cracker Chips.
Lexus tops as survey finds more auto dependabilityDETROIT (AP) _ Lexus is the top performer in a survey of vehicle dependability released Wednesday, but most other brands also showed improvement in an industry that has reached historically high dependability levels. Consulting firm J.D. Power and Associates polled 31,000 owners of 2009 model-year vehicles and rated brands by the number of problems owners have experienced in the last 12 months. Problems can range from stalling engines and transmission issues to peeling paint and electronics glitches.
US stocks mixed as Greek bailout talks inch alongNEW YORK (AP) _ Stocks were mixed on Wall Street as Greece inched closer to a deal to resolve its debt crisis. The Dow Jones industrial average gave up an early gain and was down 24 points to 12,854 around 11 a.m. The Standard & Poor's 500 edged up 3 points to 1,353. The Nasdaq composite rose 18 to 2,950.
Factory output jumps 0.7 percent in JanuaryWASHINGTON (AP) _ U.S. factories boosted output last month and December ended up being their best month of growth in five years. Strong auto sales and growing business investment in machinery and other equipment are keeping factories busy and helping the economy grow.
Eurozone has one foot in recessionLONDON (AP) _ The 17-nation eurozone has one foot in recession, according to official figures showing the economy contracted 0.3 percent in the final three months of 2011 from the previous quarter, a clear sign that Europe's debt crisis has spared no country in the single currency bloc. The decline was the first since the second quarter of 2009 and followed a meager 0.1 percent increase in the previous three-month period, Eurostat, the EU's statistics agency, said Wednesday.
Euro countries voice doubts over Greek bailoutBRUSSELS (AP) _ Some eurozone countries have strong doubts over whether a second massive bailout can actually save Greece, officials said Wednesday, even as Athens rushed to meet tough conditions to qualify for the (EURO)130 billion ($170 billion) rescue. The wrangling over Athens' aid money comes after almost two years of frantic efforts to save Greece from bankruptcy and secure its place in the 17-country currency union.
UPS reporting widespread technical glitchesNEW YORK (AP) _ UPS is reporting widespread, scattered technical problems affecting tracking and processing of packages. United Parcel Service Inc. spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg said Wednesday that the outages are not affecting the movement of trucks or any other part of the operation. The problem is with some shipping applications that customers use to input and track shipments. Some are reporting problems getting into the system.
Comcast subscribers almost stop cancelling cableNEW YORK (AP) _ It's become the routine in the cable industry that subscribers stream out the door every quarter, hanging up on cable in favor of service from satellite or phone companies. But in the October to December quarter, Comcast Corp. nearly managed to stop that flow. The country's largest cable company on Wednesday said it lost 17,000 TV customers in the fourth quarter, the smallest number of defections in five years. It compares with a loss of 135,000 subscribers in the same quarter a year earlier.
Deere says 1Q profit up 4 percent on strong salesDeere & Co. said Wednesday that strong equipment sales, particularly abroad, boosted its quarterly net income by 4 percent and the company raised its outlook for 2012. The world's largest maker of agricultural equipment posted first-quarter earnings of $532.9 million, or $1.30 per share in its fiscal first quarter. That's up from $513.7 million, or $1.20 per share, last year.
FCC plans to nix wireless network that may jam GPSNEW YORK (AP) _ Federal officials plan to kill a private company's plans to start a national high-speed wireless broadband network after concluding it would in some cases jam personal-navigation and other GPS devices. The Federal Communications Commission said it will seek public comment as early as Wednesday on revoking LightSquared's permit after a federal agency that coordinates wireless signals, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, concluded that there's no way to mitigate potential interference.
(c) 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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