IN BRIEF

Ex-MGM Mirage chief reportedly has cancer

Former MGM Mirage Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Terry Lanni has reportedly been diagnosed with cancer and will be undergoing surgery and chemotherapy treatments.

Lanni, 66, who retired from MGM Mirage nearly a year ago, confirmed the diagnosis to Gaming Today, a casino industry publication.

MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren told The Associated Press that Lanni's "spirits are strong."

More details about the diagnosis were not available.

Lanni, who still has a house in Las Vegas, spends most of his time in Southern California. He could not be reached for comment.

Since turning over the reins of MGM Mirage to current Chairman and CEO Jim Murren, Lanni has largely stayed out of the picture.

Lanni's departure came during a time when the company was dealing with corporate financing matters stemming from the melting economy and a debt load of more than $13 billion.

Lanni's departure also was marred by revelations that he had not earned a master's of business administration in finance from the University of Southern California, as had been reported in his corporate biography dating to 1982, when he was an executive with Caesars World.

MGM Mirage officials and others denied the degree flap had any bearing on Lanni's retirement.

SHANGHAI

China widens lead in global car sales market

China has widened its lead over the U.S. as the world's top auto market, with September sales vaulting 78 percent, spurred by tax cuts and government stimulus spending.

Sales totaled 1.33 million vehicles last month, with passenger cars climbing 84 percent, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported. It was the seventh month that China's auto sales surpassed 1.1 million vehicles.

The nation now leads the world in sales, with 9.66 million vehicles selling over the first nine months of the year, up 34 percent from the same period last year. The U.S. ranks second, with January-September sales at about 7.8 million cars and light trucks, according to Autodata Corp.

Ex-secretary of state leaves MGM board

Alexander Haig, who served as secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan, has resigned as a member of MGM Mirage's board of directors, the company said Tuesday.

No reason was given for the resignation. Haig, who will be 85 in December, served as a director and consultant for the casino operator since May 1990.

After serving as the supreme allied commander of NATO forces from 1974 to 1979, Haig became the 59th secretary of state under President Reagan from 1981 to 1982.

Western Alliance rated 'market perform'

A brokerage firm specializing in bank stocks on Tuesday rated Western Alliance Bancorporation, the Las Vegas-based holding company for Bank of Nevada, "market perform," reflecting strengths but also potential losses.

The rating means that FIG Partner expects Western Alliance shares will perform about the same as a bank index over the next 12 months.

The firm estimated a loss per share of 20 cents in the third quarter and 19 cents in the fourth quarter. Western Alliance is projected to post a loss of 8 cents per share next year before turning positive at a profit of 42 cents per share for 2011.

The company operates five banks in Nevada, Arizona and California. It is the largest independent bank based in Nevada with $5.7 billion in assets.

McGraw Hill will sell BusinessWeek

McGraw-Hill Cos., the textbook publisher and owner of the Standard & Poor's ratings unit, agreed to sell BusinessWeek to Bloomberg LP.

The acquisition will strengthen online, television and mobile products, Bloomberg Chairman Peter Grauer said Tuesday in a statement. The purchase includes the print magazine and the BusinessWeek.com Web site. Terms weren't disclosed.

The transaction is scheduled to close Dec. 1, Bloomberg President Daniel Doctoroff said.

BofA to give regulators Merrill Lynch documents

Bank of America Corp. agreed to give regulators documents the company had tried to keep private about its acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co., the Securities and Exchange Commission said.

The SEC and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo are probing the Merrill acquisition and the brokerage's decision to award $3.6 billion in bonuses in late December, days before Bank of America bought it on Jan. 1.

Cuomo said last month that the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank was hindering his investigation by withholding documents based on the attorney-client privilege.

Shareholders and regulators have accused bank officials of failing to disclose the bonuses, and Merrill's fourth-quarter loss of $15.8 billion, before the sale was approved.

TRENTON, N.J.

Slipping drug sales hurt Johnson & Johnson

Band-Aid maker Johnson & Johnson is feeling the pain as consumers worldwide buy more generic health products -- whether it's prescription medicines or store-brand bandages -- or just do without for as long as they can.

The maker of Band-Aids, Tylenol, biotech drugs and Acuvue contact lenses on Tuesday reported a 1 percent increase in third-quarter net income, at $3.35 billion, or $1.20 per share.

That was 7 cents better than analysts expected, but Credit Suisse analyst Catherine Arnold attributed 5 cents of that to an unexpectedly low tax rate, just 21.2 percent, and the rest to cost-cutting.

New Brunswick-based J&J uncharacteristically missed its revenue forecast, with sales of $15.08 billion, down 5 percent from a year ago, as prescription drug sales plunged 14 percent.

NEW YORK

CSX earnings decline 23 percent in quarter

CSX Corp., the nation's third-largest railroad, said its third-quarter earnings fell 23 percent from a year ago because shipping demand is still weak.

CSX, which operates its signature blue and yellow locomotives from Canada to Florida and west to the Mississippi River, said overall shipping fell 15 percent from a year ago in the June-to-September period.

CSX earned $293 million, or 74 cents per share, in the third quarter, down from earnings of $380 million, or 93 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell 23 percent to $2.29 billion, mostly due to lower fuel surcharges.

WASHINGTON

AIG asked to withhold millions in bonuses

The Obama administration's pay czar has asked American International Group to withhold some of the millions in bonuses promised employees.

Kenneth Feinberg, the special master for executive compensation, "has informally advised AIG not to pay the full $198 million" employees expect to receive, according to a report Tuesday from the special inspector general overseeing the $700 billion financial bailout.

Feinberg is negotiating with the seven companies that received the most expensive taxpayer bailouts. AIG's was by far the largest. The government committed more than $180 billion to wind down the New York-based insurance and financial services conglomerate. Treasury now owns about 80 percent of AIG.

The bonuses will go to employees of AIG's financial products division. Their bets on complex financial derivatives helped sink the company.

Cisco Systems will buy Starent Networks

Cisco Systems Inc., the largest maker of networking equipment, agreed to buy Starent Networks Corp. in a deal valued at $2.9 billion, its second multibillion-dollar acquisition in less than two weeks.

Cisco will pay $35 a share in cash and assume outstanding equity awards, according to a statement. The per-share price is 21 percent more than Starent's closing price Monday. Cisco expects the transaction to add to earnings by fiscal 2012.