IN BRIEF
Director steps down from Las Vegas Sands
Casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. says one of its board members has resigned because of increased demands on his "personal business interests," prompting the company to replace him on its audit committee to satisfy requirements of the New York Stock Exchange.
Las Vegas Sands said in a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that board member Andrew Heyer resigned on Wednesday last week. Sands said it received a notice the next day from the New York Stock Exchange that with two directors on its audit committee, it was not meeting requirements for listed companies to have three committee members.
Sands says existing board member Michael Leven replaced Heyer on the audit committee on Monday.
MILWAUKEE
Second wave of ads for Bud Light coming
Anheuser-Busch says now that people understand its new "drinkability" message around megabrand Bud Light, it's bumping up the release of the second wave of a new $50 million advertising campaign for the brand.
A series of three new ads will start airing on national television on Thursday that use visual cues -- like drawing diagrams of a person's stomach to show there's room for a Bud Light -- to play up the brewer's new catch phrase for its best-selling beer.
Companies in other industries may be curtailing their advertising spending amid the economic slump, as consumers cut back on their spending. But Anheuser-Busch keeps on pushing its biggest brand, in a category -- light beer -- that is now the standard in the U.S. market. Beer sales across the industry are still gaining, showing cash-strapped consumers who may be skimping on other purchases are hard pressed to give up their beer.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.
News of Citigroup rescue lifts oil prices
Oil prices jumped 9 percent Monday, pulled along by a surging Wall Street that reacted to news of a U.S. government bailout for Citigroup.
Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp., said oil initially seemed like it was heading downward, dropping to $48 overnight even amid talk about possible production cuts by OPEC.
OPEC President Chakib Khelil said Monday in Vienna, Austria, that if the organization met today, a cut of 1 million barrels would not be enough to support oil prices.
Light, sweet crude for January delivery rose $4.57 to close at $54.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices hit $55.30 at one point.
NEW YORK
Alpharma agrees to $1.6 billion takeover
Alpharma Inc. has finally agreed to King Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s $1.6 billion cash takeover offer, ending the drugmakers' months-long battle.
On Monday, Bristol, Tenn.-based King said it agreed to pay $37 per share for Alpharma, representing a 54 percent premium to the Bridgewater, N.J.-based company's closing stock price on Aug. 21, the last trading day before King's initial $33-per-share bid.
After Alpharma rejected the original $1.4 billion offer, King raised its bid and said it would take the offer directly to shareholders.
Both companies' boards have approved the deal.
NEW YORK
Edmunds.com sees uptick for auto sales
The auto Web site Edmunds.com said it expects a slight improvement in November vehicle sales compared with last month partly due to record-high sales incentives, but volumes will still be sharply lower from a year ago.
Edmunds estimates new-vehicle sales in November of 850,000 units, up 1.9 percent from October's dismal volumes. The figure, however, is down 27.6 percent from sales in November 2007.
The company predicts a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 11.5 million for the month. The rate indicates what sales would be for the full year if they remained at the month's pace all year, with adjustments for seasonal fluctuations
MILWAUKEE
Loss hedging hurts sales for Campbell Soup
Campbell Soup Co.'s higher soup sales were watered down by commodity hedging losses in its first fiscal quarter, as the soupmaker said Monday that profits fell 3.7 percent even as more cash-strapped consumers reached for its brands.
In the most recent quarter, commodity costs hampered margins, even as sales rose 3 percent to $2.25 billion from $2.19 billion last year.
The quarter included a $26 million unrealized loss on commodity hedges, and a 3.7 percent increase in advertising as Campbell's introduced new products and looked to gain market share from rivals like General Mills Inc.'s Progresso brand.
Sales of condensed soup, a category where Campbell is the market leader, rose 14 percent in the quarter.
WASHINGTON
Interest rates mixed in Treasury auction
Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills were mixed in Monday's auction with rates on six-month bills sinking to their lowest level on record.
The Treasury Department auctioned $28 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.15 percent, unchanged from last week, which was the lowest on record. It auctioned $28 billion in six-month bills at a discount rate of 0.49 percent, down from 0.84 percent last week.
NEW YORK
Bailout-triggered fears send bond prices down
Treasury bonds declined Monday, with investors nervous that the government will have to raise more debt to finance a bigger-than-expected bailout of the nation's banking industry.
The 10-year note fell 0.81 points to 103.56 and yielded 3.33 percent, up from 3.17 percent, the lowest yield since the 1950s.
And the 30-year bond fell 1.38 to 112.66 and yielded 3.78 percent, up from 3.70 percent -- the lowest yield since the government started issuing the bond in 1977.
The London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, for three-month loans in dollars edged up to 2.17 percent from 2.16 percent on Friday.
