IN BRIEF
NORTHFIELD, Ill.
Report says Kraft close to selling Post cereals
Kraft Foods is close to a deal to sell its Post cereals business to Ralcorp Holdings for about $2.8 billion, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
The Post cereal line, which includes Raisin Bran, Grape-Nuts and Pebbles cereals, is third by sales behind Kellogg and General Mills. Post's sales have been stagnant, in part because childhood obesity concerns forced cereal makers to rethink their marketing for sugary cereals, the Journal reported Monday.
Kraft, of Northfield, Ill., and Ralcorp are discussing a stock-based transaction that would free both parties from tax liability, a source told the Journal. A deal could be announced within the next few weeks.
Kraft officials would not comment on the report to The Associated Press.
NEW YORK
Time Warner names successor to chief
Jeff Bewkes will succeed Dick Parsons as the CEO of Time Warner on Jan. 1, the company announced Monday, completing a widely anticipated succession at the top of the world's largest media conglomerate.
Parsons, 59, will stay on as chairman. He had taken over in 2002, just as the company was reeling in the aftermath of its disastrous decision to be acquired by AOL. A former lawyer and skilled negotiator, he helped restore the company's stature and rebuild its relations with Wall Street.
Bewkes, 55, was chief executive of HBO for seven years. He helped transform the cable TV channel into a hugely profitable network that won critical acclaim with original programs such as "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City."
Net income slips for Sierra Health Services
Sierra Health Services of Las Vegas reported a decline in net income in the third quarter, driven partly by a $3.6 million increase in estimated losses on the managed-care insurer's Medicare Part D prescription drug program.
Sierra Health's profit in the third quarter was $34.6 million, or 59 cents a share, compared with $34.9 million, or 56 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago. The company's earnings per share rose because fewer shares are outstanding as a result of stock buybacks in recent months.
Revenue rose 9.1 percent to $468.9 million from $430 million.
The company's performance fell short of analyst expectations. A Thomson Financial survey of analysts pegged anticipated earnings of 61 cents a share on $478.3 million in revenue.
Cash flow from operations for the first nine months of 2007 was $51.2 million, down from $93.9 million in the same time a year ago, due to the timing of payments to the company from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Sierra Health is the subject of a buyout by UnitedHealth Group, a Minnesota managed-care insurer. Regulators in Nevada, California and Arizona have signed off on the deal, which awaits a regulatory decision from the U.S. Department of Justice.
WASHINGTON
Interest rates decline in Treasury auction
Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday's auction with rates on six-month bills dropping to the lowest level in more than two years.
The Treasury Department auctioned $20 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 3.55 percent, down from 3.92 percent last week. Another $18 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 3.78 percent, down from 3.945 percent last week.
NEW YORK
Treasurys static as traders consider news
The Treasury market stood still while many corporate issues languished Monday as investors absorbed the news that Citigroup expects another $8 billion to $11 billion in credit-related losses.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 0.31 points to 103.41 with a yield of 4.32 percent, unchanged from late Friday. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The 30-year long bond fell 0.03 points to 106.16 with a yield of 4.62 percent, unchanged from late Friday.
