RECALL
Kmart is recalling about 16,000 Martha Stewart Everyday brand candles because they pose a risk of high flames, the Consumer Products Safety Commission said. The four-piece "sunny meadow" votive candle sets were manufactured by Global Gift Industries and sold from April 2004 to January 2005 for about $6 each, the agency said.
EARNINGS
Cingular Wireless reported a $240 million first-quarter loss despite solid growth in subscribers. Revenue was $8.23 billion. The combined profit in the comparable quarter a year earlier for Cingular and AT&T Wireless, which completed their merger in October, was $125 million. Revenue for only Cingular in the first quarter of 2004 was $3.97 billion.
Billionaire investor Ronald Perelman testified that he relied on Morgan Stanley's financial analysis of its client Sunbeam in deciding whether to sell his 82 percent stake in Coleman to that company in 1998. In his suit, which seeks $2.7 billion in damages, Perelman contends Morgan Stanley helped Sunbeam conceal inflated sales and assisted with a news release trumpeting phony earnings before he swapped his Coleman shares for Sunbeam stock.
(Mark Elias -- Bloomberg News)
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Sprint said its first-quarter profit more than doubled to $472 million from $223 million as a surge in its wireless business offset flat or declining local and long-distance sales. Revenue increased 3.4 percent, to $6.94 billion.
J.P. Morgan Chase said first-quarter profit rose 17 percent, to $2.26 billion, despite a $558 million charge for its settlement of WorldCom litigation and a $90 million charge for its merger with Bank One. Revenue rose 51 percent, to $13.65 billion. Those figures do not include Bank One's first-quarter 2004 results because the merger was not booked until July 2004. Using a pro forma basis to account for the merger, the combined bank's profit fell 25 percent and revenue declined 1 percent.
Motorola said first-quarter profit rose 14 percent, to $692 million, on continued strong sales. Revenue rose 10 percent, to $8.16 billion.
Altria Group, parent of Richmond-based Philip Morris USA, said its first-quarter profit increased 18 percent, to $2.6 billion. Revenue rose 9 percent, to $23.62 billion.
Volkswagen said first-quarter profit almost tripled, to $92 million. Sales fell 2.4 percent, to $16.3 billion.
Wyeth said first-quarter profit jumped 44 percent, to $1.08 billion, largely on strong sales of the antidepressant Effexor and arthritis drug Enbrel. Revenue rose 14 percent, to $4.58 billion.
United Technologies, which makes Pratt & Whitney jet engines and Carrier air conditioners, said first-quarter profit rose 18 percent, to $651 million, on strong sales and the acquisition of the Linde refrigeration business. Revenue rose 9 percent, to $9.41 billion.
VeriSign said first-quarter profit grew more than fivefold, to $49 million, as revenue surged 75 percent, to $401 million.
Compiled from reports by the Associated Press, Bloomberg News, Dow Jones News Service and Washington Post staff writers.
