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Mar 17, 2005 (Time Australia - ABIX via COMTEX) The beauty business is booming in China. According to economists at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, while only 7% of [...]

Nevin Shapiro, once the owner and chief executive officer of Capitol Investments USA Inc., has pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering and one count of securities fraud in a Ponzi scheme that defrauded 50 investors of some $50 million to $100 million. On the money laundering count, Shapiro is looking at a possible 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000; on the other charge, as much as 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine.

Merrill Lynch & Company Inc., unit of Bank of America Corp., has been fined $500,000 by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. for not offering unit investment trust investors discounts. Also, in order to conclude the case, Merrill will pay $2 million to customers affected.

The article discusses the junk bond market. Yields on junk bonds remain high despite a recent rally. However, high default rates and low recovery rates make some junk bonds a risky investment. Mark Kiesel of Pacific Investment Management Co. recommends that investors focus on less-risky issues. Bonds sold by financial institutions which have received government help might fit that description.

This section offers corporate news briefs as of October 20, 2010, including an agreement reached by Darden Restaurants with franchise operator Americana Group, takeover of Philipp Humm as chief executive officer of T-Mobile USA and breach of privacy accusation against Google Inc. by Canada's Privacy Commissioner.

The article reports on the 6.9% profit decline posted by Domino's Pizza Inc. as of October 20, 2010.

The article reports that the decline in the third-quarter sales of the Fisher-Price division of Mattel Inc. has led to fears of a possible weak holiday toy sales in 2010.

The article reports on a 14% increase in Internet-advertising revenue in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2010.

The article reports on the merger between recreational vehicle makers Thor Industries Inc. and Heartland Recreational Vehicles LLC.

This section offers business news briefs as of September 2010, including the decision of Apollo Management LP to merge with Momentive Performance Materials Holdings Inc. and Hexion LLC, the selection of Dennis McGill as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Blockbuster Inc. and the acquisition of ArcSight Inc. by Hewlett-Packard Co.

The article reports that convenience-store firm Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. has made a $1.5 billion takeover offer for rival company Casey's General Stores Inc.

The article reports on the extension of the Web-search partnership between Google Inc. and AOL Inc. for five years, expanding into mobile search and online video.

This section offers business-related news briefs as of August 2010, including a profit of 743.5 million U.S. dollars reported by Six Flags Entertainment Corp., a strong increase in sales posted by Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB in July and the plan of Intel Corp. to buy the cable-modem-chip unit of Texas Instruments Inc.

The article reports on a patent-licensing agreement between chip manufacturers Rambus Inc. and Nvidia Corp. concerning certain memory controllers under which the latter will pay a royalty rate for the sale of products using memory controllers that were allegedly created via patent infringement.

This section offers news briefs on corporations as of August 13, 2010, including the decline in second-quarter earnings posted by Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc. by 28%, the decision of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals to upheld the 12-year prison sentence of former CA Inc. chief executive Sanjay Kumar, and the selection of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. as the preferred bidder for a majority stake in Ssangyong Motor Co.

The article reports on the 800,000 U.S. dollars in fines ordered by the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for Morgan Stanley to pay due to its failure to disclose conflicts of interests in stock-research reports since 2006, announced on August 10, 2010.

The article reports on the decline in loss posted by First Data Corp. in the second quarter of 2010 from 195.9 million in the same 2009 period to 171.2 million dollars as revenues from its electronic payment operations rose.

The article reports that MetLife Inc. plans to boost its share sale by 1 billion U.S. dollars for the funding of its acquisition of American International Group's second-largest foreign life-insurance business.

This section offers news briefs on corporate earnings as of July 2010 including the 11.76 billion yen net loss of automobile manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors Corp., the revenue increase to 1.38 billion euros of advertising firm Publicis Groupe SA and the decline to 302 million U.S. dollars in profit at cereals company Kellogg Co.

This section offers news briefs on earnings as of July 2010 including the 46% rise in 2009 net profit to 425 million pounds at publisher Pearson PLC, 8% decline in second-quarter profit to 263 million U.S. dollars at cigarette manufacturer Lorillard and 15% growth in second quarter sales profit and margin growth at eye care product company Alcon Inc.

The article reports on the decline in the profit posted by Tenet Healthcare Corp. in the first quarter of 2010 by 51% after it experienced gain in the same 2009 period.

The article reports on mixed earnings results for regional banks in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2010 with some still struggling with credit problems while others have lowered their loan-loss provisions.

This section offers news briefs related to corporate earnings in the U.S. as of April 20, 2010, including one on net profit of 200 million euros recorded by Philips Electronics NV on its first quarter, the 45% decline in the first-quarter earnings of Halliburton Co., and another on the 47% increase in the fourth quarter of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.

The article reports on the profit posted by U.S. toy manufacturer Mattel Inc. in the first quarter of 2010 driven by strong sales.

The article reports on the move by U.S. wireless chip manufacturer Qualcomm Inc. to enhance the outlook on its licensing business and sales for the quarter ending March 24, 2010.

The article reports on the plan of store-branded pharmaceuticals and nutrition products manufacturer Perrigo Co. to acquire store-brand infant formula manufacturer PBM Holdings Inc. under an 808 million U.S.-dollar deal which is said to grant the buyer access to countries such as China and Canada.

The article reports on the 87% increase in the fiscal first-quarter earnings of fund company Eaton Vance Corp. in 2010.

The article focuses on how microblogging site Twitter is valued. Based on latest data, the site is valued at 1 billion U.S. dollars. According to Anant Sundaram, a finance professor and valuation guru at Tuck School of Business in Dartmouth, New Hampshire, such valuation for Twitter is not outlandish. His method of valuing the site are based on its revenue and user projections. He also compared its performance to that of Google's.

The article reports on the views over charges of bribery and stealing commercial secrets filed by Beijing, China against four Rio Tinto employees. According to a "China Business News" columnist and China's watchdog National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets, China is to be blamed for the problem arguing that the country's legal system have many flaws.

The author offers insights on the acquisition of General Motors' Hummer nameplate by Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery. She points out that Tengzhong is not a high profile brand in the Chinese market. According to the author, the acquisition seems contradictory to the priorities of central authorities in Beijing, China. Liu Shanwen of Dongfeng Motor Group talks about the deal's business prospects.

The article reports that banks and attorneys could end up collecting fees totaling almost $1 billion in connection with the breakup of American International Group (AIG). Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and Bank of America Corp. are among firms that have been hired by AIG and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to assist in various aspects of the company's dissolution.

The article discusses CIT Group Inc. Although the firm has managed to stave off bankruptcy thanks to $3 billion in financing from bondholders including Centerbridge Partners and Pacific Investment Management Co., its long-term viability could depend on forbearance from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

This section offers news briefs on corporations as of October 12, 2010, including the settlement between EasyJet PLC and easyGroup IP Licensing Ltd. over their brand-license dispute, the 9.3% stake in Dynegy Inc. acquired by Seneca Capital LP, and the start of the first test on early-stage human-embryonic stem-cell treatment for spinal-cord injuries by Geron Corp.

The article reprots on issues surrounding Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., including the appointment of Sam Martin as president and chief executive, the second time in less than six months.

This section offers news briefs on the business sector in the U.S. as of June 18, 2010. including the end of a strike staged by pilots of Spirit Airlines, the plan of Volkswagen AG to overhaul its U.S. product line-up and the sale of a stake in Limited Brands Inc. to Sun Capital Partners Inc.

This section offers news briefs on corporations as of June 4, 2010, including the recovery of the consumer appliances sector for the year and 2011 predicted by GE Appliances & Lightning president Jim Campbell, the decision of Joy Global Inc. to raise it profit projection due to increase in demand for mining equipment in Asia and the recall of dishwashers by Wirlpool Corp. made by its Maytag unit.

This section offers news briefs on international corporations as of June 2, 2010, including the plan of budget airline Ryanair Holdings PLC to pay its first dividend in 10 years, the launch of an investigation in the 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan automobile models of Ford Motor Corp. by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the bids launched by hospital operator Tenet Healthcare Corp. to acquire Healthscope Ltd.