Money world

Rite Aid Corp. says its third quarter loss narrowed, as sales at stores open at least a year improved and the drugstore operator more than doubled the number of flu shots delivered.

The third-largest U.S. drugstore chain says it lost $54.5 million, or 6 cents per share, after paying preferred dividends in the latest quarter. That compares to a loss of $81.5 million, or 9 cents per share, a year ago.

Revenue climbed nearly 2 percent to $6.31 billion.

Analysts were expecting a loss of 12 cents per share on $6.29 billion in revenue.

The Camp Hill, Pa., company says sales at stores open at least a year climbed 2 percent, driven by an increase in pharmacy business.

Rite Aid had 4,679 stores as of Nov. 26, down 62 from a year ago.

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Asian stocks fell Wednesday after the Federal Reserve offered no new initiatives to help a slowly recovering U.S. economy.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.6 percent to 8,498.63. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.5 percent at 1,854 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.7 percent to 18,326.98. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2 percent to 4,184.80. Benchmarks in Singapore and Taiwan fell while mainland China rose.

U.S. stocks gave up gains Tuesday after the Fed released a policy statement that made clear it was not offering any new steps to help the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.6 percent to close at 11,954.94. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 0.9 percent to 1,225.73. The Nasdaq composite fell 1.3 percent to 2,579.27.

The Dow dropped more than 70 points in the last hour of trading and had risen as high as 126 points earlier Tuesday after two strong auctions of European debt. The Spanish government was able to sell short-term debt at much lower interest rates compared with a month ago, a signal that markets are becoming less fearful about the government’s ability to repay its debt.

And in its first sale of short-term bills, the European Financial Stability Fund raised 1.9 billion euros ($2.6 billion).

Still, investor sentiment remained fragile amid threats by Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the credit ratings of 15 countries that use the euro because of the region’s debt crisis.

“We are likely to continue seeing some cautious trading as the threat of S&P coming out to issue some downgrades at some stage this week looms,” said Stan Shamu of IG Markets in Melbourne, Australia.

“Some would argue that this is already priced in, but it will still likely rock the boat should it happen.”

Benchmark oil for January delivery was down 28 cents to $99.86 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $2.37 to finish at $100.14 an ounce on the Nymex on Tuesday.

In currencies, the euro fell to $1.3031 from $1.3043 late Tuesday in New York. The dollar rose to 77.99 yen from 77.97 yen.

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Enthusiasm for riskier assets such as stocks faded Monday as skeptical investors assessed a new European fiscal pact aimed at fixing the continent’s debt crisis and preventing a breakup of the euro currency bloc.

Benchmark oil dropped below $99 per barrel while the dollar rose against the euro and the yen.

European stock markets skidded in the first day of trading after the European Union adopted a new fiscal pact meant to prevent the kind of financial fiasco that is now sweeping across countries that use the euro.

Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.5 percent to 5,500.94. Germany’s DAX dropped 0.8 percent to 5,940.05 and France’s CAC-40 lost 0.7 percent to 3,149. Wall Street also headed for a lower opening, with Dow Jones industrial futures dipping 0.4 percent to 12,090 and S&P 500 futures down 0.5 percent at 1,247.50.

Asian stocks registered approval of the deal earlier in the day: Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.4 percent to close at 8,653.82. South Korea’s Kospi added 1.3 percent to 1,899.76 and benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, Australia and Indonesia also rose.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng swung from early gains to end trading in the red, albeit marginally, at 18,575.66. China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 1 percent to 2,291.54 as a three-day economic conference of Chinese leaders got under way.

No major shifts in policy for 2012 are expected during a conference of Chinese leaders that began Monday. China has made headway in slowing inflation _ raising some hopes for a looser monetary policy _ while weak demand for exports from the West has sparked concerns that the economy may slow too quickly.

Under the deal, all 17 countries that use the euro agreed to allow a central European authority to oversee their future budgets and impose tighter controls on spending. They also agreed to automatic penalties if countries spend too much.

Europe’s new “fiscal compact” also calls for the launch of a permanent bailout fund for euro nations in 2012 _ a year ahead of schedule _ and an additional 200 billion euros ($267 billion) to the International Monetary Fund for a separate emergency fund for countries in crisis.

But some analysts wondered where debt-stricken Europe, which many economists say is hurtling toward recession, will find the money to make good on the pledges.

“It’s so easy for ministers to say they will contribute to this, but we’ll find out in a week or 10 days time who is,” said Andrew Sullivan, principal sales trader at Piper Jaffray in Hong Kong.

Another caveat is that the deal doesn’t help cut debt today, which in Italy, Greece and Spain has driven government borrowing costs close to levels considered unsustainable.

That loose end brought into focus the future monetary policy of the European Central Bank, and whether it would be willing to buy enough national bonds from troubled countries to keep interest rates down.

Analysts at Credit Agricole CIB said “the lack of ECB action in terms of stepping up to the plate as lender of the last resort” still weighed on investment sentiment.

There were also doubts about the willingness of each individual country to ratify the agreement.

In Tokyo, Toyota Motor Corp., Japan’s biggest car maker, fell 0.7 percent after sharply downgrading its earnings forecast for the fiscal year due to a strong yen and massive flooding in Thailand that disrupted production.

Camera and medical equipment maker Olympus Corp. surged 7.8 percent amid renewed investor faith in the embattled company. Olympus recently admitted falsifying accounting records to cover up huge investment losses from the 1990s and has vowed to investigate about 70 people, including current board members, for their possible involvement.

In Australia, energy shares led the gains. Woodside Petroleum rose 1.5 percent and mining giant BHP Billiton rose 1.9 percent.

Australian miner Whitehaven Coal Ltd. fell 1.4 percent after it agreed to a 5.1 billion Australian dollar ($5.2 billion) business combination with Aston Resources Ltd. that will create one the country’s biggest coal producers. Aston rose 1.4 percent.

High-tech shares posted strong gains. Japanese chipmaker Elpida Memory rose 4.5 percent. South Korea’s LG Electronics, which ranks No. 2 globally in flat screen televisions, also gained 4.5 percent.

Benchmark oil for January delivery was down 85 cents to $98.57 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.07 to finish at $99.41 per barrel on the Nymex on Friday.

In currencies, the euro fell to $1.3300 from $1.3370 late Friday in New York. The dollar rose to 77.66 yen from 77.54 yen.

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How might winter weather expose roof deficiencies?

Winter is the time of several holidays. What many people don’t understand is that even a minor roof leak can rob an entire holiday of fun and family time. Winter’s low temperatures can also cost homeowners much money in unnecessary heating expenses as a result of inadequate attic insulation.

Even homeowners with a lot of discretionary income don’t like to spend money on high heating bills. For a fraction of the cost of heating a home for five years, installation of fiberglass attic insulation can save thousands of dollars.

Getting a proper roof and attic inspection is a smart step to take now. Major repairs and large utility bills are not necessary when a simple 30-minute inspection is all that is required to determine what is needed to make a roof weathertight and energy efficient.

Homeowners who suspect their roofs might have suffered damage in this year’s storms should get the free inspections offered by most roofing professionals no fax payday loan. Inspections may reveal damage that is not readily visible to homeowners. These are often the same people whose roofs end up being replaced as a result of storm damage they didn’t even know they had.

The point to all of this is that trying to get a roof to last through the winter might be among the costliest of mistakes a homeowner can make. In addition, wasting money as a result of a poorly insulated attic just doesn’t make “cents.” These two items can save a homeowner thousands of dollars by having a trusted contractor inspect the roof and, at the very least, provide peace of mind during the holiday season. After all, worry-free holidays with more cash in hand always make for a happier season.

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Federal health experts said Thursday that drug labeling for Yaz and other widely-used birth control pills should be updated to emphasize recent data suggesting a higher risk of blood clots with the drugs than older contraceptive pills.

The Food and Drug Administration’s panel of experts voted 21-5 Thursday that labeling on the popular drugs made by Bayer is inadequate and needs more information about the potential risk of blood clots in the legs and lungs.

Yaz, its predecessor Yasmin and related prescriptions use a manmade hormone called drospirenone, which mimics the naturally occurring female hormone progesterone. Approved in 2006, Yaz grew into the best-selling birth control pill in the U.S. by 2008, backed by hundreds of millions of dollars in TV and magazine advertising that emphasized its ability to clear up acne and other hormonal side effects. But prescriptions have fallen more than 80 percent in the last two years amid safety concerns.

Panelists spent more than nine hours discussing often conflicting data on the blood clot risk of drospirenone-containing drugs compared with older medications. While the group disagreed on the quality of the evidence, the overwhelming majority said it should be clearly stated in the label, including the potentially fatal nature of blood clots.

“Clearly the wording is inadequate and incomplete,” said Dr. Richard Bockman of New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery. “Adverse events have to be made graphic so physicians and patients are aware of the consequences.”

In an earlier vote, panelists voted 15-11 that the pills remain a beneficial option for preventing pregnancy. The majority ruling amounts to a vote of confidence for keeping the drugs on the market, though well over a third of panelists voted against the drug’s overall benefit, citing numerous alternatives available.

“I can see no real group of patients that this drug benefited over existing alternatives,” said Mark Woods of New York University School of Medicine. “Without any clear benefit, and given the potentially catastrophic risk, I voted no.”

Two large studies conducted by German drugmaker Bayer have shown no difference in blood clots between patients taking the company’s drugs and patients taking older medications.

But since 2009, five large studies have suggested drospirenone-containing pills carry a slightly higher risk of blood clots than older birth control pills, though events in both groups are very rare. Even a slightly higher risk can be critical because blood clots can trigger heart attacks, strokes and blockages in lungs or blood vessels.

The most recent study by the FDA found women taking Yasmin had a 75 percent higher chance of suffering a blood clot than patients taking a combination of older drugs. The absolute risk of a blood clot is still far less than a fraction of a percent.

FDA scientists noted shortcomings with all the recent studies of Yaz and Yasmin, including missing information about patient weight and smoking status, which can increase the risk of blood clots. While not definitive, panelists said the information should be explained clearly in the labeling for physicians and patients no fax pay day loan.

“I think we can do a much better job than labels I have seen,” said Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, of the Morehouse School of Medicine.

Panelists said future studies must take into account patients’ lifestyle, race and family history to accurately capture blood clot risk.

With the slogan, “beyond birth control,” Bayer’s advertisements pitched Yaz to women in their 20s as drug with “lifestyle” benefits over older contraceptives. One advertisements featured young women singing the Twisted Sister anthem, “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” while popping balloons labeled “moodiness,” “bloating” and “acne.”

Within two years of its marketing approval, Yaz had grown into the best-selling birth control pill in the U.S. with peak sales of $781 million in 2009, according to data from IMS Health. But sales plummeted from one million per month to about 200,000 per month after the company added information about studies that found a heightened risk of blood clots. Additionally, Bayer was forced to run corrective advertisements after the FDA said the company’s marketing campaign overstated Yaz’s effectiveness in treating premenstrual mood disorders, and used distracting music and visuals to downplay the drug’s side effects.

Earlier in the day, panelists heard more than a half-dozen patients or their family members who blame Yaz or Yasmin for sometimes deadly blood clots.

Cindy Rippee spoke about her last conversation with her 20-year-old daughter Elizabeth Rippee, who died Christmas Eve 2008 when a blood clot traveled to her lung. Rippee said her daughter had been taking Yasmin for about two months, after taking another birth control pill, Tri-Sprintec, for a year previously.

“My daughter was a very smart young woman. If Elizabeth had been clearly told that Yasmin had more risk, maybe twice as much risk, as other pills she never would have switched to Yasmin and would be here today,” said Rippee, of Escondido, Calif.

Rippee is among 4,000 to 6,000 plaintiffs suing Bayer in personal injury lawsuits pending throughout the U.S. court system.

Yaz and other drospirenone-containing pills accounted for 16 percent of the hormonal contraceptives used in the U.S. last year, behind Warner Chilcott’s Loestren, Johnson & Johnson’s Ortho Tri-Cyclen and several other oral contraceptives.

The FDA has not set a timetable for any changes in Yaz’s labeling. For now, many doctors say they don’t expect to stop prescribing the drugs anytime soon. They point out that the risk of blood clots with any birth control pill is still far lower than that associated with pregnancy and birth, when surging hormone levels and reduced blood flow dramatically increase the chances of clotting.

Studies suggest that 10 in 10,000 women taking the newer birth control pills will experience a blood clot, compared with 20 in 10,000 women who are pregnant or have just given birth.

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BRUSSELS

The leaders of Germany and France called Monday for a new European Union treaty to restore confidence in the euro currency and to ensure that the region’s debt crisis never happens again.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that they would prefer a treaty agreed by all 27 members of the European Union but would also accept a treaty among just the 17 countries that use the euro.

The new treaty should include automatic sanctions for countries that violate rules meant to keep government deficits in check.

Investors cheered the two leaders’ comments, with the euro and stocks rising and bond yields dropping.

The meeting comes at the start of a crucial week for the eurozone, as it struggles to convince markets that it is able to solve its debt crisis.

Sarkozy said a jointly issued bond by all the countries that use the euro is not the solution to the continent’s debt crisis.

Many analysts have said that only by issuing bonds backed by the whole eurozone will Europe be able to save its shared currency.

Stronger countries, like Germany and France, have resisted those calls, but some thought that as the crisis worsens they might be forced to relent. Sarkozy reiterated Monday, however, that a common bond was “in no way” the solution to the crisis.

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Courting disaffected conservatives, House Republican leaders offered Friday to overturn a pair of Obama administration environmental policies and avert a deep cut in payments to doctors treating Medicare patients as part of legislation renewing a Social Security payroll tax cut through 2012.

The tax cut, due to expire on Dec. 31, “hasn’t stimulated the economy at all,” said Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas, one of several Republicans who emerged from a closed-door meeting and spoke unfavorably about the proposed extension at the heart of President Barack Obama’s jobs program.

“But over the long term, it does add to our deficit,” he added.

A one-year extension would cost an estimated $120 billion. The expense would be offset by cuts elsewhere in the budget, but Republican critics noted the savings would take a decade to materialize fully, while the cut itself would last for only one year.

Despite the misgivings, Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and other Republican leaders are committed to passing the legislation, fearing political fallout if payroll taxes rise on Jan. 1 on 160 million wage-earners.

The situation is similar in the Senate, where 26 of 46 Republicans voted Thursday night against a leadership-backed plan to renew the payroll tax cuts.

Officials said that to sweeten the measure for conservatives, House Republican leaders informed lawmakers they are prepared to add a provision averting a 27 percent cut in payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients, effective Jan. 1. The cost is about $38 billion over two years.

In addition, officials said Boehner and the leadership suggested including a provision that delays and eases a proposed Environmental Protection Agency requirement for new pollution regulations on industrial boilers and incinerators. The House approved legislation along the same lines in October, with the backing of 41 Democrats.

The EPA announced during the day it had agreed to ease the rules, although the change seemed unlikely to satisfy critics.

Another provision that would be added to the payroll tax bill is designed to speed construction of a proposed Keystone XL pipeline that pits environmentalists on one side, and industry and some labor unions on the other. The 1,700-mile structure would carry as much as 700,000 barrels of oil a day from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Texas, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

Despite a three-year review by federal agencies, Obama announced recently he would not decide whether to grant a construction permit until after the election in November 2012.

Democrats and Obama want to pay for the additional year of payroll tax cuts by imposing a 3.25 percent surcharge on individuals and couples with $1 million in income or more, and are hoping to use the issue to depict Republicans as benefactors of the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.

House Republicans are opposed to raising taxes, and the leadership reviewed a list of alternative proposals with the rank and file that officials said had originated with Obama or been embraced by the administration earlier in the year.

Among the options are a pay freeze for federal workers through 2015 and a requirement for them to pay a higher share of their pension costs. Raising the cost of Medicare premiums for the well-to-do is also on the list, as are proposals to charge a fee for mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the sale of spectrum rights now held by the government, and a denial of unemployment benefits or food stamps to million-dollar earners.

“Now is not the time to slam the brakes on the recovery. Right now, it’s time to step on the gas,” Obama said in an appearance at a construction site at which he noted that unemployment last month fell to a 2 1/2-year low of 8.6 percent.

If Congress fails to deliver the legislation to his desk before its scheduled adjournment for the year, “we can all spend Christmas here together,” said the president.

Obama is scheduled to leave on Dec. 17 for a Christmas vacation in Hawaii with his family and friends, spokesman Josh Earnest said. Those plans may be delayed by unfinished business with Congress, as it has been in the past.

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Apple Inc. won a small victory on Friday in its global patent battle with rival Samsung, after Australia’s highest court temporarily extended a ban on sales of Samsung’s Galaxy tablet computers in the country.

Samsung Electronics Co. is desperate to begin selling the Galaxy in Australia in time for Christmas sales, but the High Court’s decision means the device can’t go on the market until at least Dec. 9.

Apple took Samsung to court in Australia after accusing the Suwon, South Korea-based company of copying its iPad and iPhone. In October, a Federal Court judge ordered Samsung to halt sales of the device ahead of a trial. Samsung appealed, and on Wednesday, a full bench of the Federal Court threw out the earlier ruling and said Galaxy sales could resume on Friday.

But Apple immediately appealed that decision to the High Court, which on Friday said the temporary injunction against sales would be extended for another week while it considers Apple’s latest arguments.

“Samsung believes Apple has no basis for its application for leave to appeal and will vigorously oppose this to the High Court,” Samsung said in a statement.

The legal back-and-forth is all part of a larger, international battle over the technology giants’ competing tablets. Cupertino, California-based Apple struck first when it sued Samsung in the United States in April, alleging the product design, user interface and packaging of the Galaxy “slavishly copy” the iPhone and iPad. Samsung hit back with lawsuits accusing Apple of patent infringement of its wireless telecommunications technology.

The companies have now filed lawsuits in 10 countries. Courts in several nations, including Germany and the Netherlands, have issued rulings that favor Apple.

Apple spokeswoman Fiona Martin declined to comment on Friday’s ruling, instead issuing a general statement blasting Samsung.

“It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging,” Apple said in the statement. “This kind of blatant copying is wrong and, as we’ve said many times before, we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”

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Ralcorp Holdings is two months away from completing the spin-off of its branded cereal business, Post Holdings, yet company officials say they remain in buy mode.

In a conference call with analysts today, St. Louis-based Ralcorp’s executives said the spin-off of Post as a separate, publicly traded company will occur by the end of January 2012. Ralcorp, which has grown through acquisitions over the past decade, plans to focus on private label cereal, pasta, frozen bakery goods and other foods.  

“As the leader in private brand foods, we continue to be excited about the opportunities that exist in the private brand, or store-brand market,” Kevin Hunt, Ralcorp’s co-chief executive and president said in the call. 

Ralcorp completed its acquisition of Kansas City-based American Italian Pasta Co. for $1.2 billion in July 2010, which helped boost Ralcorp’s net sales to $4.7 billion in fiscal 2011, up from $4 billion in 2010.

In October, Ralcorp closed on its $545 million purchase of the North American refrigerated dough business from Sara Lee, which included Sara Lee’s private label biscuits, crescent rolls, pizza and pie crusts and toaster pastries cash advance now.

More acquisitions may be on the horizon. “When we look at the current acquisition pipeline, we’ve identified approximately $10 billion in additional annual sales representing 50 individual companies that meet our initial criteria for strategic acquisition, ranked by margins and synergies with our existing business,” Hunt said in the call.

Morningstar analyst Erin Lash wrote in a research note today that Ralcorp faces competitive pressures in the private label cereal business, however. “Branded firms like General Mills and Kellogg are prioritizing investments behind product innovation and marketing that resonate with consumers, which could further pressure Ralcorp’s cereal sales, in our view,” Lash wrote.

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