Reuters - Operating profit at Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG rose 33 percent to 9.025 billion Swiss francs ($7.04 billion) in 2005, beating analysts' expectations on strong cancer and flu drug demand.

AP - Royal Dutch Shell PLC reported a 4 percent drop in fourth quarter net profit and a 2 percent decline in sales Thursday, as the impact from hurricanes Katrina and Rita outweighed the high price of oil.

AP - Nissan reported a 0.6 percent rise in profit for the latest quarter on Thursday as sales surged 10 percent.

TechWeb - Earnings tumbled 79% due to losses in hard disk drive and PC operations, as well as accounting changes due to pension fund liabilities, the company said.

Reuters - The dollar edged lower on Monday but stayed within sight of a seven-week high against the yen after an upbeat U.S. jobs report and a fall in the unemployment rate last week reinforced expectations for higher U.S. interest rates.

Reuters - Playtex Products Inc. on Monday posted a fourth-quarter loss versus a profit a year ago, hurt by charges and lost sales from smaller brands it sold to focus on its core products such as tampons.

Reuters - WGL Holdings Inc., parent company of Washington Gas Light Co., on Tuesday posted a higher quarterly profit but trimmed its full year forecast, citing warmer than expected weather conditions in January.

AP - Renault Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn unveiled a three-year strategic plan for the French car maker on Thursday and said net profit rose 19 percent last year.

AP - Mazda reported a 39 percent jump in profit for the third quarter from the previous year on Friday, and raised its full-year forecast to what will be a record for the Japanese automaker for a second straight year.

Canadian Press - TORONTO (CP) - Investors will tread cautiously as trading resumes on the Toronto stock market to see whether last week's correction led by energy and mining stocks has run its course.

Canadian Press - TORONTO (CP) - Global indicators suggested a negative start to North American stock trading early Monday as crude oil prices edged lower.

Reuters - UMC (2303.TW), the world's second-largest contract maker of microchips, reported its quarterly profit more than doubled, beating forecasts, fueled by stronger-than-expected demand in the year-end shopping season.

AP - Mining giant BHP Billiton on Wednesday posted the highest half-year net profit in Australian corporate history thanks to soaring commodity prices driven up by voracious demand from China.

AFP - German-US auto giant DaimlerChrysler said that it had managed to boost its bottom-line last year despite the costs of restructuring its loss-making Smart car unit.

Canadian Press - TORONTO (CP) - Global indicators suggested a mixed start to North American stock trading Friday as oil prices spiked on news of potential Nigerian unrest.

AP - Turns out that the economy is doing pretty well, after all. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's congressional testimony sparked a major rally on Wall Street last week, with the Dow Jones industrial average hitting a new 4 1/2-year high after the Fed chief gave a bullish assessment of economic growth for 2006.

Reuters - The Nikkei share average closed below 15,500 for the first time in a month on Monday, declining 1.75 percent as Sony Corp. extended losses after a brokerage downgrade and as concerns about foreign selling weighed on shares across the board.

Reuters - The Nikkei rose 2.96 percent to post its biggest one-day percentage gain in three weeks on Tuesday as property shares such as Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. Ltd. (8830.T) rose on a report pointing to a rise in rents in central Tokyo.

Reuters - BASF, the world's top chemicals company by sales, forecast similar or better earnings this year after posting a 1.6-percent dip in quarterly profit due to damage caused by U.S. hurricanes.

FT.com - European equity markets made a positive start to trading on Thursday on a busy day for corporate earnings with attention focused on continued takeover speculation and results in the utilities sector.

FT.com - On the final day of a busy week for corporate earnings, European equity markets were expected to open flat to slightly weaker on Friday following overnight declines on Wall Street.

Canadian Press - TORONTO (CP) - A fresh spate of economic reports and big-bank earnings are poised to drive North American stock markets this week as investors look for more clues about the health of the Canadian and U.S. economies.

AP - U.S. stock market futures tilted higher Monday, helped by a published report suggesting that Walt Disney & Co. may be snapped up by Apple Computer and by a decline in crude-oil futures.

AP - Federal regulators have approved the merger of the New York Stock Exchange with electronic rival Archipelago Holdings Inc., the final hurdle in a market-shaping deal that will transform the 213-year-old Big Board into a for-profit company.