Business digest 01/05/05

Chevrolet beats Ford for first time in 19 years

DETROIT -- Chevrolet was the best-selling brand in the U.S. market in 2005, outpacing Ford for the first time in 19 years, General Motors Corp. said Wednesday. But that was where the good news ended for GM and other U.S. automakers, who continued to lose ground to foreign rivals. Japanese automakers Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. and South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. all reported sales increases of 9 percent or more for the year. Toyota, whose U.S. sales were up 10 percent over 2004, said its Camry sedan was the best-selling car in the United States for the fourth year in a row, while its Lexus nameplate was the best-selling luxury brand. The Big Three U.S. automakers' sales were down 2 percent overall, while Asian brands' sales climbed 7 percent and European brands fell 3 percent.

Retailers expected to meet modest sales hopes

NEW YORK -- While the nation's retailers didn't get their hoped-for sales blitz the week after Christmas, they're still expected to generally meet their modest holiday sales forecasts. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers-UBS sales tally released Wednesday, sales slipped 0.8 percent for the week ended Saturday compared to the prior week and rose 2.9 percent compared to the same year-ago period. The tally is based on same-store sales, or sales at stores opened at least a year, which are considered the best measure of a retailer' health.

Monsanto Co. beats expectations for quarter

ST. LOUIS -- Monsanto Co. swung to a profit in the first quarter of its fiscal year, beating expectations, as it boosted sales of genetically engineered crops at home and abroad. The company reported net income of $59 million, or 22 cents per share, in the three months ended Nov. 30. That compares to a loss of $40 million, or 15 cents per share, during the same period last year, when results were weighed down by about $300 million in legal costs for spinning off its Solutia chemical division. Revenue rose to $1.41 billion from $1.07 billion, including a sizable boost from the Seminis vegetable and fruit seed business, which Monsanto bought after last year's first quarter. The performance exceeded expectations on Wall Street, where analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected profit of 19 cents per share on sales of $1.24 billion.

Aetna chief executive steps down in February

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The chief executive of Aetna Inc., one of the nation's largest health insurers, will retire next month, ending a tenure in which he led the once-struggling company to renewed profitability and expanded operations that include specialty businesses and national participation in a new Medicare drug program. John W. Rowe also will retire as chairman before the end of the year, Aetna said. The Hartford-based insurer named president Ronald A. Williams, 56, to succeed Rowe as chief executive on Feb. 14.

Feds show new rules on company fraud fines

WASHINGTON -- A federal agency announced new guidelines Wednesday for fining companies for fraudulent conduct, addressing an issue that has split securities regulators along political lines. The guidelines are meant to bring "clarity, consistency and predictability" to the SEC's enforcement efforts, agency chairman Christopher Cox said at a news conference. They take into account the seriousness of the alleged corporate misconduct, how cooperative the company was in the investigation and the punishment's deterrent effect.

- From wire reports