The department store reported after the market closed that Q4 earnings rose 37% to $1.48 a share, topping views by a nickel. Kohls’ () sales rose 17% to $5.43 bil, just beating analysts’ projections. The company said same-store sales were up 4.1%. The midlevel retailer said it benefited from strong sales of its exclusive brands. The department store sees ‘07 earnings of $3.68-$3.84 a share, the midpoint below views of $3.82. Shares climbed 2% in late trading.

Sears beats, same-store sales fall

The operator of Sears () and Kmart discount stores said Q4 profit rose 33% to $5.36 a share ex items, 18 cents above views. Revenue inched up 1% to $16.29 bil, also topping expectations. Results were helped by higher profit margins on apparel at Kmart and Sears stores, despite weaker sales at older stores. Same-store sales at Sears slid 4.9% while Kmart’s dipped slightly. Shares fell 2.3% to 176.07.

Staples tops, delivery sales surge

The nation’s biggest office products supplier said Q4 profit climbed 24% to 46 cents, beating views by a penny. Sales grew 18% to $5.29 bil, credited to strong delivery business. Same-store sales in North America rose 1%. Staples () said PC sales slowed over the holidays as consumers awaited the Jan. release of Windows Vista. Staples expects Q1 EPS growth of 15%-20%. Also it sees Q1 same-store sales in North America to be up low single digits. Shares slid 2.6% to 25.35.

Wal-Mart to open bank in June

The retail giant’s Mexican subsidiary said it will open its first in-store bank branch in June. Wal-Mart () de Mexico, or Walmex, said it will open up to 15 banks in the 2nd half of the year. Wal-Mart has faced stiff opposition in the U.S. to its bid to open an “industrial bank” in Utah. Shares fell 0.9% to 47.89.

CVS Corp., () the No. 2 U.S. drugstore chain, said Feb. same-store sales rose 7% as demand for prescription medications increased. Total sales lifted 22.5% to $3.8 bil and same-store pharmacy sales jumped 7.4%. Shares dipped 0.3% to 31.34.

Steven Madden, () the footwear maker lowered Q1 EPS guidance to 40-43 cents, below views of 52 cents. It also cut its sales outlook. Share fell 3.5% to 28.53.

TECHNOLOGY

STATS ChipPAC gets $1.6 bil bid

The world’s No. 4 microchip packager received an offer to acquire a 64.4% stake from Singapore state investor Temasek Holding. If STATS ChipPAC’s () convertible bonds are exercised and included, the deal would be worth as much as $2.85 bil. Analysts said Temasek’s move to take STATS private could be a prelude to the government investment firm’s selling it off in the future or merging it with a rival. STATS leapt 22.8% to 11.87.

Lenovo recalls 100,000 batteries

The computer maker said it recalled 100,000 lithium-ion batteries used in ThinkPad laptops. The Sanyo-built batteries, according to 4 reports, overheated and even caused minor eye irritation in one case. In Sept. Lenovo recalled 526,000 rechargeable, lithium-ion Sony () batteries. Lenovo bought IBM’s PC division in ‘05.

Microsoft may face antitrust fine

The EU threatened Microsoft () with fines as high as $4 mil a day, claiming the software giant is still not offering a fair deal to rivals seeking to make their products more compatible with Windows. “This is a company that apparently does not like to have to conform with antitrust decisions,” an EU spokesman said. Microsoft said the demands are unreasonable. Microsoft slipped 0.3% to 28.09.

MEDICAL

HealthSouth narrows EPS losses

The largest operator of rehabilitation centers narrowed Q4 losses to 97 cents a share, from $1.06 a year earlier. It missed forecasts of a 9- cent loss. HealthSouth’s () revenue edged down to $730 mil, in line with expectations. The company said its inpatient hospitals’ operating earnings rose 3%, but that revenue declines in its outpatient and diagnostic units offset the gains. Shares slipped 2.8% to 23.33.

Laboratory Corp. of America () said No. 3 U.S. health insurer Aetna () terminated its LabCorp. contract effective July 1. That will likely cut LabCorp.’s ‘07 earnings by 4-12 cents a share. Analysts had projected’07 EPS of $4.02. LabCorp. tumbled 12% to 70.17.

Amgen () predicted sales of its anemia drug Aranesp will remain strong despite recent safety concerns that drugs in the class to which it belongs are suspected of harming scancer and kidney patients. Shares fell 3% to 61.70.

FINANCIAL

VeriFone beats, revenue jumps

The maker of electronic payment machines reported after hours that its Q1 profit jumped 54.2% to 37 cents ex items, beating views by 3 cents. Revenue jumped 61% to $216.6 mil, topping expectations, on strong international performance. VeriFone () boosted Q2 EPS outlook to 36-37 cents above views of 35 cents. Its sales growth came in at 17%-21% in the past six quarters.

Chicago bourses’ trading rises

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange () said its February volume rose 27% to 6 mil contracts a day. The Merc’s monthly volume was 115 mil. Its Globex electronic trading platform’s daily load jumped 40% to 4.6 mil contracts. The Chicago Board of Trade said its daily volume rose 29% to 4.5 mil. The No. 2 futures exchange said its February trading volume soared 50% to 66.559 mil on strong agricultural and metals trading. The Chicago Merc rose 1.1% to 545.23. CBOT edged up 0.9% to 163.

TELECOM

Motorola rises on Icahn interest

Four investment groups run by Carl Icahn plan to buy more than $2 bil in Motorola () common shares, according to SEC filings. The purchase would make the billionaire the second-biggest institutional holder, with a 4.4% stake. Meanwhile, the mobile phone maker seeks better profits by cutting the costs of its cheapest phones by $2-$5 per handset. Last week Motorola said it is facing a “rocky” first half in ‘07. Shares climbed 1.7% to 18.83.

Deutsche Telekom turns Q4 loss

The No. 1 European telecom company, which owns U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile, turned a Q4 loss of $1.2 bil, from last year’s $882 mil profit. Analysts expected the company to make $20.7 mil. Deutshe Telekom said the loss was due to losses in its fixed-line phone customers. Sales rose 3% to $21.01 bil. Shares fell 4.5% to 17.16.

Telefonica profit falls on payout

The Spanish telecom giant said Q4 profit fell 11.8% to $1.39 bil. Revenue jumped 37.4% to $18.75 bil. Telefonica () attributed the decline in profit to a $664.5 mil payout for early retirements and $177 mil for an executive pension plan. The company’s mobile unit achieved the highest revenue among the company’s divisions in 2006. Shares slipped 1.5% to 63.41.

Ciena misses, lowers guidance

The communications equipment maker swung to a Q1 profit of 22 cents a share from a year-ago loss, missing views by a penny. Revenue grew 37% to $165.1 mil, slightly above forecasts. It expects Q2 EPS of 22-26 cents ex items, the midpoint below analysts’ expectations of 26 cents. Ciena () said operating expenses will rise through ‘07, although they will decline as a percentage of revenue as the firm spends to install its equipment. Shares tumbled 10% to 28.28.

MEDIA

EchoStar beats Q4 EPS views

The No. 2 satellite television provider said its earnings rose 17% to 35 cents a share, beating views by 3 cents. EchoStar’s () revenue increased 17% to $2.58 bil. The company added 350,000 new subscribers; the year before, it added 330,000 in the quarter. Bernstein Global Wealth had predicted EchoStar would add 251,000 customers, and the quarter shows the company is moving along well despite competition from cable TV operators. Shares rose 5% to 42.58.

Viacom tops, inks Internet deal

The media giant, Viacom () which owns BET, VH1, MTV and other cable channels, more than doubled Q4 EPS to 69 cents, besting views by 9 cents. Revenue increased 32% to $3.59 bil, helped by last year’s acquisition of DreamWorks studio. Its cable networks business sales rose 6% to $809.9 mil. It recently signed a deal with startup company Joost to distribute programming from its cable networks online, after demanding that Google’s () video sharing site YouTube take down more than 100,000 unauthorized Viacom clips. Shares fell 2.4% to 38.61.

Blockbuster may buy Movielink

The No. 1 U.S. movie rental company is in talks with Movielink to provide online movie downloads, according to a published report. If the advanced talks progress, Blockbuster will buy the company for $50 mil in cash and stock. Blockbuster () said it intends to offer a “triple play” that gives customers the ability to rent in stores, through the mail or via online downloads. Rival Netflix launched its online stream of 1,000 streaming movies in January. Shares rose 2.6% to 6.81.

FOOD

Bacteria found in ConAgra plant

Federal inspectors found the strain of salmonella at the food company’s plant that made tainted peanut butter, FDA said. ConAgra Foods () recalled all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter made at the Georgia plant after federal officials linked the product to an outbreak that began in August. 370 people fell ill in the outbreak. Shares slipped 0.3% to 25.14.

Nash Finch, () a food distributor and retailer, said Q4 earnings dropped 43% to 52 cents a share ex items, missing views by 3 cents. Sales fell 2% to $1.1 bil, just beating $1.03 bil forecasts. The company said slow sales were due to underperforming retail stores and slower growth in its food distribution sector. Shares fell 3.8% to 28.93.

For years, Wal-Mart has been an easy target for people who fret about the environment. After all, its a major corporation whose massive stores take up acres of land and produce tons of waste, and whose products are trucked from store to store on a vast fleet of gas-guzzling vehicles.

Now the retailing giant is setting out not just to remake its image but also to improve its business.

The major environmental overhaul includes finding ways to make its thousands of trucks more efficient, building new stores with strict energy conservation goals and pushing its suppliers to reduce packaging.

On Wednesday the giant retailer touting its environmentally friendly products.

While Wal-Mart insists it sees inherent value in helping the environment, the famously bottom-line focused company also has found a more practical upside the potential to save money by reducing waste, packaging and energy use.

Things do not need an immediate payback, but they do need to be business strategies, Andy Ruben, Wal-Marts vice president for corporate strategy and sustainability, said of the companys environmental goals.

Wal-Marts shift, if successful, should mean more than just token moves. The company is so big, and the network of companies that supply its products so vast, that experts see the potential for Wal-Mart to have a tangible impact on problems such as greenhouse gas emissions.

The promise of Wal-Mart is its huge market share and its incredible supply chain, said Gwen Ruta, director of corporate partnerships for Environmental Defense, which has placed enough faith in Wal-Mart to open an office in the companys hometown of Bentonville, Ark.

Still, Ruta, like many environmental advocates, is cautious about endorsing Wal-Mart wholeheartedly just yet.

Its too early to know if Wal-Marts gains will meet their aggressive goals, she said.

Wal-Mart acknowledges that it is still in the early stages of its effort, but the company says its nearly 2-year-old commitment to helping save the environment not to mention some money is legitimate.

The broad goals are being addressed with a mixture of big, overarching changes and small, incremental ones.

For example, Wal-Mart has pledged to double the fuel efficiency of its fleet of vehicles by 2015, compared with 2005 levels a move that should vastly reduce fuel expenses. Already, it has installed auxiliary power units in its trucks, so truckers can do things like run heaters while they sleep without running the trucks main engine.

The company also has built two experimental stores devoted to testing environmentally friendly improvements. In one store, in Aurora, Colo., Wal-Mart used recycled concrete from an old airport runway for the stores foundation and is reusing vegetable and motor oil to heat the store.

In addition, it has opened two high-efficiency stores that aim to use 20 percent less energy than its typical Supercenters and that could serve as a model for future stores. Wal-Marts overall goal is to make its existing stores 20 percent more efficient by 2012, as compared to 2005 levels. In that process that should lower energy costs substantially.

Some experiments in those prototype stores, such as refrigerated display cases that only light up when a person walks by, have shown immediate promise for wider use. Wal-Mart also was so impressed with an experiment to use more efficient LED lighting on the front of its stores that it immediately ordered all new stores to adopt the technology.

A broader effort to encourage more sustainable fishing also is beginning to result in lower prices for fish at its stores, Ruben said.

Wal-Mart also is starting to push its environmental goals on to its customers, arguing that there are cost savings to be had in purchasing things like compact fluorescent light bulbs, which cost more upfront but save money over their lifetime.

It also has on its shelves to reduce packaging, which will both lower transport costs and reduce the amount of waste Wal-Mart must either dump or recycle. The company also may soon judge consumer electronics makers on things like energy efficiency and reductions in use of hazardous materials.

The experimental nature of its plans have inevitably led to some trial and error. At its experimental stores, an attempt to use wind power wasnt as successful as hoped. Wal-Mart also wasnt happy with its test of pervious pavement that can more easily absorb water in parking lots.

Still, Ruben is confident that the company will be able to find better options to address those areas as well. Thats partly because the companys sheer market power should push suppliers to come up with better technology to address its needs.

Ruben said the company hasnt been shy about sharing such advances with its competitors, on the theory that if more people adopt the technology, prices will go down and suppliers will become more competitive.

He also insists Wal-Mart is only at the beginning.

Were barely at the low-hanging fruit with the efficiency opportunities, he said.

Ruta, of Environmental Defense, sees a lot of hope in that kind of talk. But no matter how much Wal-Mart improves its energy efficiency and other environmental impacts, she notes that there is one big drawback the company continues to build big new stores, adding to its potential for environmental damage.

Ruben argues that Wal-Mart is looking at stores that can have less impact, such as multi-level buildings or those that are located in already-developed urban areas or malls.

The image of a rural store that is basically a county seat is rapidly changing, he said.

Still, the company also continues to construct stores on undeveloped plots of land in less dense areas, and some of those projects have been challenged on environmental grounds.

Critics also note that Wal-Mart has another pragmatic reason for pushing a bold environmental agenda the potential to improve its image.

Wal-Marts reputation has been battered in recent years by sustained, organized attacks against how much it pays workers, its expansion plans and other business practices. Its share price is essentially flat as compared to two years ago.

Theyre riding a big, positive PR wave for their environmental initiatives. Its probably the only positive coverage theyre received recently, said Nu Wexler, spokesman for the anti-Wal-Mart group Wal-Mart Watch.

He thinks the company deserves legitimate credit for taking steps to cut waste and energy use, and he also doesnt see anything wrong with Wal-Mart making environmental changes in part to save money.

Still, his group also is pushing the company to provide even more specifics about its goals, arguing that its current outlines are too vague. At this point, he said, he views the environmental initiative with cautious optimism.

Wal-Marts Ruben concedes that there will always be some skeptics. To them, he said, Hold us accountable.

Dont measure us on our commitments. Measure us on our actions, he added.

2007 MSNBC Interactive

Bendigo Bank has rejected a $2.5 billion bid for the regional communities based group from Bank of Queensland Ltd (BoQ).

The bank also upgraded its earnings guidance for fiscal 2007.

BoQ had offered Bendigo shareholders 0.748 of its share andd $5.50 cash for each Bendigo Bank share, subject to a number of conditions.

“Bendigo Bank has carefully considered the Bank of Queensland proposal,” it said.

“The board believes that the proposal does not provide sufficient value and certainty for Bendigo Bank shareholders.

“The proposal involves significant risks, including integrating organisations with different business models and philosophies.

“The Bendigo Bank Board has concluded that the Bank of Queensland proposal is not in shareholders best interests.”

Chairman Robert Johanson said the regional communities based bank was performing strongly and had excellent prospects on a stand-alone basis.

‘’Bendigo Banks total shareholder returns over the past five years have been more than 130 per cent, substantially out-performing the S&P/ASX 200 accumulation index,'’ he said.

‘’Over the past 10 years our total shareholder returns have been more than 400 per cent.'’

Bendigo upgrades its fiscal 2007 earnings guidance to a cash net profit of $117 million, amounting to cash earnings per share (EPS) growth of 12 per cent.

The bank had previously forecast cash EPS growth of 10 per cent for the year.

It is also targeting cash EPS growth in excess of 12 per cent for the 2008 financial year.

‘’Bendigo Bank’s strong prospects are based on our close relationships with customers and other stakeholders, a unique business model, the quality of the Bendigo Bank brand, the support and engagement of our staff and an extensive customer base,'’ Mr Johanson said.

He said the board could only recommend a takeover if it was confident it would deliver “certain and compelling value'’ to shareholders.

‘’In the board’s view, the value under the Bank of Queensland proposal is neither certain nor compelling,'’ he said.

AAP