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Shares of AutoNation (NYSE: AN) set a new 52-week high on Friday, a day after it reported a 28.6 percent increase in second quarter income.

Shares of the nation's largest automotive retailer closed up 60 cents, or 2.66 percent, to $23.14, after trading near $20 on Monday. The 52-week low is $16.68.

Second quarter net income from continuing operations rose to $47.2 million, or 29 cents a share, from $36.7 million, or 21 cents a share, in the prior-year period.

After consolidation efforts last year, Fort Lauderdale-based AutoNation reported a loss from discontinued operations of $2.7 million in the second quarter, improved from an $17.3 million loss in the second quarter of 2009.

AutoNation said its 2010 second quarter revenue totaled $3.1 billion, up 20 percent from $2 no fax cash advance.6 billion in the year-ago period, driven primarily by stronger new and used retail vehicle revenue, which increased 25 percent.

Chairman and CEO Mike Jackson said he expected third quarter new vehicle industry sales to equal or surpass third quarter 2009 figures, even though year-ago sales included the "cash for clunkers" program.

President Mike Maroone said the company is encouraged by reports that manufacturers will step up production to match growing sales in the third and fourth quarters.

AutoNation ranked fifth on the South Florida Business Journal's April list of largest public companies and had ranked first before the recession slammed automotive sales.

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Goldman Sachs paid $550 million to settle charges of defrauding investors in a sale of securities tied to subprime mortgages, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday.

Goldman (GS, Fortune 500) shares jumped almost 8% in after-hours trading on the announcement, as many predicted the company would be forced to pay $1 billion to settle the case.

The settlement amount represents roughly 4% of the $13.4 billion in profits Goldman earned last year. In its first quarter of this year, the bank logged $3.5 billion in profits.

Still, the $550 million was the largest penalty a Wall Street company has ever paid to the SEC. Regulators said $250 million would be returned to affected investors and $300 million would be paid to the U.S. Treasury.

The settlement is subject to approval by a judge. Within 30 days, Goldman must wire money to three parties: $150 million to Deutsche Bank, $100 million to the Royal Bank of Scotland and $300 million to the SEC.

In a statement, the SEC called the settlement "a stark lesson to Wall Street firms that no product is too complex … to avoid a heavy price if a firm violates the fundamental principles of honest treatment and fair dealing."

Charges filed in April: The SEC filed the fraud charges in April against New York-based Goldman and one of its vice presidents, Fabrice Tourre, for failing to disclose conflicts in a 2007 sale of a so-called collateralized debt obligation dubbed Abacus.

The SEC said Goldman acknowledged it gave investors "incomplete information," though the company neither admitted nor denied the allegations. Goldman will also "reform its business practices" as part of the settlement.

Investors in Abacus lost $1 billion, the SEC said when filing the fraud charges. The commission’s complaint alleged that Goldman allowed hedge fund Paulson & Co. to help choose the securities included in the CDO, which is a financial instrument backed by a pool of assets such as loans or bonds.

But Goldman didn’t tell investors that Paulson was shorting the CDO, or betting its value would fall.

Goldman shot back in April, saying the charges were "completely unfounded in law and fact" and that the company lost $90 million on the deal.

What Goldman has to change: As part of the settlement, the SEC required Goldman to comply with certain business practices for three years. The company will be required to certify in writing, each year, that it has followed all of the rules.

Goldman must expand the role of its firmwide capital committee in approving the sale of mortgage-backed securities.

In addition, the company’s legal or compliance departments must review all written marketing materials. Goldman will have to keep a list of all materials reviewed, including the person who approved them and the date of review. The firm will have to conduct an internal audit of this process at least once a year.

If Goldman is the lead underwriter of a sale of mortgage-backed securities and hires an outside firm to advise, that adviser also will have to review marketing materials.

Within 60 days of hiring an employee who will be involved in mortgage-backed securities sales, that worker will have to take a training class about the laws involved. All employees involved in mortgage securities will be required to take a class each year, and Goldman will need to keep records of that training.

Goldman under fire: Despite Goldman’s protests, the charges brought scrutiny and criticism to the company and its chief executive Lloyd Blankfein, who still managed to hold onto his job as chairman in May.

Blankfein and other Goldman executives faced a blistering ten-hour cross-examination from members of a Senate panel in April following the SEC’s allegations. Lawmakers skewered current and former executives about Goldman’s role in the downturn of the housing market, which started to unravel in 2007.

The SEC lawsuit also publicized e-mails sent by Tourre, the vice president named in the charges, to a girlfriend. The messages, sent in late 2007, revealed both Tourre’s cavalier attitude and his doubts about the CDO business.

Tourre, then a 28-year-old trader, referred to himself in one e-mail as "fabulous Fab." He also described himself as "the only potential survivor" of the collapsing subprime-mortgage-backed securities business.

In a press conference later Thursday, an SEC rep said there was "no settlement with Mr. Tourre and we are still pursuing that case." 

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Nutritional supplement maker NBTY will be acquired by private equity firm Carlyle Group in a deal valued at $3.8 billion, the companies announced Thursday.

Under the merger agreement, NBTY (NTY) shareholders will receive $55 a share, a 57% premium to NBTY’s average closing share price in the 30 trading days ended July 14. The last time NBTY’s stock price touched $55 was in February 2007.

Shares of NBTY were up more than 44% in premarket trading, at $54 a share.

NBTY’s board of directors have approved the merger, which is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2010.

"We will leverage Carlyle’s global resources and consumer sector knowledge to further drive the company’s global growth," said NBTY chairman and chief executive Scott Rudolph, in a statement.

Sandra Horbach, the managing director of Carlyle and head of the consumer and retail sector team, said she "impressed" by NBTY’s business and looks forward to helping the company grow payday loans with no fax.

The Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based company offers more than 22,000 products under its own name, as well as third-party brands including Nature’s Bounty and Vitamin World. It previously said it had a "roller coaster" year in 2009, when annual income fell by 5% to $146 million.

But the company’s performance for the first half this year has been strong. During the fiscal second quarter, NBTY’s profit almost doubled to $47 million, thanks to improved sales and a higher gross profit, the company said.  

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Luxury goods maker Luis Vuitton said Tuesday that a new ruling by a French court gives it new hope in a trademark fight with mighty Google Inc.

Back in March when the European Court of Justice first ruled on the dispute, Google and LVMH — Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton — both claimed victory.

“Google has not infringed trade mark law by allowing advertisers to bid for keywords corresponding to their competitors’ trade marks,” Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) said in March.

But on July 13, the French Supreme Court referred the case to the Paris Court of Appeals “in order to assess whether the conditions for the French courts to be competent are fulfilled,” LVMH said paydayloans.

“LVMH welcomes the Supreme Court’s ruling which … grants the Court of Appeals the ability to rule on Google’s civil liability when using trademarks without the trademark owner’s authorization,” the company said.

LVMH’s representatives in New York weren’t available Tuesday morning to explain the ruling in more detail.

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The Dow rallied Thursday, leading the broader market higher, as investors welcomed a bigger-than-expected drop in jobless claims and a rise in the euro.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 120 points, or 1.2%. The S&P 500 (SPX) added 10 points, or 0.9% and the Nasdaq (COMP) composite gained 16 points or 0.7%.

Stocks surged Wednesday after State Street’s improved earnings forecast boosted financial shares, giving a lightly traded market a reason to rally. A stronger euro took the pressure off European debt worries.

The positive mood continued Thursday, after a shaky start to the session.

"The sentiment had gotten overly bearish and in an environment like that, you can see these oversold bounces," said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research.

Through the end of last week, the major stock indexes dropped more than 15% off the rally highs of late April as investors tried to price in the threat of a so-called double-dip recession. While the selling seems to have tapered off in the short term, stocks remain vulnerable.

"The stock market is not going to get its footing and show overall progress until we can see an improvement in the labor market," said James King, chief investment officer at National Penn Investors Trust.

On the move: Gains were broad based, with 27 of 30 Dow issues rising, led by consumer names Procter & Gamble (PG, Fortune 500), Coca-Cola (KO, Fortune 500) and McDonald’s (MCD, Fortune 500). Other gainers included Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500), 3M (MMM, Fortune 500) and Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500).

Merck (MRK, Fortune 500) said it was closing eight research and eight manufacturing plants as part of its restructuring following its merger with Schering-Plough.

Labor market: Roughly 454,000 Americans filed new claims for unemployment insurance last week, down from 475,000 in the previous week, according to a Labor Department report released Thursday. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected 460,000 new claims.

Continuing claims, a measure of Americans who have been receiving benefits for a week or more, fell to 4,413,000 from 4,637,000 in the previous week. Economists expected 4,600,000 continuing claims.

While the drop-in claims was welcome, economists say the nation still has a long way to go before it creates enough jobs to promote growth.

"The report was positive, but we don’t see evidence that significant progress is being made to bring down the unemployment rate on a stable or recurring basis," said King cash advance loans.

The June jobs report, released a week ago, showed a rise in private-sector hiring that was smaller than expected, and a drop in the overall number of jobs.

Retail sales: Sales at the nation’s retailers rose for a tenth consecutive month in June, but the pace of consumer spending continues to slow after a burst in the early part of the year.

June same-store sales rose 3.1% versus forecasts for 3.2%, according to tracker Thomson Reuters. Sales rose 2.5% in May and dropped 4.9% in the same month a year ago. The term ’same-store sales’ is an industry metric that refers to stores open a year or more.

On the upside, department stores such as J.C. Penney (JCP, Fortune 500), Nordstrom (JWN, Fortune 500) and Macy’s (M, Fortune 500) all reported better-than-expected results, while Gap (GPS, Fortune 500) and BJ’s Wholesale (BJ, Fortune 500) were among the losers.

Mortgage rates: Long-term rates fell to the lowest point since the 1950s, dropping for a second-straight week. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 4.57% from 4.58% in the previous week, Freddie Mac reported. Its the lowest rate since Freddie Mac started tracking rates in 1971 and the lowest since the 1950s.

Currency: The euro rose to a two-month high versus the dollar, on some optimism about the results of European bank stress tests, also gave stocks some support.

World markets: European markets gained, with Britain’s FTSE 100 rising 1.8%, Germany’s DAX advancing 0.7% and France’s CAC 40 climbing 1.6%.

Asian markets ended higher except for China. Japan’s Nikkei rose 2.8%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1% and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.3%.

Commodities: U.S. light crude oil for August delivery rose 37 cents to $75.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for August delivery rose $2.30 to $1,198.40 an ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices fell, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 3.02% from 2.98% late Wednesday. Debt prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Market breadth: Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers nearly four to one on volume of 1.16 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners nine to four on volume of 2.07 billion shares. 

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Contract research organization Quintiles has signed a deal with University Malaya Medical Center in Malaysia to create the company’s first prime site in Asia.

Prime sites are larger clinical institutions that work with Quintiles to conduct clinical trials. The CRO already has prime sites at Queen Mary’s College in London, the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., the University of Pretoria in South Africa and the Southern California Permanente Medical Group.

“Malaysia is an increasingly important player in Asia-Pacific clinical drug development and the commitment of its government, academic and private industry leaders to promoting leading-edge clinical research in the country is undeniable, “ said Dr payday loan companies. Anand Tharmaratnam, senior vice president and head of clinical development for Quintiles Asia-Pacific. “This, coupled with the highly skilled clinical workforce, strong clinical research infrastructure and large potential patient populations makes Malaysia and UMMC a quality fit as our first Prime Site in Asia.”

Quintiles, which is based in Research Triangle Park, employs about 1,400 in the Triangle.

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Peabody, other coal shares tumble

Shares of St. Louis-based Peabody Energy Corp. and other coal producers dropped sharply Tuesday on concern that economic growth in China is slowing, damping demand for the power plant and steelmaking fuel.

Peabody dropped $3.16, or 7.4 percent, closing at $39.33 on slightly higher than normal volume. Peabody shares reached as low as $39 in intraday trading. Other coal producers had similarly bad days .

Shares of Arch Coal Inc. and Patriot Coal Corp., both of Creve Coeur, took substantial hits. Arch closed at $19.81, down $1.79, or 8.3 percent. Patriot lost 94 cents, or 7.3 percent on the day, closing at $12.03.
Bloomberg News

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It’s more than a year before GM’s Volt and Nissan’s Leaf — the first mass market electric-powered vehicles — begin rolling into local showrooms. And longer still before the cars become common in driveways and garages across the bistate area.

For Kevin Herdler, that future is now.

Herdler runs St. Louis Clean Cities, a Department of Energy-sponsored program to expand the use of alternative fuels. And since last fall, he has been cobbling together a regional task force to make electric cars a reality here.

"Most people right now are aggravated with the gulf oil spill," said Herdler. "They’re aggravated with paying $3 a gallon for fuel, and I think they’re looking for options. (Electric vehicles) are a very easy option. They don’t have to do a lot to make it work."
Electric-drive cars, a categothat includes battery-powered, hybrid and plug-in hybrid autos, have been touted as a cheaper, cleaner alternative to gasoline-powered vehicles — a reason why President Barack Obama called for 1 million plug-in and hybrid electric vehicles on the road by 2015.

To be sure, St. Louis lags other cities in preparing for electric vehicles —and not just cities on the West Coast. Kansas City and Houston — the nation’s oil capital — are farther along in planning plug-in infrastructures.

And the state of Missouri hasn’t aggressively implemented policies and incentives to catch automakers’ attention. Just last week, Maryland announced plans for 65 charging stations. Earlier, the state’s Legislature approved a tax credit for buying a battery-powered car or truck, and authorized drivers of the vehicles to use express lanes for carpoolers.

Nationwide, more than 15,000 reservations have been placed for the Leaf, which will be sold in a few select markets beginning late this year, said Mark Perry, director of product planning for Nissan. He didn’t say how many of those are in this area. But Nissan views St. Louis as a lagging market — not early adopters.

St. Louis task force members — a list that includes Clean Cities, the city of St. Louis, St. Louis and Madison counties, Ameren Corp., the Regional Chamber & Growth Association, the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, local community colleges and others — know other cities are further ahead in planning efforts and they’re hoping to be able to learn from them.

Clean Cities has already sent surveys to thousands on its mailing list — businesses, government offices and individuals — to get a better feel for the local interest in electric vehicles. Herdler expects task force committee assignments to be finalized by early fall.

There are myriad questions to be answered. A certain focus will be determining where charging stations are needed.

Plug-in owners will do most charging overnight in their garage. So the group wants to make sure buyers don’t run into headaches when they install charging stations in their garages.

Public infrastructure will be required, too.

"I’m not saying we need thousands of charging stations, but we do need key locations," Herdler said. "We want to make sure we’re ready for (electric vehicles) when they get here online payday loans."

That’s especially true for battery electric cars like the Leaf, which doesn’t even have a gas tank.

Possible charging station sites include downtown St. Louis, Clayton or on employer parking lots. Malls, parking garages and park and ride lots also could work. And charging stations in office parking lots could be linked to solar canopies to reduce stress on the power grid when electricity demand is highest.

A year ago, St. Louis-based Ameren began taking a hard look at the potential impact of plug-in cars on its system, which spans both urban and rural areas across 50,000 square miles in Illinois and Missouri.

Utility executives aren’t concerned that the initial wave of electric vehicles will strain the local power grid. And they are watching closely research from industry groups and lessons learned from utilities in cities that are leading the way.

"We do have time on our side to react and give it the proper degree of study," said Mark Nealon, manager of smart grid strategy and implementation for AmerenUE.

But a lot can change in just a few years.

"That’s why we’re making a concerted effort today to make sure we understand it and we’re ready," said Shawn Schukar, vice president of strategic initiatives for Ameren Corp.

Automakers have already learned from failed attempts to introduce alternative fuel vehicles, at least in part for lack of infrastructure.

Laclede Gas Co. and Shell Oil opened a compressed natural gas station at Interstate 44 and Hampton Avenue in the 1990s, but the idea never took off.

A lack of pumps has also hindered efforts to make corn-based ethanol something more than a gasoline additive.

Lack of infrastructure "held us back in the compressed natural gas market. It’s held us back in the ethanol market. And it could hold us back in the electric market," said Steve Nagel, director of planning for East-West Gateway and president of St. Louis Clean Cities.

Herdler sees consumer awareness as another part of the task force’s mission, even though automakers such as Nissan and GM will play a leading role because they have the most at stake.

The biggest of those challenges is addressing "range anxiety" — consumers’ fear that they’ll be stranded on the roadside on the way home from work because their car runs out of power.

"People believe that they drive a lot further than they really do," Herdler said. "But when you look at the statistics from AAA, it’s very rare that you drive 100 miles a day. Most people don’t drive more than 25 miles a day."

It’s imperative that customers understand the benefits and limitations of plug-ins because they will decide the fate of electric cars.

"It really comes down to the people," Herdler said. "If they want it, then I see a good market."

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Another 2 million cribs are being recalled due to the drop-side hazard, the culprit in millions of other crib recalls over the last few years.

Thursday’s announcement is part of a wider program, in which the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of nine million drop-side cribs, which are considered riskier than four-sided cribs because they pose a risk of trapping and suffocating a small child.

In its latest recall, the commission said the cribs were manufactured by seven companies between 2000 and 2009. It said free repair kits will be provided to consumers "to immobilize the drop sides" over the next few weeks.

The commission said the crib makers were Child Craft of Medina, Ohio, Delta Enterprise Corp. of New York City; Evenflo of Miamisburg, Ohio; Jardine Enterprises of Taipei, Taiwan; LaJobi of Cranbury, N.J.; Million Dollar Baby of Montebello, Calif.; and Simmons Juvenile Products Inc. of New London, Wis.

The commission said the immobilization devices "should be attached to keep the drop side from detaching from the cribs." But it added that the devices are not a solution for cribs with broken or damaged drop-side hardware; in that case, the commission says consumers should request an alternative solution.

A spokeswoman for LaJobi said the company "has voluntarily joined an industry initiative in partnership with the CPSC to offer a kit including immobilization devices for drop side cribs. This easy-to-install, precautionary solution prevents the drop side from moving up and down."

LaJobi also said the move is "precautionary" since it has "not received reports of serious injury associated with these cribs."

Messages left with the other six companies were not immediately returned, but all of them have websites with information on the recalls. The commission said that Child Craft is out of business, but this could not be confirmed, as the company is still maintaining its website.

The overall recall of nine million cribs includes the recall of 217,000 Graco drop-side cribs in April, following that company’s recall of 1.2 million high-chairs in March and 1.5 million strollers in January. In January, about 635,000 cribs made by Dorel Asia SRL were recalled, as well as of 2.1 million drop-side cribs by Stork Manufacturing Inc. of Canada.

"The problem is the durability of the hardware that allows the side of the crib to drop up and down," said Don Mays, senior director of product safety for Consumer Reports. "While crib hardware was a lot more durable in the past, the hardware nowadays is just not adequate. Clearly, things have just gotten out of control in this industry."

Drop-side crib manufacturing has all but ended, said Mays, but many people still have these cribs in their homes. He said they should either use the free repair kit or replace it with a new one if they can afford it.

"Sometimes, economics prevent people from buying a new crib and they’re not cheap necessarily," said Mays. "Ideally, get a new crib." 

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The Buffalo Sabres will open the 2010-11 National Hockey League season at HSBC Arena on Saturday, Oct. 9 against the New York Rangers.

That game was announced Monday. The NHL and the Sabres will release the full schedule at noon Tuesday. It can be found at www.sabres.com.

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