Chief Financial Officer Craig Owens said Monday that the price increases are coming because the soup giant expects input costs to continue rising, although at more moderate levels than over the last year.

The price increases will not apply to Campbell’s ready-to-serve soups.

Owens made the comments on Campbell’s earnings call for the fiscal third-quarter. Profit fell 5.4% as the food company was hit by rising commodities prices and higher marketing and selling expenses.

Campbell is in the midst of a multi-year plan to turn around its soup business after several years of declines.

Campbell shares were down 2.3% in recent trading to $32.62.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/campbell-to-hike-list-prices-for-condensed-soup-5-2012-05-21

In Germany, Corsa models are currently produced in Eisenach. Should that be stopped, it might benefit the Spanish city of Zaragoza, according to Focus.

In Zaragoza in 2011, around 216,000 Corsa models were produced, besides the minivan Meriva and pickup truck Combo, Focus says, adding, that according to its information, the Zaragoza plant is currently running at a 59% capacity use, due to weak demand for Opel models.

An Opel spokesman tells Focus that the question about the future Corsa plant is not on the agenda “because the car is in the middle of its life cycle.”

Without the Corsa model, the future of the Eisenach plant would depend on the success of the small car “Adam,” the serial production of which begins in 2013 with annual planned sales of at least 100,000 units, Focus says.

Adam Opel recently said that from 2015, the next generation of Astra compact models will be produced in the U.K. and Poland, and no longer in the German production site of Ruesselsheim.

-By Frankfurt newsroom; Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 2972 5500

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/opels-eisenach-plant-may-lose-corsa-production-2012-05-19

Based on discussions between the parties over the past week, Talbots said the exclusivity agreement now will terminate on May 22. The parties had signed an exclusivity agreement last week that was originally set to terminate on Tuesday.

Shares jumped by 8.8% to $2.59 in recent after-hours trading Tuesday. Through the close, the stock was off 23% over the past three months.

Talbots said it doesn’t intend to comment further on its negotiation with Sycamore or the company’s evaluation of strategic alternatives, unless a specific transaction is recommended by its board.

Last week, Talbots received an increased takeover offer from Sycamore Partners, the private-equity firm run by retail veteran Stefan Kaluzny. The latest offer values the company around $215 million.

The bid, worth $3.05 a share, is a 5-cent per-share increase from Sycamore’s December offer. Talbots had rejected the unsolicited bid, saying it was inadequate and substantially undervalued the company. Kaluzny and the Sycamore firm took a 9.9% stake in Talbots last year to become its No. 2 shareholder after OppenheimerFunds. They received access to the company’s books earlier this year.

Efforts by Talbots to stage a turnaround from fashion mistakes and the recession have produced uneven results as the retailer has aimed to freshen its range of merchandise, reduce its store count and broaden its appeal beyond the older women who had been its core customers.

Last month, Talbots reported its fiscal fourth-quarter loss widened, as restructuring, executive retirement costs and promotions pressured results, and sales declined 1.1%.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/talbots-exclusivity-deal-with-sycamore-extended-2012-05-15

HOUSTON -(MarketWatch)- Chesapeake Energy Corp. CHK -13.80% said Friday that it could delay or change some of its planned asset sales in order not to endanger compliance with the conditions set out by creditors.

In a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Oklahoma City, Okla.-based oil and gas producer said that while asset sales generate cash, they decrease the cash flow generated by the company, and “reduce the amount and value of collateral available to secure our obligations, both of which are exacerbated by low natural gas prices.” In order to comply with the requirements of its $4 billion corporate credit facility, the company “may delay one or more of our currently planned asset monetizations, or select other assets for monetization.” As of March 31, the company had $2.5 billion outstanding in its corporate credit facility.

The language, which Argus Research analyst Phil Weiss says is new, puts a damper on Chesapeake’s unrelenting strategy of raising money from asset sales to keep drilling in new areas and bring down its high levels of debt. At times when natural gas prices were high, the company was able to keep aggressively growing while selling stakes in its fields. But with prices near decade-low levels, “at least there may have to be a change in the asset monetization strategy,” Weiss said.

The company says it expects to obtain $11.5 billion to $14 billion from asset transactions in 2012, which will be enough to fund its capital expenditures and reduce debt.

Chesapeake shares tumbled Friday after the company filed a notice that it would not be able to produce an annual report on time with the SEC, followed shortly by the quarterly report, which had been expected Thursday. In 46 minutes, Chesapeake’s market capitalization lost $1.05 billion, as shares fell from $16.39 to their $14.81 closing price. Total market capitalization now sits at $9.8 billion, falling below $10 billion for the first time since the financial crisis. In July 2008, Chesapeake was worth about $49 billion.

Chesapeake has recently come under scrutiny due to the extraordinary complexity of its financial operations, which concerns many analysts. In addition, Chief Executive Aubrey McClendon has borrowed personally up to $1.4 billion to finance his participation in a controversial Chesapeake program that gives him a small stake in every well drilled by the company; he borrowed money from financial institutions that had done business with Chesapeake, prompting investors and analysts to decry a lack of oversight at the top echelons of the company. The program has since been scrapped, and McClendon was removed from his chairman role on Chesapeake’s board, although he remains CEO.

Ben Casselman of The Wall Street Journal contributed to this article.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chesapeake-says-may-delay-asset-sales-2012-05-11

Since their inception they’ve provided oil and gas management services to individual, institutional, and industry investors.

Petron is very committed to maintaining long-term relationships with its’ partners based on solid performance (ROI). They feel that the industry offers their partners an opportunity to participate in an investment vehicle, which provides great long-term income potential, generated monthly and very favorable tax benefits.

Their strategy is to focus on their niche, which are low risk drilling opportunities in areas with a proven production history. This strategy provides greater consistency in well development and stable long-term cash flow.

SOURCE: http://petronenergyii.com/

The newspaper said Credit Suisse wasn’t formally engaged in any Consolidated Media deal, but has been linked with a review of the Australian telecommunications company’s digital-media strategy.

A spokeswoman for Telstra said the company didn’t comment on speculation, while a spokeswoman for Credit Suisse wasn’t immediately available for comment.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/telstra-eyes-consolidated-media-deal-report-2012-05-08

The company also announced that its board approved a stock buyback of up to $250 million of its shares. Illumina recently had about 133.9 million shares outstanding.

Illumina makes machines that use blood or tissue samples to decode a person’s entire genetic make-up in about a week, a process known as DNA sequencing. The relatively new technology has huge potential if its enters mainstream medicine.

Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX, RHHBY) last Wednesday said it wouldn’t extend its more-than-$6.5 billion hostile takeover bid for Illumina past Friday’s deadline. The move came after an Illumina shareholder vote returned a slate of incumbents to the board of directors by a huge majority. Illumina’s board had called Roche’s sweetened takeover bid of $51 a share — as well as earlier offer of $44.50 a share — inadequate, while three proxy advisory firms had recommended rejecting Roche’s slate of board candidates.

President and Chief Executive Jay Flatley on Monday said though some uncertainty exists regarding academic and research funding in the second half of 2012, Illumina’s backlog improved for a third consecutive quarter and full year outlook is generally as it expected.

Illumina reported a profit of $26.2 million, or 20 cents a share, up from $24.1 million, or 16 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding expenses related to Roche’s takeover bid, prior-year debt extinguishment losses and other items, earnings were up at 36 cents from 35 cents. Revenue decreased 3% to $272.8 million.

Illumina recently expected per-share earnings will meet or exceed analysts’ then-estimates of 31 cents on revenue of about $270 million.

Gross margin edged down to 66.4% from 66.6%. Research & development costs fell 1.4% while so-called other expenses fell 72%.

Shares of Illumina, which affirmed its 2012 guidance, rose 1% to $44.73 in recent after-hours trading as the results topped expectations. Through the close, the stock is down 45% from its all-time high of $79.40 in July.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/illumina-first-quarter-profit-rises-86-2012-04-23

Pro-Dex develops powered surgical devices and other tools used in the medical, dental, semiconductor and scientific research markets.

“We welcome Mike’s leadership in guiding Pro-Dex through a time of major change,” Chairman William Healey said in a statement. “We also thank Mark Murphy for his six years of service and for the contributions he has made in preparing our company for its next phase. We wish Mark well in whatever he may pursue in the future.”

A Pro-Dex representative wasn’t immediately available for further comment.

Berthelot, 61 years old, has served on the company’s board since 2009 and is the chief executive of Cito Capital Corp., a consulting firm.

“I am honored to be asked to take on this assignment and am excited about the future of Pro-Dex,” Berthelot said.

In February, the company said it swung to a fiscal second-quarter loss, amid lower sales of medical device products to its largest customer, it said.

Shares closed Friday at $2.18 and were inactive after hours. The stock is down 11% so far in 2012.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pro-dex-ceo-murphy-resigns-replaced-by-berthelot-2012-04-21

In a filing to the Singapore Exchange late Friday, Keppel said that based on historical oil prices, the contract value is estimated to be about US$2.2 billion.

The gas would be used to support the energy needs of Keppel Energy’s customers, it said.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/keppel-corp-unit-in-natgas-pact-with-petronas-2012-04-21

The increase raises the company’s quarterly payout to 12.5 cents a share from 5 cents a share and will cost the company about $127 million more a year.

The company had about $3.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of Feb. 29.

Mosaic and other fertilizer producers continue to paint a rosy outlook for the industry, but they have struggled in recent months amid a standoff with customers. Farmer demand has been sluggish amid high prices, and dealers have been slower-than-usual in securing supplies. Mosaic and competitors have in recent months curtailed production in response.

Last month, Mosaic reported its fiscal third-quarter profit slumped 50% as higher raw-material costs and slow farmer buying cut into its margins.

Shares were up by 10 cents at $51.27 after hours. The stock is down 33% in the past 12 months.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mosaic-more-than-doubles-quarterly-dividend-2012-04-12