■BREWERIES
InBev profits up, sales down
Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s biggest brewer following a merger last year, reported US$1.5 billion in third quarter net profit yesterday, but sales and volumes fell. The company’s net profits were more than double the US$690 million reported for the same period last year by InBev alone. InBev’s takeover of US-based Anheuser Busch last year created the new company. Anheuser-Busch InBev’s flagship beer brands include Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck’s. InBev bought US brewing giant Anheuser-Busch last November for US$52 billion.
■SEMICONDUCTORS
Hyosung drops Hynix bid
South Korean business conglomerate Hyosung said yesterday it would drop its bid to buy a major stake in Hynix Semiconductor, the world’s second-biggest memory chip maker. Hyosung Corp, the conglomerate’s flagship company, submitted a letter of intent in September to buy a 28 percent stake in Hynix from creditors. But the group has since been hit by what it called unfounded rumors of favoritism by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak toward group boss Cho Suck-rai. One of Lee’s daughters is married to Cho’s nephew.
■INSURANCE
AIG chief to stay on
Robert Benmosche, the chief executive of bailed-out insurance giant AIG, said on Wednesday he would remain at the helm after reportedly threatening to step down over compensation limits imposed by the government. At a board meeting last week, Benmosche told fellow AIG directors that he was “done” but agreed to think it over after other board members reacted with shock, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, quoting people familiar with the matter. Benmosche was unhappy with constraints imposed by AIG’s government overseers, the paper said.
■ENTERTAINMENT
Churchill buys Youbet
Churchill Downs Inc, host of the Kentucky Derby, agreed to buy Youbet.com Inc for US$126.4 million to tap into new technologies as it expects more people to place bets online. The cash-and-stock deal values Youbet at about US$2.86 a share, a premium of 19 percent over its Wednesday close of US$2.41. Churchill expects the deal to add new technology and features that horse-racing customers who wager online want, chief executive Robert Evans said. Currently less than 14 percent of the bets on US horse racing are placed online and Churchill expects the number to rise.
■MANUFACTURING
Applied Materials hurting
Applied Materials Inc said on Wednesday that fiscal fourth-quarter net income fell by 40 percent year-on-year to US$137.9 million, or US$0.10 per share, and announced it would cut 1,300 to 1,500 jobs to save money. The chip equipment maker said the job cuts represent 10 percent to 12 percent of its global work force and are part of a restructuring plan to save US$450 million a year. That’s in addition to the US$460 million in cost cuts it achieved in fiscal 2009, which ended on Oct. 25.
■SOFTWARE
Bing, WolframAlpha link
Microsoft’s new search engine Bing, which is seeking to chip away at Google’s dominance in Internet search, is teaming up with WolframAlpha, another rival for the Google crown. WolframAlpha, which was launched in mid-May, announced that starting on Wednesday, Bing would incorporate results from WolframAlpha in answers to certain search queries.
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