AUTOMOTIVE: Feds step up recall of Ford vehicles

Washington —- The government is warning the owners of about 4.6 million recalled Ford vehicles to immediately bring them into dealerships to disconnect faulty cruise control switch systems that have been linked to engine fires. About 9.6 million Ford Motor Co. vehicles have been recalled, and about 5 million have been fixed.

ECONOMY: Report warns of dollar 'overshoot'

The risk of a dollar "downside overshoot" is growing as the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts leave it "out of sync" with other central banks, according to Bank of America Corp. The dollar is at all-time lows against the euro, having tumbled about 5 percent in the past three weeks. "Fed easing policy that is out of sync with other central banks is not supportive of" the dollar, Robert Sinche, Bank of America's head of global currency strategy in New York, wrote in a research note dated Thursday.

Final GDP figure 0.6% last quarter

Washington —- The economy skidded to a near halt in the final quarter of last year, clobbered by dual slumps in housing and credit that caused people and businesses to spend and invest more sparingly. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the gross domestic product increased at a scant 0.6 percent pace in the October-to-December quarter. The reading was unchanged from the initial estimate a month ago.

FINANCIAL: Loss widens at Freddie Mac

Washington —- Freddie Mac on Thursday said its loss widened to $2.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007 as mortgage defaults mounted and falling interest rates hurt certain investments. Despite expectations of further losses this year and next, the company's chief financial officer said Freddie, the No. 2 U.S. buyer and backer of home loans, will not need to raise additional capital unless "things dramatically deteriorate." The fourth-quarter loss at Freddie Mac was much larger than Wall Street expected and compares with a loss of $401 million in the same period a year earlier.

Earnings off 47% at Sears Holdings

Sears Holdings Corp. said Thursday that fourth-quarter profit tumbled 47 percent because of continued poor performance at its Kmart and Sears stores. The Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based company, controlled by financier Edward Lampert, said its earnings skidded to $426 million, or $3.17 per share. That's down from $811 million, or $5.27 per share, during the same period last year.

Investment losses hurt AIG earnings

New York —- American International Group says it swung to a hefty loss for the fourth quarter as bad credit hurt the insurer's investment portfolio. The insurer said Thursday that it posted a loss of $5.29 billion, or $2.08 per share, in the fourth quarter, compared with profit of $3.44 billion, or $1.31 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Earnings increase 16% at Viacom

New York —- Viacom Inc. reported a 16 percent gain in fourth-quarter earnings Thursday and said its advertising business hadn't been hurt by the slowdown in the economy. Viacom earned $559.5 million or 86 cents per share, up from $480.8 million or 69 cents per share in the same period a year ago.

XM Satellite Radio narrows loss

XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. said Thursday that it narrowed its fourth-quarter loss thanks to a 20 percent jump in revenue and a favorable comparison with last year, when the company took a significant write-down. The company had little new to say, however, about its proposed acquisition by rival Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. XM, based in Washington, reported a loss of $239 million, or 78 cents per share, compared with a loss of $263 million, or 90 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue, earnings increase at EMS

EMS Technologies, a Norcross-based maker of wireless and satellite communications, finished the year on a positive note. The company on Thursday reported revenue for 2007 of about $288 million, up from $261 million a year earlier. Earnings were $1.25 a share, compared with $1.08 a share the previous year. For the fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31, the company had revenue of $76 million, up from $72.4 million for the same quarter in 2006. Fourth-quarter earnings were 46 cents per share, up from 44 cents per share the previous year.

Profits decline 15% at Kohl's

Kohl's Corp. said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit fell about 15 percent as shoppers continued to pull back their spending. The department store chain, based in Menomonee Falls, Wis., said it earned $411.7 million, or $1.31 per share, during the quarter ended Feb. 2. During the same period a year ago, Kohl's earned $484.6 million, or $1.48 per share.

Sales decline for third year at Gap

San Francisco —- Gap Inc. closed out its third consecutive year of declining sales with a 21 percent increase in its fourth-quarter profit, reflecting the gains from cost-cutting triggered by the worst slump in the clothing retailer's history. The company said Thursday that it earned $265 million, or 35 cents per share, during the three months ended Feb. 2. That compared with net income of $219 million, or 27 cents share, in the same period a year earlier.

Dell profit dips; forecast cautious

Dell Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit dropped 6.4 percent and fell short of Wall Street expectations, and the personal computer maker cautioned that more cautious spending by U.S. customers and higher costs could hurt its business. The Round Rock, Texas-based company said it earned $679 million, or 31 cents per share, in the quarter ended Feb. 1, down from $726 million, or 32 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

MANUFACTURING: Honeywell to cut aerospace jobs

Honeywell International Inc., the world's largest maker of aircraft controls, will eliminate about 620 aerospace jobs in Phoenix and Montreal and move most of those positions overseas to cut costs.

MEDIA: A-B to operate Dubai theme parks

St. Louis —- The entertainment division of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. plans to expand outside the United States for the first time by opening four theme parks in fast-growing Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Busch Entertainment Corp. will partner with Dubai developer Nakheel to create the Worlds of Discovery —- a complex that will include SeaWorld, Aquatica, Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove.

Time Warner to merge movie units

Los Angeles —- In a cost-cutting move, Time Warner Inc. said Thursday that it plans to merge its Warner Bros. Entertainment unit with its independently operating New Line Cinema, the studio behind "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Time Warner also said New Line co-Chairmen and CEOs Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne had decided to leave the studio but were discussing possible future business deals with the company.

REAL ESTATE: Foreclosure relief hits snag

Washington —- Lawmakers clashed on how to deal with the home lending crisis Thursday, as Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic bid to let bankruptcy courts ease the burden on borrowers who can't make their mortgage payments. The impasse made it unclear how, when or if Congress will respond to problems that have left thousands of Americans facing foreclosure.

REGULATORY: Feds investigate 2 Wachovia workers

Wachovia Corp., the nation's fourth-largest bank, said Thursday that the Department of Justice is investigating two company employees it did not identify for possible misconduct related to competitive bids in the municipal derivative markets. The Charlotte-based bank also said it expects to set aside more money in the first half of 2008 to cover troubled mortgage loans.

FTC chief to join Procter & Gamble

Washington —- Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras will resign in late March, the agency said Thursday, to handle antitrust issues for Procter & Gamble Co. Majoras will join the consumer products manufacturer as vice president and general counsel on June 1.

TRANSPORTATION: US Airways to add overseas capacity

US Airways Group Inc., which lags rivals carriers in overseas flights, will boost its capacity to markets outside the United States to 27 percent by the end of 2011 from 20 percent now. Domestic capacity in the same period will decline in a range of about 1 percent to 2 percent, Andrew Nocella, senior vice president for schedule planning and alliances, said Thursday in Tempe, Ariz.