DEALS

IBM acquires software maker

International Business Machines Corp. has acquired closely held InfoDyne Corp., gaining data management programs for trading firms. InfoDyne's software allows firms to gather data from different sources and render it into a standardized format, Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM said Tuesday in a statement. IBM Chief Executive Sam Palmisano is shedding hardware businesses and expanding software and services offerings, largely through acquisitions. Software accounted for 20 percent of IBM's sales and 40 percent of its profit last year.

FINANCIAL

Waste Management earnings up a tad

Houston —- Waste Management Inc.'s first-quarter net income edged up just over 1 percent as an ongoing strategy to dump or reprice work with low profit margins offset decreased volumes and higher fuel costs. The nation's largest garbage hauler and landfill operator said Tuesday that it earned $241 million, or 48 cents per share, in the quarter ended March 31, compared with $238 million, or 45 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 2.5 percent to $3.27 billion.

High crop demand helps ADM prosper

Archer Daniels Midland Co. cashed in on volatile prices and heavy demand for the corn, soybeans and wheat it processes to generate a 42 percent increase in fiscal third-quarter profits. Though Illinois-based ADM easily beat Wall Street expectations, investors seemed to doubt that the company could sustain the paces, and shares dropped sharply. Profits grew to $517 million, or 80 cents per share, compared with a year-ago profit of $363 million, or 56 cents per share. Revenue surged more than 64 percent to $18.71 billion.

U.S. Steel beats earnings target

Pittsburgh —- United States Steel Corp.'s first-quarter earnings slipped 14 percent as higher sales failed to offset declines in Europe. The results beat Wall Street expectations, and the company forecast a substantial increase in second-quarter operating income. The steel maker posted earnings of $235 million, or $1.98 per share, for the quarter ended March 31, down from $273 million, or $2.30 per share, during the same period last year. Sales jumped 38 percent to a record-setting $5.2 billion, partly because of gains in the company's flat-rolled steel business.

Railroad cashes in on crops, coal

Fort Worth, Texas —- Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., which operates the nation's second-largest railroad, said Tuesday that its first-quarter earnings jumped 30 percent on more rail shipments of farm products and coal, as well as larger fuel surcharges. The company earned $455 million, or $1.30 per share, in the January-March period, compared with $349 million, or 96 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue jumped 17 percent to $4.26 billion.

Latin American sales help Avon

New York —- Cosmetics company Avon Products Inc. said Tuesday that its first-quarter profit rose 23 percent as international sales, particularly in Latin America, offset declining North American revenue. The direct seller of beauty products said quarterly net income rose to $184.7 million, or 43 cents per share, from year-ago profit of $150 million, or 34 cents per share. Total revenue grew 14 percent to $2.5 billion.

Overseas growth helps MasterCard

MasterCard's profit more than doubled in the first quarter as more customers outside the United States used their credit and debit cards for purchases. Cardholder spending within the United States rose, too, but at a more moderate pace, indicating that while Americans are increasingly turning to plastic in a weak economy, emerging markets are becoming especially lucrative. The Purchase, N.Y.-based card processor said Tuesday that it earned $446.9 million, or $3.38 per share, for the January-March period. That is up from $214.9 million, or $1.57 a share, in the same time frame last year.

Earnings rise 14% at CBS

New York —- CBS Corp. reported a 14 percent increase in first-quarter earnings Tuesday as higher syndication sales from "CSI" made up for not having the Super Bowl broadcast this year. The company, which also owns the Showtime cable channel, the Simon & Schuster publishing house and a major radio business, earned $244.3 million in the first three months of the year, up from $213.5 million a year ago. Profits per share rose to 36 cents, beating the 33 cents predicted by analysts polled by Thomson Financial, and also above the 28 cents a year ago. The latest figures got a lift from a lower share count because of a stock repurchase program.

Profit dips slightly at Medco Health

Trenton, N.J. —- Medco Health Solutions Inc. reported a slight drop in its first-quarter profit, as startup costs for attracting new clients to the prescription drug benefits manager offset a jump in sales of high-profit generic and mail-order drugs. Net income slipped 1.7 percent to $270.2 million, or 50 cents per share, from $274.8 million, or 47 cents per share, a year ago, when a generic version of blood thinner Plavix was briefly on the market.

Sales slump hurts Office Depot

Office Depot Inc., the nation's second-biggest office supply chain, said Tuesday that its first-quarter profit dropped 55 percent because of North American sales declines, but the results still topped Wall Street's expectations. The Delray Beach, Fla.-based company said earnings dropped to $68.8 million, or 25 cents per share, compared with $153.8 million, or 55 cents per share, a year earlier.

Earnings triple at Corning

Rochester, N.Y. —- Corning Inc. said Tuesday that its first-quarter profit tripled to more than $1 billion, exceeding Wall Street's expectations, on soaring demand for glass used in flat-screen televisions and laptop computers. The specialty glass and ceramics maker also said it expects earnings in the current quarter to beat analyst forecasts. Earnings climbed to $1.029 billion, or 64 cents a share, in the January-to-March period, up from $327 million, or 20 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales surged 24 percent to $1.62 billion, lifted by a 58 percent jump in the display technologies unit, Corning's biggest business. Despite a slowdown in U.S. economic growth, the company said it benefited especially from robust consumer sales of liquid-crystal-display TVs.

Poor margins hamper Valero

Oil refiner Valero Energy Corp. said Tuesday that its first-quarter profit tumbled 77 percent as higher oil prices cut into its margins for gasoline and other refined products. The San Antonio-based company, North America's largest refiner, earned $261 million, or 48 cents per share, in the quarter ended March 31, compared with $1.14 billion, or $1.86 per share, for the same quarter in 2007.

BP, Royal Dutch beat forecasts

BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe's two biggest oil producers, posted forecast-busting first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, thanks to record crude oil prices that are expected to bolster profits across the industry. The combined profits of $17 billion reignited calls for a windfall tax on oil profits as consumers struggle to pay for food and fuel. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggested that some of those profits should be reinvested in costly exploration for new oil reserves in the North Sea. BP posted a 63 percent surge in first-quarter net profit to $7.6 billion, while Shell reported a 25 percent rise, to a record $9.08 billion.

Supercomputer firm's loss widens

Cray Inc., the maker of supercomputers, said Tuesday that its first-quarter loss widened to $10.6 million as sales fell. The net loss of 33 cents a share compared with a loss of $841,000, or 3 cents a share, a year earlier, the Seattle-based company said. Sales fell 45 percent to $26.1 million in the quarter, missing the $36.7 million average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. The company said in February that it expected quarterly results to "fluctuate significantly." Revenue for the year will be more than $280 million, the company said. Sales were $186.2 million in 2007.

MANUFACTURING

Probe by Siemens finds corruption

Munich, Germany —- The law firm hired by Siemens AG to investigate corruption claims said Tuesday that it had found evidence of violations across the company and in several countries. Siemens, a conglomerate whose products range from trams to wind turbines, said in a statement that the investigation by Debevoise & Plimpton's into several key divisions showed that "domestic as well as foreign compliance regulations have been violated." Siemens had been rocked by claims at the company involving ex-managers who are accused of bribery and fraud. Several different countries, including the United States, have launched investigations.

MEDIA

'07 pay $5.2 million for radio chain CEO

San Antonio —- The chief executive of Clear Channel Communications Inc. received compensation of about $5.2 million in 2007, almost exactly the same amount he made in the previous year, an analysis of a regulatory filing showed. Mark Mays, one of the sons of a Clear Channel founder, earned $581,750 in salary last year but made another $4.3 million in incentives and $299,000 in other compensation, such as personal use of the corporate plane and dividends on unvested restricted stock, according to the proxy statement filed Tuesday.

RETAILING

Wal-Mart broadens customer base

More affluent customers are shopping at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. during the economic slump, and a company executive said Tuesday that the retailer is in position to keep those shoppers when the economy improves. Eduardo Castro-Wright, CEO of Wal-Mart's U.S. division, told a New York gathering of analysts at a Lehman Brothers retail conference that the company's emphasis on low prices is keeping lower-income customers loyal and attracting more affluent shoppers who usually spend elsewhere. "It's up to us with our store experience to capture their [more affluent customers'] imagination and make sure they shop with us when things turn around," Castro-Wright said.

TECHNOLOGY

3Com abruptly switches CEOs

Edgar Masri was removed as chief executive of data network equipment maker 3Com Inc. on Tuesday and immediately replaced by Robert Mao, who speaks fluent Mandarin and will be based in Beijing, which the Massachusetts-based firm sees as its biggest market. The management shuffle —- which comes a month after a proposed $2.2 billion buyout of 3Com was scuttled because of concern over a Chinese company's role —- also brings in Ronald Sege to the new position of chief operating officer and as president of the company, effective today.

TRANSPORTATION

Loss widens at Scandinavia's SAS

Stockholm, Sweden —- Scandinavian airline group SAS AB on Tuesday posted a wider first-quarter loss of $181 million, hurt by higher fuel expenses and growing competition, and said it would cut 1,000 jobs to lower costs. That quarterly loss of 1.08 billion kronor compared with a net loss of 18 million kronor a year earlier.

Northwest details payout for CEO

Northwest Airlines Corp., which agreed this month to merge with Delta, would pay Chief Executive Doug Steenland more than $18.3 million if the merger is done and he's terminated by Jan. 1. The payment would include more than $6.2 million in estimated pension benefits and outstanding restricted stock, the Eagan, Minn.-based carrier said in a U.S. regulatory filing Tuesday. The payout to Steenland is contingent on the merger closing this year, as Delta has said it expects, and Steenland's termination by Northwest, according to the filing.

Continental CEO's pay dropped in '07

The chief executive of Continental Airlines Inc. got compensation the company valued at nearly $6 million in 2007, down 9.3 percent from the year before, according to an analysis of a regulatory filing. But about one-third of Lawrence W. Kellner's compensation was in stock and option grants, which are worth much less today than they were when granted in February 2007. Kellner could receive a $17 million severance package if he lost his job in a combination, according to a union pension fund.