DEALS

Raving Brands finishes sale of PJ's

Atlanta-based Raving Brands has completed its sale of PJ's Coffee of New Orleans to New Orleans Roast and New Orleans Brew, returning the coffee chain to the city where it started. New Orleans Roast and New Orleans Brew, sister companies, already owned five PJ's locations. PJ's has 48 outlets. The new owners plan to focus on Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region.

Caterpillar to buy Brazilian firm

Caterpillar Inc. agreed to acquire MGE Equipamentos & Servicos Ferroviarios Ltda., a Brazilian manufacturer of components for trains. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

Pier 1 withdraws offer for Cost Plus

Fort Worth, Texas —- Retailer Pier 1 Imports Inc. said Tuesday that it is withdrawing its offer to buy rival Cost Plus Inc. for $88 million. Pier 1 said it was unlikely it would be able to buy the company at a price that would make sense for its shareholders. Pier 1 offered to buy Cost Plus this month in a stock-swap transaction. In the proposal, Pier 1 said it would issue 0.6 of a share of its common stock for each share of Cost Plus common stock, implying a value of $4 per share.

FINANCIAL

Kodak to buy back quarter of its stock

Rochester, N.Y. —- Eastman Kodak Co. said Tuesday that it is buying back up to $1 billion, or about a quarter, of its outstanding stock, by tapping a $581 million tax refund and a cash surplus the picture-taking pioneer has amassed since selling its health-imaging business early last year. Its shares jumped sharply. The move underlined Kodak's faith in its makeover as a digital technology company, analysts said, and appeared timed to take advantage of a slide in its stock price to 30-year lows. After completing a $3.4 billion overhaul from 2004 to 2007, Kodak predicted at its annual investor meeting in February that revenues would rise 5 percent a year through 2011, driven by a 10 percent to 12 percent annual rise in digital sales. Operating profits will more than triple to $1 billion, it said.

Millionaire ranks reach 10.1 million

New York —- The number of people around the globe with at least $1 million in assets swelled by 6 percent last year to 10.1 million, according to the 12th annual World Wealth Report released Tuesday by Merrill Lynch & Co. and Capgemini Group, a consulting firm. That means an additional 600,000 people became millionaires or richer even as problems tied to the U.S. credit crisis spread. The combined wealth of the millionaires' club grew 9.4 percent to $40.7 trillion. Their average wealth, which didn't include primary homes, surpassed $4 million for the first time.

Wall Street chiefs' pay falls in 2007

Wall Street securities firms and brokerages paid chief executive officers an average of $16.9 million in 2007, down a third from a year earlier on reduced stock awards, according to a Citigroup Inc. study. The drop in pay "was driven by the roughly $5.5 million average decline in the amount of stock awards issued during 2007," Citigroup said in the report released Monday. Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs Group, with $70.3 million in total compensation, was the highest-paid CEO, said the report. Morgan Stanley's John Mack was the lowest-paid, getting $1.6 million and refusing a bonus after a fourth-quarter loss he called "embarrassing."

HEALTH CARE

Setback at FDA pounds Lilly shares

Indianapolis —- Eli Lilly shares hit a 52-week low Tuesday, a day after the company announced the Food and Drug Administration needed three more months to review its blood thinner. "Requests for additional information are common during the FDA's initial review," a spokeswoman said. Eli Lilly and Co. and its Japanese partner, Daiichi Sankyo Co., hope to gain approval of the drug prasugrel to treat patients with acute coronary syndromes, such as heart attacks or unstable angina, who are at risk of developing blood clots. If approved, prasugrel would compete against the blockbuster Plavix, made by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Sanofi-Aventis SA.

MANUFACTURING

Dow Chemical increases prices

Michigan-based Dow Chemical Co. announced its second wide-ranging price increase in less than a month as it attempts to offset sustained record costs for energy and the soaring price of raw materials. The chemical company announced Tuesday that it will raise prices by as much as 25 percent next month, less than three weeks after announcing price increases of up to 20 percent. The first round of price increases took effect this month. When Dow raises its prices, it is felt across dozens of industries that manufacture everything from diapers to automobiles. Dow says it is trying to survive. "We have to get them back to reinvestment levels where we can continue to build our business and to be there for the future," said spokesman Chris Huntley.

Jardine recalls 320,000 cribs

Jardine Enterprises of Taiwan recalled about 320,000 cribs sold at Toys "R" Us Inc., Babies "R" Us and other stores after four infants became trapped in the space between the structure's wooden slats. Some of the 28 models included in the recall were sold in stores and on a Web site between January 2002 and May 2008. Jardine, which is based in Taipei, makes the cribs in China and Vietnam.

REAL ESTATE

Caruso Homes files for bankruptcy

Caruso Homes Inc., a home builder that operates in the Mid-Atlantic region, filed for bankruptcy, blaming what it called the "double whammy" of the credit crunch and falling home prices. Some 24 affiliates also sought court protection along with Crofton, Md.-based Caruso.

RETAILING

Investor expects Circuit City sale

Richmond —- Circuit City Stores Inc. stayed mum Tuesday about whether a buyout is in the future for the consumer electronics retailer, but an activist investor expects an announcement of a possible sale within a month. Mark Wattles, whose investment firm holds a 6.5 percent stake in Circuit City, said three companies are in the late stages of conducting due diligence in regard to buying the Richmond-based company. Wattles declined to identify the companies but implied that one was video rental chain Blockbuster Inc., which announced a more than $1 billion takeover bid in April with plans to create a chain to sell electronic gadgets and rent movies and games.

Retail sales rise 2.2% from '07

New York —- Shoppers remained tightfisted, even though the majority have received their economic stimulus checks, according to figures released Tuesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers. For the week ended Saturday, same-store sales fell 0.6 percent from the prior week. On a year-over-year basis, same-store sales rose 2.2 percent, a bit stronger than the prior week, according to the association's weekly index, which tracks sales of about 40 retailers. Same-store sales are sales at stores open at least a year and are considered a key indicator of a retailer's health. "Although there has been some relief at the [gasoline] pump this past week and the fact that most consumers have received their stimulus checks, consumers remain conservative in their overall spending patterns," said Michael Niemira, chief economist at ICSC. He is sticking with his same-store sales growth forecast of 2 percent to 3 percent for June. For the fiscal year started in February, same-store sales growth has averaged 2 percent.

TECHNOLOGY

Irish telecom firm to move to Atlanta

A telecommunications company from Ireland said Tuesday that it will make Atlanta its U.S. headquarters and create a handful of technology jobs. The company, which sells software applications to the public sector, hopes to contract with the state government to make it more efficient, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle said at a news conference in the Legislative Office Building. No firm agreements have been made. TotalMobile, a subsidiary of Antrium, Ireland-based Consilium Technologies, will create 15 to 30 jobs within its first 18 months, said Garth Morton, senior vice president for TotalMobile's sales in North America. It will open an office on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta. TotalMobile's applications will help improve the efficiency of inspections and repairs as well as allow workers to take photos and video, Morton said. The company has helped other agencies save between 10 percent and 25 percent in costs, Morton said.

Charter drops plan to track Web use

St. Louis —- Charter Communications is dropping plans to track the Web use of some high-speed Internet subscribers, citing concerns raised by its customers. In May, Charter announced a pilot program in four markets aimed at producing enough information for advertisers to target online ads for individual customers based on their viewing habits. But Charter officials said Tuesday that some customers have raised concerns, so the company has decided not to move forward with the program. The plan drew criticism from privacy advocates.

Nokia bids for software platform

New York —- Nokia Corp. wants to buy the consortium that makes the software for its phones and make it available for free to other manufacturers, in hopes of blunting the influence of competing software providers. Nokia said Tuesday that it is offering to buy the 52 percent of Britain's Symbian Ltd. that it doesn't already own for about $410 million. Symbian's software is the most widely used on high-end phones. Nokia will then establish a foundation with handset makers Sony Ericsson and Motorola and Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo to make the software available royalty-free. AT&T, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Vodafone Group will also join the foundation, Nokia said.

Microsoft reports raise Yahoo's stock

San Francisco —- Yahoo Inc.'s steadily sinking stock pulled out of its descent Tuesday on reports that the Internet pioneer is reconsidering its recent decision to fall into the arms of online search leader Google Inc. instead of Microsoft Corp. The prospect of Yahoo spurning Google in favor of an alternative deal with Microsoft cheered investors still disillusioned with Yahoo's rejection of a $47.5 billion takeover offer from Microsoft. Technology news site CNet.com and the blog Silicon Alley Insider each reported that Yahoo and Microsoft are again exploring a more limited deal, perhaps at a higher price than previously discussed. Neither company would comment.

TRANSPORTATION

American to test in-flight Net access

Dallas —- American Airlines says customers will be able to test in-flight Internet access on two flights beginning today, with broader service expected to begin in the following weeks. Facing record high fuel prices, airlines are looking at entertainment and information services as ways to make a few more bucks per passenger. American plans to charge $9.95 to $12.95 for Internet service, depending on flight length. The test with technology partner Aircell LLC will begin on a flight from New York's Kennedy Airport to Los Angeles and a return flight, said Doug Backelin, American's manager of in-flight technology. The test service will be free, American said.

UTILITIES / ENERGY

Gas demand falls year-over-year

U.S. gasoline demand fell 2.7 percent last week, a sign motorists are cutting back on vacation plans, a MasterCard Inc. report Tuesday showed. Consumers purchased an average of 9.45 million barrels of gasoline a day in the week ended June 20, down from 9.71 million a year earlier, MasterCard said in its weekly SpendingPulse report. It was the ninth consecutive week of declines from the year-earlier period.

OPEC chief: No need to pump more

Brussels, Belgium —- OPEC President Chakib Khelil said Tuesday that oil producers saw no need to raise supply and blamed record oil prices on factors outside the cartel's control, such as U.S. pressure on Iran and the weak U.S. dollar. Following talks with European Union nations, Khelil said oil states believe they are pumping enough oil to satisfy demand. Khelil said prices in the next few weeks depend largely on how the United States deals with Iran's nuclear program and the strength of the U.S. dollar.