Danaher Corp. announced Monday it planned to buy medical equipment maker Beckman Coulter Inc. for $6.8 billion. The price of $83.50 per share is about 55 percent above the average stock price for Beckman Coulter over the past three months and a 45 percent increase over its closing price on Dec. 9, the day before it [...]

The Trouble Asset Relief Program, despite being maligned as a bailout for poorly managed financial institutions and a burden on the U.S. Treasury, could break even an possibly turn a profit, according to a recent government report. The 322-page report was released January 26 by the special inspector general for the bank assistance program commonly [...]

Last year, over 20,000 active-duty servicemen and women lost their homes to foreclosure, the highest number since 2003. Transfers and loss of employment have put military families in the hardest hit group of the national housing crisis. Foreclosures in areas near military bases have risen 32 percent in the last two years, as compared with [...]

Borders Group Inc., the second-biggest bookstore chain in the U.S, could file bankruptcy this month, according to a person familiar with the matter. The financially troubled chain, which runs 500 stores and employs about 19,500 people across the country, could close as many as 150 underperforming stores, and numerous private equity investors are trying to [...]

BP reported Tuesday that it lost more than $4.9 billion in 2010, the company’s first annual loss since 1992, and it raised the estimate on costs related to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to $40.9 billion. The loss is in comparison with nearly $14 billion in profits in 2009, while the new [...]

The US economy picked up speed toward the end of 2010 as Americans spent more money at the fastest rate in four years and US companies sent more of their good overseas. The growth in the final quarter of last year was a sign that 2011 could be a strong economic year, but remained too [...]

Sara Lee Corp. is separating into two publicly trade companies, a move that completes its development from a major brand conglomerate to a much smaller food and drink company. On Friday, Sara Lee indicated the separation is the best way to provide long-term shareholder value. Stockholders will get a special dividend payment of $3 per [...]

Amazon.com is selling more e-books than paperback books, the company announced last week. The world’s largest online retailer released mixed fourth-quarter financial results showing net income for the most recently completed quarter was up 8 percent, ahead of Wall Street predictions. Revenue was under expectations, which cause the company’s stock to drop almost 10 percent [...]

Interest rates on credit cards now hover near record highs, averaging over 14%. For consumers with bad credit, rates could rise as high as 59.9% APR. The Card Act may have limited banks in increasing most interest rates, but the act did not limit the rates being charged to new customers. A credit card expert [...]