Financeline

Yell buys US directory firm as profit surges

LONDON - Reuters

Britain's Yell Group Plc agreed to buy U.S. telephone directory publisher TransWestern for $1.58 billion in cash and reported a surge in full-year adjusted profit. TransWestern has 332 phone directories in 25 states and had revenues of $358 million in 2004. Yell owns Britain's Yellow Pages and is the largest independent U.S. directory publisher.

Crude futures stay flat in Asia below $49

SINGAPORE - Associated Press

Crude futures stayed flat in Asia on Tuesday as traders injected funds into the market, taking advantage of three-month low prices on the previous day. Light, sweet crude for June delivery fell 3 cents to $48.58 a barrel as of late afternoon in Asia on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

India plans IT staff registry to help stop fraud

BANGALORE - Reuters

India's information technology firms will set up a workers registry next quarter and seek legal changes to prevent employee fraud, a key industry official said on Tuesday, amid client concerns about recent security breaches. The government would keep background records that workers could allow companies to see, though it would not breach employee rights' as they would not be obliged to join.

M&S names Terry Burns as chairman

LONDON - Reuters

Britain's top clothing retailer Marks & Spencer appointed Terry Burns as chairman on Tuesday to replace Paul Myners with effect from July next year, following weeks of bitter boardroom squabbles. Senior non-executive director Kevin Lomax has openly been looking for a replacement for Myners for several months, and appears to have won despite the support of major shareholders for Myners's bid to turn around the battered retailer.

Nikkei ends lower, shedding gains

TOKYO - Reuters

Japan's Nikkei share average closed down 1.1 percent on Tuesday falling for a seventh straight session as a rally on strong economic growth proved short-lived and profit taking on mid-and small-cap issues depressed the overall market. The Nikkei closed down 121.83 points at 10,825.39, after hitting an intraday high of 11,066.76 in the morning.

British airport operator's profit up

LONDON - Reuters

Britain's biggest airport operator BAA Plc beat forecasts with a 19 percent rise in annual pretax earnings after record passenger numbers and faster check-in drove up retail spending at its airports. BAA said pretax profit before exceptional items was 637 million pounds ($1.2 billion) for the year to the end of March 2005, compared to 536 million pounds a year ago. BAA owns London's Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports.