Sears Holdings Corporation

Corporate report


Published: Saturday, May 23, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, May 22, 2009 at 6:52 p.m.
The Campbell Soup Co. -- The food maker is trying to reassure investors that the company is having a strong year even though soup sales were down for the third quarter. The company released its quarterly results Thursday afternoon -- a day before they were planned. The unusual move came as analysts were speculating that the report would be particularly rough. Instead, it was a case of good news-bad news. Profits were down. Adjusted profits were up. Soup sales were down. But the company raised its outlook for the rest of the fiscal year. Campbell President Douglas Conant told analysts that the company's fiscal year so far has been good despite many challenges. The company's shares were selling for $37.35 at the end of regular trading Friday, up 56 cents.

UAL Corp. -- United Airlines says it will recall 107 furloughed mechanics. The nation's third-largest airline says it needs the line mechanics to help it with repairing cabin items, reducing the number of out-of-service planes, and ensuring the reliability of the fleet. Chicago-based United says the recalls will begin immediately and will be spread across all its hubs. United, a unit of UAL Corp., has 2,995 mechanics furloughed. Shares were $4.87, down 2 cents.

Sears Holdings Corp. -- Shares soared the day after the retailer surprised investors by posting a first-quarter profit. The parent of Sears and Kmart stores announced late Thursday that its first-quarter profit was $26 million, or 21 cents per share. That was a marked improvement from the same period a year earlier, when the retailer led by financier Edward Lampert lost $56 million, or 43 cents per share. Shares were $55.40, up $5.21.

Yahoo Inc. -- The Internet company says it will pay its chief financial officer $1.8 million when he leaves this summer. Besides the severance payment, Blake Jorgensen also will get up to 12 months of company-paid medical insurance after he steps aside as Yahoo's chief financial officer, according to regulatory documents. The severance payment more than triples Jorgensen's $500,000 salary. Shares were $14.98, up 11 cents.

Ebay Inc. -- A British court ruled that the Internet marketplace is not liable for bogus beauty products sold on its Web site, dealing a blow to cosmetics company L'Oreal's legal campaign against the online auction giant. EBay called the ruling "a victory for consumers," although L'Oreal noted that the judge had made several suggestions for measures to help prevent trademark infringement. Shares were $17.36, up 21 cents.