The Record, Bergen County, NJ

Cosmetic Company Lands a Superstar ; Denise Austin, Cca to Sell Skin Creams

Shares in CCA Industries were rejuvenated Monday after the East Rutherford company that makes Plus-White toothpaste announced a deal to put Denise Austin's name on a new line of green tea-laced, anti- aging skin creams and cosmetics. The producer and star of a daily fitness show on the Lifetime channel, Austin has the kind of national name recognition and seasoned California good looks that CEO David Edell hopes will have skin creams flying off the shelves at drugstores, supermarkets, and dep...

Google to Pay Yahoo $300m in Stock

SAN FRANCISCO - Online search engine leader Google Inc. will surrender more than $300 million of its stock to Yahoo! Inc. in a settlement that removes a legal threat hanging over its IPO at the expense of enriching a nettlesome rival. The agreement announced Monday gives Yahoo an additional 2.7 million shares of Google stock in exchange for dropping a patent lawsuit involving a crucial piece of online advertising technology. The payment also resolves a dispute over how much Sunnyvale, Calif.-...

Oil Prices Climb On Supply Fears

WASHINGTON - Oil prices marched to new highs just shy of $45 a barrel Monday after an Iraqi oil official said output was stopped for security reasons at key southern oil fields. Analysts feared that the market could lose more than 1.5 million barrels a day by the end of the week. Buying was also fueled by the renewed threat of a supply disruption in Russia, analysts said, as the embattled oil giant Yukos was dealt more bad news.

World Briefs

Delta dipping into cash reserves ATLANTA - Delta Air Lines Inc. said Monday that it burned through $744 million in cash in the first six months of the year and again warned that it could be forced into bankruptcy without deep concessions from pilots.

Save Me, Spider-Man! ; Russ Berrie has $15.6m Loss, Pins Hopes On Superhero Toys

OAKLAND - The struggling Russ Berrie and Co. hopes Spider-Man and other superheroes can come to its rescue. The gift and stuffed-toy company announced Monday that it had lost $15.6 million, or 75 cents a share, on sales of $53.4 million in the second quarter of 2004. That compares with a profit of $4.2 million, or 20 cents a share, on sales of $67.2 million for the second quarter of 2003.

Citigroup Buying Knight's Derivatives Branch ; Bank Seeking Wider Role in Electronic Trading

NEW YORK - Citigroup Inc., the world's biggest bank, has agreed to buy Knight Trading Group Inc.'s derivatives unit for $225 million to offer its clients more electronic trading services. Knight Trading, based in Jersey City, is the main market maker at the Chicago Board Options Exchange for options on 180 companies, including ETrade Financial Corp. and Eli Lilly & Co.

Movers and Shakers

JVC Professional Products Co., Wayne, has appointed Kirk Hirota president and chief executive officer. He will oversee video creation and projection and surveillance products while overseeing all operational aspects. Hirota replaces the retiring Mike Yoshida, who will be returning to Japan after serving as president from 2001-04.

Earnings

Dov Pharmaceutical Inc. Location: Hackensack

N.J. Briefs

Par acquires 5 percent stake in New River WOODCLIFF LAKE - Par Pharmaceutical Cos. Inc. said Monday that it spent $7 million to acquire a 5 percent stake in another drug company. Par bought 875,000 shares at $8 a share last Thursday in the initial public offering of New River Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Radford, Va. New River focuses on developing safer versions of amphetamines, opioids, and other popular drugs, in an attempt to make them resistant to abuse, Par said. The deal closes today , Par ...

2 Insurers Settle Trading Probe for $20 Million

ALBANY, N.Y. - Two insurance companies will pay $20 million in a settlement that ends an investigation into charges that the companies allowed improper trading of annuities, law enforcement officials announced Monday. Indiana-based Conseco Inc. and its successor in the variable annuities business, New York-based Inviva Inc., agreed to the settlement with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Regulators accused the companies of allowing some favore...

Bigger and Better

With Stocks in Slump, It May Be Time to Buy

"When the Federal Open Market Committee meets this week, it is sure to raise short-term interest rates a quarter-point to head off inflation." Scratch that. Let's try this:

Aclu Presses Businesses to Resist U.S. Spying On Customers ; Opposes Voluntary Turnover of Data

The American Civil Liberties Union is mounting a campaign to pressure leading retail, banking, and travel businesses to take a "no-spy pledge" and to reject government requests to turn over information voluntarily on customers and their transactions. The program, which was launched Monday, is designed "to defend consumers' personal privacy rights," the ACLU said in a statement announcing the campaign.

Ford Suv has Worst Rollover Risk ; Explorer Sport Trac Gets Low Crash Rating

DETROIT - Ford Motor Co.'s Explorer Sport Trac sport-utility is the most likely of 68 vehicles tested to roll over in a single- vehicle crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in its first such ranking. The 2004 Explorer Sport Trac with two-wheel drive rolls over 35 percent of the time in crashes that don't involve another vehicle, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. The Sport Trac is an Explorer with a pickup bed instead of an extended interior pas...

Case of the Shutters ; Camera Phones Test Corporate Security

Make your living bringing new medicines to market? Or new technology? Maybe you've got 1,000 or more employees. Or five, who help manage all facets of the business.

Briefly

Fed expectations slow trading NEW YORK - The S&P 500 rose from an eight-month low as the Dow Jones industrial average and the Nasdaq composite index slipped Monday. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange was the third- slowest this year ahead of the Fed's decision on interest rates today, when the central bank may give clues to the pace of future rate increases.