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Pfizer Inc., fresh from buying fellow drugmaker Wyeth and already deep into integrating its operations, posted on Wednesday a 34 percent jump in revenue, but about $3.2 billion in acquisition charges and higher costs across the board weighed down profits.

The maker of Viagra and cholesterol fighter Lipitor, which paid $68 billion to get Wyeth’s vaccines, biologic drugs and consumer health staples such as Centrum vitamins and pain relievers Advil and Anacin, already has slashed about 4,200 jobs and cut other costs.

New York-based Pfizer said its revenue in the fourth quarter totaled $16.54 billion, half a billion above what analysts were expecting as the recession continues to reduce sales of even prescription medicines. Wyeth products contributed $3.3 billion of those sales. Excluding that boost, revenue was up about 7 percent from the $12.35 billion Pfizer reported in the fourth quarter of 2008, but Pfizer noted that favorable exchange rates boosted total revenue by 4 percent.

Net income amounted to $767 million, nearly triple the $266 million the world’s biggest drugmaker earned a year ago, when results were hurt by a whopping $2.3 billion charge to settle federal charges that Pfizer improperly marketed some of its drugs. That profit is equal to earnings per share of 10 cents, or 49 cents after excluding the acquisition charges and other one-time items.

Analysts were expecting 50 cents a share. The per-share results were reduced somewhat because Pfizer issued new shares to help fund the Wyeth purchase, increasing outstanding shares by about 16 percent.

Pfizer did not provide directly comparable figures on revenue, profit and costs for the 2009 and 2008 periods. The company forecast 2010 revenue of $67 billion to $69 billion.

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Richard A. Anderson, a retired group president for global business services at AT&T Inc., has been elected to the board of directors for Computer Services Inc.

Anderson retired from AT&T in June 2007. He since has served as executive director of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority. He also sits on several boards, including the board of advisors for Murray State University, Murray, Ky.

In his role with the state of Georgia, Anderson is overseeing the creation of the state’s strategic-transportation plan, according to a news release.

Paducah, Ky.-based Computer Services Inc. (Pink Sheets: CSVI) delivers core banking, payment-processing, Internet, card-services, risk-assessment, fraud-prevention, network-management and regulatory-compliance services to more than 4,600 financial institutions and corporations.

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Brighton, a Clayton-based marketing and communications agency, hired Tom Shipley as vice president for interactive marketing.

Shipley began his career at Anheuser-Busch Cos. in 1989, and held a variety of positions in sales and marketing there, including senior director of industry development and senior director of Budweiser marketing.

His most recent job at Anheuser-Busch was as senior director of digital media and marketing.

He led the team responsible for all digital marketing and media initiatives for the Anheuser-Busch brand portfolio.
Shipley has a bachelor’s degree in American studies from the University of Dayton.

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The high-profile squabble that captivated late-night television for weeks comes to a close Friday, when Conan O’Brien makes his final appearance as host of "The Tonight Show."

O’Brien walks away from "Tonight" after just seven months with a severance package said to be worth $45 million, including $12 million for his staff, according to people familiar with the terms.

The payout is roughly equivalent to what NBC would have paid O’Brien for the remaining two years on his contract. Industry analysts say cutting ties with O’Brien was the best option for the struggling network.

"Even though it was hurtful for the business and individuals, it is the right business move," said Steve Farella, chief executive of media and marketing firm TargetCast tcm.

NBC, currently the lowest rated network, has suffered financially amid dwindling ad sales and stiff competition from cable networks. General Electric (GE, Fortune 500), the network’s parent, said Friday that NBC’s profit tumbled 30% in its latest quarter compared to last year.

O’Brien’s departure stems from a dispute over scheduling changes NBC sought to implement after it abruptly decided to cancel "The Jay Leno Show."

NBC launched "Leno" in an effort to save money on prime-time costs by airing content that was cheaper to produce during peak viewing hours.

"NBC did a Hail Mary in prime time," said Bill Caroll, director of programming at Katz Television Group. "They believed that they could change the economics of prime time payday loans guaranteed no fax."

But the show received lackluster ratings during its three month run, and NBC came under intense pressure from local affiliates to replace "Leno" with more popular programming.

"The volume of objections from affiliates drove them to take this step," said Steven Winoker, an analyst who covers NBC’s parent GE for Sanford Bernstein. "The best thing they can do now is put this behind them and move on."

Still, some industry analysts say the "Leno" experiment could have been a success if it had been given more time.

"It may have been a plan that was too far ahead of its time," said Brad Adgate, an analyst at branding firm Horizon Media. "NBC wanted to take a step forward and wound up taking a step back."

NBC is expected to fill the 10 p.m. ET slot vacated by "Leno" by programming perennial favorites such as the "Law and Order" franchise and the newsmagazine "Dateline." The network is also launching a new show starring Jerry Seinfeld called "The Marriage Ref."

"Clearly, they’re hoping to lead from strength in the 10 o’clock time period," Caroll said.

Looking ahead, Katz said Leno should do "reasonably well" when he returns to "Tonight" in March: "He has a core audience and more than a decade of success." 

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Bank Indonesia is “confident” the country will meet the central bank’s inflation target this year, Senior Deputy Governor Darmin Nasution said today.

The projection takes into account rising prices and a recovery in the global economy, Nasution said in Jakarta. Consumer-price gains are expected to average 4 percent to 6 percent in 2010, he said Jan. 6.

Indonesia’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate at 6.5 percent for a fifth month Jan. 6, saying it wasn’t concerned about inflation pressures in the first half. Consumer prices in Southeast Asia’s largest economy held near a decade low in December, giving the bank more time before it joins other Asian policy makers in raising borrowing costs fast cash now.

Indonesia’s inflation will probably be “relatively tame” at about 5.3 percent this year, Helmi Arman, an economist at PT Bank Danamon Indonesia, said in a research note Jan. 18. Economic growth will probably be “close to 5.2 percent,” Arman said in the note.

“The odds are rising for the BI rate to stay at 6.5 percent this year, which paves the way for a smoother recovery of commercial bank credit growth,” Bank Danamon said.

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Government employment in Hawaii has fallen about 5.6 percent in the past year, with state government taking the biggest hit with the loss of about 8,000 jobs.

Government still directly employs more people in Hawaii than any other industry, including tourism.

Even with the latest cuts, government employment has risen by 7.3 percent or by about 10,000 jobs since 2000, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

By comparison, employment in leisure and hospitality stood at 101,000 in December 2009, the same as in December 2000.

Total government employment in Hawaii fell from 130,500 in November 2008 to 123,200 in November 2009, according to the latest data available. The state began the bulk of more than 2,000 layoffs in November and says more than 2,000 positions haven’t been filled.

As of November 2009, the state employed 71,200 people, down from 79,400 a year earlier.

Even at the lower number, it’s still higher than the number who worked for the state in 2005.

Local government employs 18,600 people, down only about 100 from the previous year.

The federal government has added about 1,000 civilian jobs in Hawaii in the past year and now employs 33,400 people, the highest number ever.

The Hawaii Legislature begins its 2010 session this week and faces a projected shortfall of $1.5 billion.

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Eastman Kodak Co. is seeking to block imports of certain camera-enabled BlackBerrys by Research in Motion.

The Rochester, N.Y.-based camera company filed a complaint this week with the U.S. International Trade Commission, alleging that the BlackBerrys in question infringe on a Kodak patent relating to a method for previewing images.

Respondents in the action include both Research in Motion’s primary business in Canada and its U.S. operation, which is based in Las Colinas. A Research in Motion spokeswoman declined to comment on the matter.

Also named in Kodak’s International Trade Commission complaint is Apple Inc., which Kodak alleges is infringing on the same patent with its iPhones. Apple officials weren’t immediately available for comment Friday.

Kodak also filed two patent-infringement lawsuits against Apple in federal district court in New York guaranteed online personal loans.

The company did not sue Research in Motion in federal court, however; instead, it's only pursuing the International Trade Commission action against it, according to a Kodak press release.

David Lanzillo, a Kokak spokesman, told the Dallas Business Journal that the company opted not to pursue a court action against Research in Motion. “Our approach is appropriate to the specific infringement that we allege on the part of Apple and Research in Motion,” he said.

Earlier this week, the International Trade Commission opened an inquiry to a separate patent-infringement complaint against Research in Motion by a Nebraska company called Prism Technologies LLC.

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A U.K. house-price gauge showed the property market unexpectedly lost momentum in December as inquiries from new buyers to browse homes slipped.

The number of real-estate agents saying prices rose exceeded those reporting declines by 30 percentage points, down from 35 points in November, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said in its monthly survey today. Economists predicted 37 points, according to the median of 14 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey.

The report suggests the U.K. property market’s pickup from the slump that shaved as much as 20 percent off values is starting to fade. House prices will be flat this year, Lloyds Banking Group Plc’s Halifax unit said Jan. 7. Prime Minister Gordon Brown is counting on stronger economic growth to help revive his popularity before a general election which must be held by June.

“What all this is suggesting is the sugar rush or pent up demand that helped housing to rebound is running out of steam,” Alan Clarke, an economist at BNP Paribas in London, said in a note today. “This series was the best early warning signal that the housing market was going to bounce back. Unfortunately, our charts suggest there is further downside for enquiries.”

Housing-Market Slack

The sales-to-stock ratio, a measure of slack in the housing market, was little changed at 30.5, close to the highest since Dec. 2007, the report showed. Average sales per surveyor over the last three months rose to 19.1 from 19.

Seven of 12 regions tracked by RICS showed price increases in the past three months, and the rest had declines. The biggest gain was in London and the southeast of England, where the net balance of surveyors saying prices increased was at 41 points.

U.K. house prices rose 0.6 percent in November from a year earlier, the Department for Communities and Local Government said separately today. On the month, prices increased 1.7 percent, the DCLG said in a statement on its Web site.

“New inquiries are continuing to outpace new instructions which is helping to push house prices higher,” Jeremy Leaf, spokesman for RICS, said in a statement. “The recent loss of momentum in prices and the moderation in new buyer interest can be in part attributed to the housing market pulling down its shutters for Christmas.”

Bank of England policy maker Kate Barker said on Dec. 16 that she is “surprised” by the pickup in house prices and predicted the recovery may stall in 2010. London-based research group Hometrack said last month that prices will decline this year as rising unemployment and concern about government spending cuts limit demand.

Retail Sales

A separate British Retail Consortium survey released today showed total sales rose 6 percent in December from a year earlier, the most for the month since 2005. Same-store sales increased 4.2 percent on the year, compared with a 3.3 percent drop in December last year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. deepened the recession.

“These are stronger figures than we dared hope for,” Stephen Robertson, director general of the London-based BRC, said in a statement. “Customers clearly felt more confident about spending than they have for some time.”

British lenders reduced the cost of mortgages for a third month in December as the Bank of England kept the benchmark interest rate at a record low and maintained its 200-billion pound ($322 billion) bond-purchase program to try and cement the economic recovery. The U.K. economy contracted 0.2 percent in the third quarter, extending the slump to a sixth quarter.

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Europe’s unemployment rate unexpectedly increased to 10 percent, the highest in more than 11 years, as companies cut costs in the wake of the worst recession in more than six decades.

November’s euro area jobless rate rose from a revised 9.9 percent in October, the European Union statistics office in Luxembourg said today. That’s the highest since August 1998. Economists forecast a November rate of 9.9 percent after the 9.8 percent initially reported for October, a Bloomberg survey showed. The euro-area economy expanded 0.4 percent in the third quarter from the previous three months, according to a separate report.

European companies are cutting jobs and paring wages to shore up earnings battered by the global slump. While economic confidence has risen to a level last seen before the 2008 demise of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., a surge in energy costs and a stronger euro threaten to damp the recovery.

“We’ll probably see further gains in unemployment over the coming months, with the jobless rate peaking at 10.7 percent in the second half,” said Juergen Michels, chief euro-region economist at Citigroup Inc. in London. “That’s obviously bad news to consumers, which will be hurt by job cuts, lower wage growth and rising energy costs.”

The euro pared its gains against the dollar after the data and traded at $1.4317 at 10:31 a.m. in London, up less than 0.1 percent on the day. The yield on the German 10-year benchmark bond rose 0.2 basis point to 3.38 percent.

Consumer Spending

The euro-area economy returned to growth in the third quarter after governments spent billions of euros on stimulus programs to bolster spending. Still, corporate investment fell 0.8 percent in the quarter and consumer spending dropped 0.1 percent, today’s data showed. The European Central Bank last month kept borrowing costs at a record low and said it will exit some unconventional measures as the recovery progresses.

In Germany, Europe’s largest economy, unemployment unexpectedly declined in December, keeping the jobless rate at 8.1 percent, the Federal Labor Agency said on Dec. 5. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Cabinet extended the so-called short- term work program for a year from this month, allowing companies to continue tapping federal aid to help pay wages direct payday loans. As many as 140,000 people were on short-term work last month, the Federal Labor Agency said on Jan. 5.

Industrial Orders

With a 94 percent surge in oil prices over the past year threatening to crimp earnings and the euro’s 5.2 percent ascent against the dollar over the same period making exports less competitive, companies may remain reluctant to add workers. European industrial orders dropped more than economists forecast in October from the previous month.

Siemens AG, Europe’s largest engineering company, last month posted its first quarterly loss in a year and forecast a drop in 2010 earnings. The Munich-based company cut its global workforce by 3.6 percent in 2009 to weather a slump in orders.

Paris-based Accor SA, Europe’s largest hotel company, eliminated 1,000 jobs in France last year. ThyssenKrupp AG, Germany’s largest steelmaker, said in November that it plans to cut about 20,000 jobs.

With the euro-area jobless rate forecast by the EU to reach 10.7 percent this year, consumers may keep a rein on spending. European retail sales posted the biggest drop in 13 months in November, the statistics office said yesterday.

‘Significant Doubt’

“Significant doubt and uncertainties remain about the future strength of consumer spending,” said Howard Archer, chief European economist at IHS Global Insight in London. “Businesses may well remain cautious in their employment and investment plans for some time to come.”

At 19.4 percent, Spain had the highest unemployment rate in November among the 16 countries using the euro, today’s report showed. Austria and the Netherlands had the lowest jobless rates with 5.5 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively. The number of unemployed people rose by 102,000 to 15.7 million from October, the statistics office said.

Euro-region gross domestic product declined 4 percent from a year earlier in the third quarter, instead of a previously reported drop of 4.1 percent, today’s data showed.

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Peopleclick, a Raleigh company that makes human resources software, has been purchased by New York private equity firm Bedford Funding for about $100 million, the companies announced Tuesday.

Bedford owns Massachusetts company Authoria Inc., a Peopleclick competitor. Bedford will merge the two makers of human-resources software into a combined entity called Peopleclick Authoria.

Charles S. Jones, managing partner of Bedford Funding, will become chairman and CEO of Peopleclick Authoria, working from the private equity firm's White Plains, N.Y., headquarters. At this point, the new company does not have specific plans to choose a headquarters in either Raleigh or Waltham, a spokeswoman said business?ards.

Bedford bought Waltham, Mass.-based Authoria, in 2008 for $63.1 million and immediately committed to invest $8 million more in the company, which makes talent management software. Peopleclick makes talent acquisition software. Bedford plans to integrate the two companies' products to include more analytics capability, the firm said in a press release.

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