BUSINESS BRIEFS
Pension system gets an oil boost
Advertiser Staff and News Services
The state Employees' Retirement System reported earning a 4.23 percent return during its fiscal first quarter, helped by surging oil company stocks.
"It's a nice start," said Kimo Blaisdell, chief investment officer for the state's largest pension fund. "It's a nice continuation of what we put together for the last fiscal year."
The ERS expects to record an increase of more than 10 percent for the year that ended June 30 once it receives real-estate appraisal reports, he said. The gain during the most recent quarter, which ended Sept. 30, helped boost the retirement funds' assets to $9.49 billion from $9.21 billion from the end of the previous quarter.
Blaisdell said the gain was higher than the 3.98 increase in indexes the fund benchmarks itself against. He said energy-stock gains helped offset a decline from investments in fixed-income securities that suffer as interest rates rise.
J&J AGREES TO ACQUIRE GUIDANT
INDIANAPOLIS — Ending a one-week standoff, Johnson & Johnson agreed yesterday to acquire the struggling medical device manufacturer Guidant Corp. for $21.5 billion, about 15 percent less than its initial offer last year.
The deal will help J&J beef up its medical device division, but the New Brunswick, N.J.-based company could inherit a hornet's nest of legal problems related to recalls of Guidant pacemakers and implantable defibrillators that sapped patient and physician confidence in the company's devices. The deal could bring patients better heart devices, possibly at a lower cost, experts said.
HOLIDAY RETAIL OUTLOOK MIXED
NEW YORK — Depending on which retailer you ask, sales this holiday season may be merry or just ho-ho-hum.
As major merchants reported third-quarter earnings yesterday, they offered a mixed outlook, based on whether they thought falling gas prices would encourage consumer spending or that rising heating bills would hinder shopping.
J.C. Penney Co. Inc. reported a 57 percent jump in third-quarter earnings and said it was "well positioned" for the holidays. Saks Inc., which eked out a modest third-quarter profit, projected solid sales in the fourth quarter. BJ's Wholesale Club reported a 20 percent increase in third-quarter profits but pared its annual earnings forecast.
