Starwood Hotels 2Q profit rises 12 percent

STAMFORD, Conn. -- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT) on Thursday reported profit that climbed by 12 percent in its second quarter, and topped analysts' expectations.

The Stamford, Connecticut-based company said net income increased to $153 million, or 80 cents per share, from $137 million, or 71 cents per share, in the same quarter a year earlier.

Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains and restructuring gains, came to 77 cents per share. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 76 cents per share.

The company said revenue decreased 1.5 percent to $1.54 billion from $1.56 billion in the same quarter a year earlier, and missed Wall Street forecasts. Analysts expected $1.55 billion, according to Zacks.

Starwood Hotels shares have increased $4.29, or 5.4 percent, to $83.74 since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed 7.5 percent. The stock has risen $20.42, or 32 percent, in the last 12 months.

This story was generated automatically by Automated Insights (http://bit.ly/1jX8LIs) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Full HOT report: http://bit.ly/1pfVFF7

After much movement, stocks end where they began

NEW YORK -- Only Wall Street could make the buying and selling of more than 3 billion shares look like nothing happened.

Major U.S. stock indexes ended roughly where they began Thursday, despite investors having to work through a busy day of corporate earnings and two economic reports.

Underneath the flat surface, there was a lot of movement in individual companies. "It's a stock-specific market right now," said Ryan Larson, head of equity trading at RBC Global Asset Management.

Facebook's stock rose 5 percent while Caterpillar's fell 3 percent after the companies each reported quarterly results.

The Dow Jones industrial average edged down 2.83 points, or 0.02 percent, to close at 17,083.80. It was the fourth-smallest point move in the blue chips this year. The Nasdaq fell 1.59 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,472.11.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index managed to rise 0.97 of a point, or 0.05 percent, to 1,987.98 — a record, though barely. The day before, the S&P 500 closed at 1,987.01.

Three billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, a quieter-than-average day.

Facebook rose $3.69 to $74.98 after announcing a profit that trounced investors' expectations. The company reported an adjusted profit of 42 cents per share versus the 33 cents analysts were looking for, according to a poll by Zacks Investment Research. Mobile advertising, a crucial business for the world's largest social media company, saw major growth.

"It was a very impressive quarter on top of what we believe were very high Street expectations," said Paul Vogel, an analyst with Barclays Capital, in a note to investors.

Dow member Caterpillar fell $3.34 to $105.04, making it the biggest decliner among the 30 companies that make up the average. The equipment maker's quarterly revenue fell short of forecasts.

Homebuilder stocks slid after the government reported that new home sales sagged 8.1 percent last month. The report also revised down the May sales rate. Shares of Pulte Homes and KB Home fell 3 percent while Toll Brothers fell 4 percent. D.R. Horton quarterly results also dragged down homebuilders. Its profit dropped, and the stock price fell $2.86, or 12 percent, to $21.94.

Another industry that got a lot of attention was autos. Ford rose 6 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $17.84 after reporting a 6 percent increase in second-quarter profit. The automaker was helped by increased sales in Europe. General Motors fell $1.67, or 4.5 percent, to $35.74 after announcing an 85-percent drop in quarterly earnings. The company is in the midst of the worst recall crisis in its history.

Investors got some good news about jobs. The Labor Department reported weekly applications for unemployment aid dropped 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 284,000 claims. That's the lowest reading since February 2006, nearly two years before the Great Recession began.

In other markets, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note nudged up to 2.51 percent from 2.47 percent late Wednesday. Bond yields rise when prices fall. U.S. crude oil fell $1.05, or 1 percent, to $102.07 a barrel in New York.

Ravens RB Rice receives 2-game suspension from NFL

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice received a two-game suspension from the NFL on Thursday following his offseason arrest for domestic violence.

Rice will miss the season opener against AFC North champion Cincinnati on Sept. 7 and the Sept. 11 game on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The six-year veteran was arrested following a Feb. 15 altercation in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in which he allegedly struck then-fiancee Janay Palmer. The 27-year-old Rice has been accepted into a diversion program, which upon completion could lead to the charges being expunged.

Rice met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last month after joining the diversion program. Goodell ultimately decided to suspend the running back for two games without pay and fine him an additional game check "for conduct detrimental to the NFL in violation of the league's Personal Conduct Policy."

Despite the court's decision not to impose criminal punishment, "the Commissioner determined, as he advised Rice, that the conduct was incompatible with NFL policies and warranted disciplinary action."

In a letter to Rice, Goodell wrote: "As you acknowledged during our meeting, your conduct was unquestionably inconsistent with league polices and the standard of behavior required of everyone who is part of the NFL. The league is an entity that depends on integrity and in the confidence of the public and we simply cannot tolerate conduct that endangers others or reflects negatively on our game. This is particularly true with respect to domestic violence and other forms of violence against women."

Rice's suspension will begin on Aug. 30. He will be eligible for reinstatement Sept. 12 after the Pittsburgh game. Rice may participate in all aspects of training camp and preseason games.

"It is disappointing that I will not be with my teammates for the first two games of the season, but that's my fault," Rice said in a statement issued by the Ravens. "As I said earlier, I failed in many ways. But, Janay and I have learned from this. We have become better as a couple and as parents. I am better because of everything we have experienced since that night. The counseling has helped tremendously."

Rice is the team's career leader in total scrimmage yards and ranks behind only Jamal Lewis in total yards rushing.

Bernard Pierce is expected to start for Rice in Baltimore's first two games.

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said in a statement: "We appreciate the thorough process the league office used to evaluate the incident with Ray Rice. The time the Commissioner spent with Ray and Janay is typical of the extra steps the NFL takes when making decisions regarding discipline issues. While not having Ray for the first two games is significant to our team, we respect the league's decision and believe it is fair."

He added, "We also respect the efforts Ray has made to become the best partner and father he can be. That night was not typical of the Ray Rice we know and respect. We believe that he will not let that one night define who he is, and he is determined to make sure something like this never happens again."

Rice's teammates were not stunned by the news of the suspension.

"You knew something was going to happen," wide receiver Torrey Smith said. "I'll be glad when those two games are up."

Coach John Harbaugh said, "It's part of the process. There are consequences when you make a mistake; we'll move forward."

Rice participated Thursday in Baltimore's first full-squad practice. Before that session began, the Ravens lost cornerback Aaron Ross for the season with a torn Achilles tendon, a mishap that occurred during his conditioning test.

Obama wants limits on US company mergers abroad

LOS ANGELES -- Staking out a populist stand ahead of the midterm elections, President Barack Obama on Thursday demanded "economic patriotism" from U.S. corporations that use legal means to avoid U.S. taxes through overseas mergers.

"I don't care if it's legal," Obama declared. "It's wrong."

Obama and congressional Democrats are pushing to severely limit such deals, a move resisted by Republicans who argue the entire corporate tax code needs an overhaul. At issue are companies that enter into arrangements with foreign companies, shifting their tax addresses overseas while retaining their U.S. headquarters.

"They're technically renouncing their U.S. citizenship. They're declaring they are based someplace else even though most of their operations are here," Obama said at a technical college in Los Angeles. "You know, some people are calling these companies corporate deserters."

He also charged that such companies are "cherry-picking the rules."

Though Obama included a proposal to rein in such mergers and acquisitions in his 2015 budget, his speech marked a new, more aggressive focus on the subject.

The push came amid a developing trend by companies to reorganize with foreign entities through deals called "inversions" partly to reduce their tax payments in the U.S.

It also came ahead of the fall political campaign as Democrats seek to draw sharp contrasts with Republicans by portraying them as defenders of corporate loopholes. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and others have been drawing praise from liberal arms of the Democratic Party for their overtly populist positions.

The growth of inversions has also concerned Republicans, but by and large they have called for a broader tax overhaul that would reduce corporate rates.

A total of 47 U.S.-based companies have merged with or acquired foreign businesses over the past decade in inversions, according to the Congressional Research Service. The issue gained attention earlier this year when Pfizer made an unsuccessful attempt to take over British drugmaker AstraZeneca. The deal would have allowed Pfizer to incorporate in Britain and thus limit its exposure to higher U.S. corporate tax rates

Most recently, Walgreen Co., the drug store chain that promotes itself as "America's premier pharmacy," is considering a similar move with Swiss health and beauty retailer Alliance Boots.

Obama, speaking in shirt sleeves under a hot sun in a campaign rally atmosphere, sought to shame companies seeking such deals even though he mentioned none by name.

"You don't get to pick the tax rate you pay," Obama told a crowd of about 2,000. "Folks, if you are secretary or a construction worker you don't say, 'You know, I feel like paying a little less so let me do that.' You don't get a chance to do that. These companies shouldn't either."

He added: "You shouldn't get to call yourself an American company only when you want a handout from American taxpayers."

The speech came at the end of a three-day West Coast fundraising tour. Obama employed many of the same partisan themes in his speech at the college that he did exhorting donors to help the Democratic Party.

"What really is going on is the Republicans in Congress are directly blocking policies that would help millions of Americans," he said.

The Obama administration began to ramp up attention to inversion transactions last week with a letter from Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew to House and Senate leaders. Lew said such deals "hollow out the U.S. corporate income tax base."

Obama is calling on Congress to enact legislation that is retroactive to May, arguing that will stop companies from rushing into deals to avoid the law.

Senate Democrats picked up the call this week, with Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Democratic leader, sending a letter to Walgreen President and CEO Gregory Wasson urging him and his board to reconsider the overseas deal.

"I believe you will find that your customers are deeply patriotic and will not support Walgreen's decision to turn its back on the United States," Durbin wrote.

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid weighed in with a floor speech that called inversions a "corporate citizenship scam."

Walgreen's spokesman Michael Polzin said the company is evaluating where to take its partnership with Alliance Boots. "We will do what is in the best long-term interests of our customers, employees and shareholders," he said.

Under such inversion deals, U.S.-based, multinational companies can lower their tax bills in part by combining with a foreign company and reorganizing in a country with a lower tax rate. The United States has a 35 percent income tax rate, the highest in the industrialized world, and unlike many other countries it also taxes income earned overseas and then brought home.

Under current law, shareholders of a U.S. company that merged with an offshore entity would have to own less than 80 percent of the combined entity to take advantage of a lower foreign tax rate. Obama's budget proposes slashing that cutoff to 50 percent and making the restriction retroactive to last May.

Republicans such as Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah say the U.S. first must change its policy of taxing income earned abroad. But in a hearing this week, Hatch also said he was open to addressing the issue directly provided it was not retroactive and did not generate additional revenue.

"Ultimately, the best way to solve this problem will be to reform our corporate and international tax system in a manner that will make our multinationals competitive against their foreign counterparts," he said.

Administration officials estimate the deals, if allowed to continue, will cost the U.S. Treasury $17 billion in lost revenue over the next decade.

The “80/20 Rule” Is Saving Americans a Lot of Money. But What Exactly Is It?

Chances are you’ve heard of the Affordable Care Act – President Obama’s landmark health reform law that’s holding insurance companies accountable, lowering health care costs, giving Americans more freedom and control in their health care choices, and improving the quality of care.

One part of the act that you may not be as familiar with, however, is the “80/20 rule” – also known as the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) rule – which went into effect in 2011.

The rule generally requires health insurance companies in the individual and small group markets to spend at least 80% of the premium dollars they collect on medical care or activities to improve health care quality. And that increases to 85% for insurance companies in the large group market.

Today, the Department of Health and Human Services released some new numbers showing just how much this rule has saved consumers over the last few years.

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Wednesday Sports In Brief

PLA D'ADET, France -- Poland's Rafal Majka led a late breakaway on the last of four tough climbs in the Pyrenees to win the 17th stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday, as Vincenzo Nibali took another step toward overall victory.

Nibali, who has earned the yellow jersey in every stage but two this year, made his latest case to take it home to Sicily and become the first Italian to win cycling's showcase race in 16 years. He finished third and gained valuable seconds on four of his closest rivals.

Majka tapped his chest, thrust his arms skyward, and shouted in joy after giving his Tinkoff Saxo-Bank squad its second straight stage victory after Tuesday's win by Australian Michael Rogers.

Wednesday's 77-mile trek was the shortest stage in this year's Tour, and the second of three days in the mountains along France's border with Spain.

Italy's Giovanni Visconti, whose solo breakaway with about 5-1/2 miles left failed to hold off Majka, was second, 29 seconds back. Nibali was third, 46 seconds behind.

BASEBALL

CHICAGO (AP) — San Diego Padres outfielder Cameron Maybin was suspended 25 games by Major League Baseball on Wednesday for testing positive for an amphetamine.

Maybin said in a statement released by the Major League Baseball Players Association the failed test was the result of a change in the medication he was using to treat Attention Deficit Disorder.

Under the drug agreement between MLB and its players' union, 25 games is the penalty for a second positive amphetamine test. A first positive results only in six unannounced follow-up tests over the next year.

The 27-year-old Maybin was batting .247 with one home run and nine RBIs in 62 games this season.

WNBA

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Stars veteran guard Becky Hammon said Wednesday that she will retire at the end of the season, her 16th in the WNBA.

The team announced her decision Wednesday.

Hammon is the Stars' career leader in assists, points per game, and 3-pointers made. The 37-year-old Hammon is a six-time All-Star who ranks seventh in WNBA history in points (5,756), second in three-point field goals made (817), fourth in assists (1,663), sixth in games played (440) and first in free-throw percentage (89.6 percent, minimum 300 attempts).

Hammon said she'd like to go into coaching or television. She spent some time this past winter, while rehabbing a knee injury, with the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs and coach Gregg Popovich.

The former Colorado State star signed with the New York Liberty after going unpicked in the 1999 WNBA Draft. She helped guide New York to six playoff appearances. She reached the finals with San Antonio in 2008.

TENNIS

ATLANTA (AP) — Fourth-seeded Vasek Pospisil of Canada advanced to the Atlanta Open quarterfinals, beating Ukrainian qualifier Illya Marchenko 7-5, 6-3 on Wednesday.

In other second-round matches, Slovakia's Lukas Lacko beat sixth-seeded Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 5-7, 6-1, 6-4; Israel's Dudi Sela topped ninth-seeded Sam Querrey of the United States 6-2, 6-4; and American Jack Sock beat New Zealand's Michael Venus 6-4, 6-2. Seventh-seeded Yen-hsun Lu of Taiwan beat American Alex Kuznetsov 6-4, 6-4 in a first-round match.

Defending champion John Isner, the No. 1 seed, will open play Thursday against wild-card entry Robby Ginepri of Atlanta. Ginepri beat Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky on Tuesday.

South Africa's Kevin Anderson, the No. 2 seed who lost to Isner in the final last year, will start play on Thursday against qualifier Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands.

GSTAAD, Switzerland (AP) — Juan Monaco of Argentina beat third-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in the Swiss Open second round on Wednesday.

Monaco, who was a top-10 player in 2012, has won seven of his eight career titles on outdoor clay courts. He will play Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil, a two-time Gstaad champion, in the quarterfinals.

Bellucci won 6-4, 6-4 against fellow left-hander Federico Delbonis, the fifth-seeded Argentine.

Second-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain reached the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Switzerland's Yann Marti. Granollers next faces countryman Pablo Andujar, who beat Blaz Rola of Slovenia 6-3, 6-3.

Completing the first-round matches, wild card Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland beat qualifier Gianni Mina of France, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3).

FOOTBALL

NEW YORK (AP) — Hall of Fame football star Jim Brown — running out of time to retrieve his 1964 NFL championship ring — has sued a memorabilia dealer.

The 78-year-old Los Angeles resident filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Manhattan federal court against Lelands.com and Lelands Collectibles Inc.

The lawsuit seeks to halt the sale of the ring in an online auction that ends Friday. It also seeks unspecified damages over broadcast remarks that Lelands' founder, Joshua Evans, made about Brown.

Evans said Wednesday that Brown's claims "are entirely without merit and we intend to vigorously defend against them."

According to the lawsuit, the ring was stolen from Brown's Cleveland home in the late 1960s and the robbery was reported to police.

The lawsuit also accuses Evans of making statements in print and broadcast interviews in recent weeks that implied Brown has diminished mental capacity as a result of taking thousands of hits as a football player. On at least one broadcast, though, Evans could be heard describing Brown as the greatest football player of all time and saying Brown was aware that a family member had sold the ring in the 1990s.

The lawsuit said the ring is priceless to the former Cleveland Browns player. The highest bid was $58,948 Wednesday afternoon.

Evans said Lelands' position is the paperwork over the ownership of the ring is "indisputable" and anyone who bought it would get a 100 percent guarantee.

SOCCER

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Manchester United made an impressive debut under coach Louis van Gaal on Wednesday night, with Wayne Rooney scoring twice late in the first half of a 7-0 victory over the LA Galaxy.

Ashley Young and unsung defender Reece James scored two second-half goals apiece as United opened its summer tour with a surprisingly polished win over MLS' overmatched Galaxy in the Guinness International Champions Cup.

Danny Welbeck scored the first goal for Van Gaal, who has had limited work with his new club after leading the Netherlands to a third-place finish at the World Cup earlier this month. United still outclassed the Galaxy in the meeting of David Beckham's two former clubs.

Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera also made their United debuts at the Rose Bowl.

OLYMPICS

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Leaders from the four U.S. cities in the running to bid for the 2024 Summer Games will meet with U.S. Olympic Committee leadership Friday in the first gathering to include representatives from all the major interested parties.

The USOC has asked teams from Los Angeles, Boston, Washington and San Francisco to send up to four people each for what it is billing as a low-key informative session about the finances and other details about bidding for the Olympics.

USOC CEO Scott Blackmun told The Associated Press the list of representatives was still being completed as of Wednesday. Though the USOC wasn't gearing this toward city and state leaders, Blackmun said all the cities were welcome to bring whoever they wanted.

Hermes names new womenswear designer

PARIS -- French luxury powerhouse Hermes has named Nadege Vanhee-Cybulski as its new womenswear designer.

The low-profile, 36-year-old French designer will replace Christophe Lemaire, whose departure was announced earlier this week and who will take his final bow in October.

Though Vanhee-Cybulski is not a big name, she was previously women's design director at Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen's The Row, and has worked in important behind-the-scenes roles at Martin Margiela and Celine in Paris.

She said Thursday in a statement she was "overjoyed to join the Hermes house, which I admire and share all my values with."

Hermes head Axel Dumas, meanwhile, sang her praises, saying that "her talent and creative process will be assets in developing female ready-to-wear."

Vanhee-Cybulski will show her first collection in March 2015.