AP - Consumers helped bring McDonald's Corp. back to profitability in the second quarter by spending on breakfast biscuits, new chicken sandwiches and drinks despite the tough economy in the U.S.

AP - Raising prices and streamlining its production lines helped Hershey to dramatically higher second-quarter sales and profit, the nation's largest candy maker said Wednesday, even as it absorbs spiraling commodity costs and puts new emphasis on marketing muscle.

Reuters - Boeing Co reported a bigger-than-expected 19 percent drop in quarterly profit on Wednesday as it took a charge on a delayed military plane contract and suffered effects of its troubled 787 Dreamliner program.

AP - With Microsoft's $47.5 billion takeover bid off the table and his company's stock price down 20 percent during his 13-month reign as Yahoo's CEO, Jerry Yang has a message for his exasperated shareholders: Things aren't as bleak as they look.

AP - American consumers shying away from bottled water and soft drinks hurt PepsiCo's bottom line, but growth in its international and Frito-Lay snack businesses was strong enough to lead the company to a 9 percent rise in second-quarter profit.

AP - Record crude prices helped oil giant ConocoPhillips' second-quarter profit climb 13 percent from adjusted results a year ago, beginning what is expected to be a string of robust earnings announcements from major oil companies.

Reuters - Construction and mining equipment company Caterpillar Inc said on Tuesday that its quarterly earnings rose a surprising 34 percent as strong sales in the developing world offset continued weakness in North America and creeping softness in Western Europe and Japan.