AP - Southwest Airlines Co. earned a profit in the second quarter and beat Wall Street expectations by continuing to rely on financial deals that lowered its fuel costs.

AP - Regional bank National City Corp. on Thursday reported a $1.76 billion loss for the second quarter, as mortgage loans soured and it took a big charge related to previous acquisitions.

AP - Stocks skidded lower Thursday after a steeper-than-expected decline in existing home sales wiped away some of the market's optimism about upbeat earnings reports. The major indexes fell more than 1 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which fell more than 200 points.

AP - Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. managed to turn a profit in the most recent quarter — despite fears that rising costs for ingredients and fuel would cut into The King Of Beers' bottom line.

AP - Yahoo Inc. shares moved higher Wednesday but ultimately lost ground, a day after the company reported a drop in earnings and missed Wall Street's forecasts.

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 - 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.

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.