Also. . .
* A politically influential banker who fled Mexico after being accused in a $700-million bank fraud has been captured in Melbourne, Australia, the Mexican attorney general’s office said. Carlos Cabal Peniche, 45, considered Mexico’s most wanted fugitive, rose from obscurity to the top levels of Mexico’s business world, hobnobbing with presidents and governors in the early 1990s and winning control of two formerly state-owned banks, Banco Union and Banca Cremi. But regulators seized his two banks in 1994 and accused him of misappropriating $700 million. He fled Mexico just hours after the warrants were issued.
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* Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said third-quarter profit rose 27% to $1.01 billion, or 45 cents a share, 2 cents better than estimates, as revenue jumped 16% to $33.51 billion. The world’s largest retailer also squeezed more money from sales by demanding reduced costs from suppliers. Sales at stores open at least a year grew 8.5%.
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* CompUSA Inc. said its fiscal first-quarter profit dropped 65% to $8.14 million, or 9 cents a share, citing lower prices and sluggish sales to businesses, which it warned will hurt sales next quarter. Analysts expected 7 cents. The PC retailer’s sales rose 17% to $1.39 billion, but sales at stores open at least a year fell 1.7%.
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* Healthy-heart claims could be added to the labels of foods containing soy protein under a new regulation proposed by the Food and Drug Administration. Under the FDA proposal, to be taken up next year, foods containing at least 6.25 grams of soy protein per serving could carry labels claiming the heart benefit.
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* Seagram Co. said it will restructure its wine and liquor business by moving its top management to New York, in a reaffirmation of its commitment to the businesses that make such well-known brands as Chivas Regal Scotch and Martell cognac.
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* The cost of dealing with the “millennium bug” in Europe and the United States has jumped 20% in the last six months, and some organizations may not finish their work in time, a study by European computer consultants Cap Gemini found.
