Business Highlights

The car maker's quarterly sales soared nearly 60 percent to 5.5 trillion yen ($70.5 billion), rebounding from a sales crash that all Japanese automakers suffered after the earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan in March last year.

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Procter & Gamble 4th quarter up on snack sale

NEW YORK (AP) ⿿ Procter & Gamble Co. said Friday that its net income climbed 45 percent in its fiscal fourth quarter, boosted by the sale of its snacks division. Even without the impact of the sale, its earnings beat Wall Street expectations and the company said it was making progress with its cost cutting plan and strategy to improve results by focusing on its most profitable categories.

The maker of Tide detergent, Crest toothpaste and other consumer goods also said Friday that it plans to buy back $4 billion in shares this fiscal year. That's a reversal from June, when the company said it did not plan any share repurchases.

P&G has admitted missteps in pricing and balancing growth in emerging markets, which make up about 30 percent of its sales, with the realities of an uncertain global economy and lackluster market share growth.

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Viacom 3Q profit down 7 percent on TV ad decline

NEW YORK (AP) ⿿ Viacom Inc., the owner of Paramount Pictures, MTV and Nickelodeon, on Friday said that its net income fell 7 percent in the latest quarter as advertising revenue declined more than expected and its movie releases failed to measure up to last year's.

Viacom earned $534 million, or $1.01 per share, in the April to June quarter. That compares with $574 million, or 97 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Excluding some one-time tax benefits, earnings were 97 cents per share in the fiscal third quarter. That was 3 cents below the average analyst estimate as polled by FactSet.

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