Global Investing Roundups

ConocoPhillips Pumps Profit; Pepsi Sales Improve; Amazon Profit Doubles; Oil Continues to Slide; Northwest's Almost Profit; Beige Book's Got the Blues; China's Google Scores on Olympic Traffic; Chrysler Cuts Jobs

  • ConocoPhillips' (COP) second-quarter profit climbed 13% on the back of record high oil prices. Net income rose to $5.44 billion, or $3.50 a share, for the April-June period, from $301 million, or 18 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue increased to $71.4 billion from $47.4 billion a year ago, when the company incurred a $4.5 billion charge related to its former assets in Venezuela.

  • PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) reported strong second-quarter operating results yesterday (Wednesday), with 14% net revenue and 12% operating profit growth. The company delivered earnings per share of $1.05. PepsiCo expects full-year 2008 performance of 3%-5% volume growth, low-double-digit net revenue growth and earnings per share of at least $3.72 excluding the impact of any mark- to-market gains/losses.

  • Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) says its second-quarter profit more than doubled to $158 million, or 37 cents per share, from $78 million, or 19 cents per share, last year. The company's revenue climbed 41 percent to $4.06 billion.

  • Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) reported a $377 million loss in the second-quarter based on a $547 million non-cash accounting charge. The airline would have posted a $170 million profit without the charge, Forbes reported. Northwest's loss of $1.43 per share was also helped by a $250 million fuel hedge gain.

  • China's largest search engine, Baidu.com Inc. (ADR: BIDU), announced yesterday (Wednesday) that second-quarter profit increased 87% on high Internet traffic leading up to the Beijing Olympic Games.  Beijing-based Baidu posted profit of $38.6 million (265 million yuan) for the three months ended June 30, compared with $20.8 million (141.9 million yuan) in the same period the year prior, Reuters reported.