Panasonic warns of $4.2 billion loss, to cut 15,000 jobs

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Panasonic Corp <6752.T>, the world's No.1 plasma TV maker, warned it would post an annual loss of $4.2 billion and said it would cut about 15,000 jobs as it grapples with a stronger yen and slowing demand. The maker of Viera flat TVs and Lumix digital cameras joins a growing list of electronics makers stepping up restructuring in the face of a global slump that is shaping up to be nastier than the last major downturn in 2001 after the IT bubble.

Stock index futures up; eyes on earnings, data

(Reuters) - Dow Jones futures up 0.6 percent at 1010 GMT, S&P 500 futures up 0.7 percent, Nasdaq futures up 0.1 percent, pointing to a second day of gains for U.S. stocks. S&P 500 <.SPX> companies due to report quarterly earnings include technology bellwether Cisco Systems <CSCO.O>, food and personal care products maker Sara Lee <SLE.N>, fashion group Ralph Lauren <RL.N>, food maker Kraft Foods <KFT.N>, cigarette maker Philip Morris <PM.N>, life insurer Prudential <PRU.N> and media group Time Warner <TWX.N>.

Costco sees weak second-quarter; January sales fall

(Reuters) - Costco Wholesale Corp <COST.O> said it expects second-quarter earnings to be below analyst expectations as it reported a 2 percent fall in monthly sales at stores open at least a year, hurt mainly by lower gasoline prices and foreign exchange. The warehouse club operator, which will report second-quarter results on March 4, also said it would not provide an earnings forecast for the rest of this fiscal year due to economic uncertainties.

AT&T seeks Verizon Wireless assets: report

(Reuters) - AT&T Inc <T.N> is among the bidders for Verizon Wireless' roughly $3 billion in wireless assets the latter must divest as part of its purchase of Alltel Corp, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. Others include a joint bid from private-equity firms Carlyle Group <CYL.UL> and Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts & Co and a separate bid from Providence Equity Partners LLC, the Journal said.

Ticketmaster, Live Nation in merger talks

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc <TKTM.O> and Live Nation Inc <LYV.N> may unveil a merger as soon as this week, creating a music industry powerhouse with a combined market value of over $700 million, a source briefed on the talks told Reuters on Tuesday. If the deal goes ahead, the marriage of the world's biggest concert promoter and the leading ticketing and artist-management company will create a dominant force in the industry with ties to more than 200 artists such as the Eagles, Miley Cyrus, Christina Aguilera, Madonna and Jay-Z.

Mazda, Mitsubishi warn of loss on sales slump, yen

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Mazda Motor Corp <7261.T> and Mitsubishi Motors Corp <7211.T> warned on Wednesday they would lose money this year as they build fewer cars in view of tumbling demand, joining a growing list of automakers awash in red ink. The revisions had been expected after bigger rivals Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> and Honda Motor Co <7267.T> slashed their forecasts in the past few weeks, also citing pressure from the yen's steep rise.

Roche sees slower growth but confident on Genentech

BASEL, Switzerland (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche AG sounded a wary note about 2009 after its results missed forecasts on Wednesday, but said it was confident its hostile $42 billion bid for Genentech would succeed. Roche sees growth slowing this year after its 2008 profit fell 5 percent to 10.8 billion Swiss francs ($9.30 billion), hurt by a decline in sales of its pandemic influenza drug Tamiflu and the strong Swiss franc, pressuring its stock on Wednesday.

Disney results miss estimates, shares fall

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co <DIS.N> reported a sharply lower-than-expected quarterly profit as the global downturn hurt its TV advertising, DVD sales and theme parks, and its shares fell more than 7 percent. The performance by Disney, the first of the major U.S. media companies to report quarterly results this season, bode ill for Time Warner <TWX.N> and News Corp <NWSa.O, which are also set to report this week.

Sharp expected to post first operating loss: report

NEW YORK/TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Sharp Corp <6753.T> is expected to post an annual operating loss of more than 10 billion yen ($112 million), its first ever full-year loss, due to slow sales and steep price falls, the Nikkei business daily said. But Sharp's shares price shrugged off the report and outperformed the broader market.

Citi to deploy $36.5 billion, stick with Mets

NEW YORK/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc <C.N> said it will use $36.5 billion in taxpayer bailout money to boost lending, while a source told Reuters the bank was not backing out of a controversial $400 million baseball stadium sponsorship deal with the New York Mets. Both the bank's announcement on its capital deployment plan and the political pressure it faces over the baseball deal reflect the U.S. government's increasing sway over Citigroup, which has been weakened by more than $80 billion in writedowns and credit losses.

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