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A suicide bomber killed the Pakistani army’s top medical officer and seven others in the city of Rawalpindi on Monday in the first bomb attack outside the violence-plagued northwest since last week’s elections.

The chief of the army’s medical corps, Lieutenant-General Mushtaq Ahmed Baig, was the most senior military officer killed by militants to date.

He died with two of his staff and five passers-by a week after largely peaceful parliamentary elections raised hopes that a civilian government might be able to stem a rising tide of militant violence.

“The general was on his way home and his car was stopped at a traffic light. The bomber was on foot and blew himself up there,” said Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema.

He said the bomber was about 16 years old and also killed five civilians and wounded 12 others.

The Pakistan military headquarters is in Rawalpindi, adjacent to the capital, Islamabad, and several major attacks on the military and security agencies have taken place there since the middle of last year.

Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and more than 20 of her supporters were killed in a gun and suicide bomb attack as she left a rally in the city on December 27.

Monday’s blast was outside an office of the government’s national data registration agency, on a main road crowded with mid-afternoon traffic. 

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WASHINGTON — The pharmaceutical industry’s main trade group spent more than $22 million lobbying the federal government last year, a 25 percent boost from the year before.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, whose members include Pfizer, Amgen Inc. and Eli Lilly & Co., spent about $12 million in the second half of 2007 to lobby on how prices are set for seniors’ medications, rules governing drug imports and other issues, according to lobbying disclosure records filed last week.

Proposals aimed at lowering drug prices and restricting industry advertising fell by the wayside in Congress. But the road ahead for the industry looks increasingly bumpy.

The drug industry, consistently one of the top spenders in Washington, has long faced criticism from some lawmakers over the safety and prices of its products. But since late in 2006, after the Democrats regained control of Congress, drug makers have faced a slew of proposals unfriendly to their interests.

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U.S., European and Canadian regulators have approved Thomson Corp.’s proposed takeover of U.K. financial information giant Reuters Group after the companies agreed to sell off copies of their broker-research databases, the firms announced Tuesday.

The companies said they would begin the process of gaining shareholder and court approval and aim to close the deal the week of April 13.

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Medco Health Solutions Inc (MHS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Tuesday, helped by sales of generic drugs, and the pharmacy benefit manager boosted its full-year profit forecast, sending its shares higher.

Medco, which derives more than half its profit from mail-order delivery of generic medicines, said its rosier outlook reflected confidence in its fundamentals, new business, and more generics becoming available sooner than anticipated.

Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which administer prescription drug benefits for employers and health plans and operate large mail-order pharmacies, have profited from the availability of low-cost generic versions of popular drugs.

Morgan Stanley analyst David Veal said in a research note, “Another quarter of solid growth, when coupled with higher guidance, affirm our positive view of the PBM industry and should offer relief for the high level of investor nervousness around the quarter.”

After a huge gain in 2007, Medco shares had fallen 3 percent this year through Friday’s close, compared with a 13 percent drop for rival Express Scripts Inc (ESRX.O: Quote, Profile, Research).

Medco shares rose $2.10, or 4 percent, to $51.08 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Express Scripts shares were up $3.17, or 5 percent, to $66.87.

Medco’s fourth-quarter net income fell 9 percent to $207.6 million, or 38 cents per share, from $228.8 million, or 39 cents per share, a year earlier.

The latest results were hurt by higher-than-expected costs tied to new clients and expenses related to two acquisitions. The year-earlier earnings were boosted by the temporary availability of a generic version of a popular blood thinner. 

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73

Percentage of U.S. adults who say they are very or somewhat likely to reduce their overall debt level in 2008, according to an Experian/Gallup poll

49

Percentage who say they plan to cut back on entertainment outlays

58

Percentage of U.S. adults who say they are unlikely to read a book about, or take a course on, personal finance

56

Percentage who say they are unlikely to reduce the number of credit cards they have

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NEW YORK — Stocks rose for a third day Wednesday, the longest stretch of gains this year, after increased demand at Applied Materials Inc. spurred a technology rally and energy shares rose.

Applied Materials, the largest maker of semiconductor-production machines, climbed the most in five years and helped push the Nasdaq composite index to its best gain since November. Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips led oil shares higher after the Commerce Department said rising prices at filling stations spurred an unexpected increase in retail sales last month.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 18.35 points, or 1.4 percent, to 1,367.21, its biggest gain in two weeks. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 178.83, or 1.5 percent, to 12,552.24. The Nasdaq increased 53.89, or 2.3 percent, to 2,373.93.

The gain in retail sales defied economists’ forecasts for a drop in purchases. Excluding financial companies, profits have risen 18 percent for S&P 500 members that have reported fourth-quarter results so far.
Applied Materials climbed $1.84, or 10 percent, to $19.91. The company said orders for machines that make flat screens will rise as much as 5 percent this quarter, exceeding estimates.

Network Appliance Inc., the maker of data-storage computers for Oracle Corp. and the U.S. Army, added $1.51, or 7 percent, to $23.04.

Exxon, the largest U.S. crude producer, rallied $1.11 to $85.49. ConocoPhillips, the third-biggest, jumped $2.25 to $78.65. Energy companies in the S&P 500 advanced 2.3 percent as oil for March delivery rose 49 cents to $93.27 a barrel in New York.

Filling station sales increased 2 percent in January after remaining unchanged the previous month, the Commerce Department said. Total retail sales advanced 0.3 percent, compared with economists’ forecast for a drop of 0.3 percent.

Target Corp., the second-largest U.S. discount chain, climbed 60 cents to $54.51. Gap Inc. rose 12 cents to $20.06.

Genentech Inc. rallied 93 cents to $70.85. The largest U.S. maker of anti-cancer drugs said its Avastin treatment helped slow the spread of breast tumors in a clinical trial.

Technology shares also gained after the Wall Street Journal reported Yahoo! Inc., seeking to thwart Microsoft Corp.’s $44.6 billion takeover bid, is in talks about a combination with News Corp.’s Internet assets instead.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. would get a stake in Yahoo that could be more than 20 percent, the newspaper said on its website. Yahoo added 31 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $29.88. News Corp. Class A shares slid 12 cents to $19.25 and Microsoft added 62 cents to $28.96.

Rockwell Automation Inc., increased $3.34, or 6 percent, to $58.92.

Qwest Communications International Inc. rallied 39 cents, or 7.4 percent, to $5.67.

Deere & Co. fell 94 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $85.54.

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Economic slowdown in the United States will be significant and will last for some time, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Monday, calling for a coordinated response to financial turmoil around the world.

While it was unclear how long the crisis facing international banks over subprime losses would last, complex financial links between regions may mean emerging economies could also be hit if the situation worsened, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in a speech.

Uncertainties facing markets and policymakers included a possible worsening of the U.S. housing market, which would hurt consumption, and any more disclosures from European banks on losses resulting from the market turbulence.

“The problem is today we have unknown unknowns,” he said at the start of a three-day visit to India.

Last month, the IMF cut its forecast for world growth this year in the face of continued stress in global credit markets, and warned that economic activity could slow even further.

The IMF chief said the main reasons for the revision were the weak growth outlook in the United States and Europe.

The Fund lowered its global 2008 growth projection to 4.1 percent from 4.4 percent, reflecting a marked slowdown from the 4.9 percent pace achieved last year.

Slowing of the U.S. economy has worried investors and policymakers and concerns have also surfaced that the U.S. downturn is spreading to the 15-nation euro-zone economy. 

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Aldi, the German discount grocery chain, has chosen St. Louis as the test market for a price-cutting program aimed at bringing in new customers in a weakening economy.

Under the pilot program, Aldi will lower prices on more than 100 commonly purchased items at all 38 St. Louis area stores over a nine-week period. Customers can expect to see prices lowered from 12 percent to 27 percent on a range of items from macaroni to chicken breasts, the company said.

Costs will be cut on about 10 items in the first week, starting Sunday.

This is the first time that Aldi has launched a broad price-cutting program, and if it is successful, it will implement similar tests in other areas of the United States, the company said. The company defined success as increasing sales of the items and attracting shoppers.

St. Louis was chosen for the initial test because it is a highly competitive grocery market, said Paul Piorkowski, division vice president.

"It’s a leading indicator market for us," he said, adding that if the program is successful, it could lead to permanent price changes.

The price reductions are intended to increase store traffic and reward loyal customers, Piorkowski said.

"With the way inflation is pushing hard on our customers, we believe they will appreciate what we’re doing," he said.

Although St. Louis area supermarket chains have previously lowered prices out of concern over Wal-Mart’s expansion into this area, Piorkowski said that was not the reason for the Aldi action.

"We are ready to compete against Wal-Mart Supercenters, but we are not doing this in response to Wal-Mart," he said.

Aldi, which focuses heavily on its own private label, entered the U.S. market in 1976 and has almost 900 stores in 27 states.

gappleson@post-dispatch.com

314-340-8331

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Chrysler LLC plans to close four assembly plants temporarily and shut down one shift at another due to the bankruptcy protection filing of parts supplier Plastech Engineered Products Inc., company officials said Monday.

About 10,500 Chrysler employees will be affected by the plant closures and shift shutdown, spokesman Kevin Frazier said.

The affected plants are in Sterling Heights; Newark, Del.; Toledo, Ohio; and the Belvidere plant near Rockford, Ill.

The second shift at Toledo Supplier Park in Toledo will be dismissed, the automaker said in a statement Monday.

Dearborn-based Plastech filed for bankruptcy protection last week. The company supplies Chrysler with a number of plastic components for vehicle interiors, exteriors and powertrain, Frazier said.

Chrysler is looking at other potential suppliers to fill the gap, he said.

Plastech is a supplier to both of Chrysler’s assembly facilities in Fenton, but spokeswoman Michele Tinson could not say whether or not there would be any impact on production at those facilities.

Frazier said Chrysler terminated its contracts with Plastech on Friday.

A message seeking comment from a Plastech spokesman was left Monday morning.

Plastech has 36 facilities and 7,600 employees in the United States and Canada.

It makes engine covers, grill panels, moldings, metal stampings, door panels, floor consoles and safety restraint system components for Chrysler, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Co., according to the company’s website.

Ford is not planning any plant closures or shut downs related to Plastech, Ford spokesman Todd Nissen said.

"We are working with Plastech to ensure there is an adequate supply of parts to our facilities," Nissen said. "We have not experienced any production losses, but we are continuing to closely monitor the situation."

Chrysler said plant officials will notify employees when to return to work. Skilled trades and janitorial services personnel will be notified of their schedules by their respective plants, while other employees should not report to work unless notified directly by their management, Chrysler said.

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Merck & Co. posted a $1.63 billion fourth-quarter loss Wednesday as a whopping charge for its Vioxx litigation settlement dragged down results.

The maker of allergy and asthma pill Singulair and osteoporosis treatment Fosamax said the net loss amounted to 75 cents per share, compared with a year-ago profit of 22 cents, or $473.9 million.

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