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Pfizer Inc. said Tuesday its fourth-quarter profit nearly quadrupled from a year ago when it was weighed down by restructuring charges, as revenue rose 6 percent, thanks to the addition of products from fellow drugmaker Wyeth, acquired late in 2009.

The results narrowly beat Wall Street expectations. Pfizer also approved a $5 billion stock buyback plan and said it was cutting spending on research and development.

Pfizer, the world’s biggest drugmaker by revenue, said its net income was $2.89 billion, or 36 cents per share, compared with $767 million, or 10 cents per share, a year earlier.

Adjusted net income was $3.77 billion, or 47 cents per share, down 1 percent from $3.83 billion a year earlier.

Numerous one-time items brought a total gain of 11 cents per share. Those include $910 million in restructuring and other costs related to integrating Wyeth, $1.18 billion in write-offs of intangible assets acquired from Wyeth, $860 million in legal costs, and a gain of about $2 billion from an IRS tax settlement related to audits covering the years 2002 through 2005.

Revenue totaled $17.56 billion, up from $16.54 billion in 2009’s fourth quarter.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected earnings per share of 46 cents and revenue of $16.99 billion.

The maker of cholesterol blockbuster Lipitor and impotence pill Viagra reported a 3 percent increase in sales of its prescription drugs, to $15.05 billion. Sales of veterinary medicines rose 8 percent, to $976 million, while the smaller consumer healthcare and nutrition businesses posted larger jumps, due to the addition of those Wyeth businesses.

Pfizer bought Wyeth for $68 billion in October 2009, but only recorded its revenue for part of that quarter.

Pfizer gave its first 2011 financial forecast, saying it expects earnings per share of $2.16 to $2.26, excluding just over $1 in one-time items. It expects revenue of $66 billion to $68 billion.

Analysts forecast earnings per share of $2.30 and revenue of $66.55 billion, on average.

Pfizer reduced its prior revenue forecast for 2012 _ key Lipitor, the world’s top-selling drug at $12.5 billion a year, loses patent protection at the end of November _ to $63 billion to $65.5 billion. That’s down from $65.2 billion to $67.7 billion. But because it expects to reduce 2012 research spending by $1.5 billion, to about $8.25 billion, it still expects earnings per share of $2.25 to $2.35, excluding about 65 cents worth of one-time items.

For 2012, analysts forecast a profit of $2.22 per share and revenue of $62.72 billion.

“I am pleased with our solid financial performance again this quarter and this year despite continued challenging market conditions,” new CEO Ian Read said in a statement.

Read took over after Pfizer’s board unexpectedly pushed out CEO Jeffrey Kindler on Dec. 6, apparently due to the poor performance of Pfizer’s stock and other issues during his 4 1/2-year tenure.

Pfizer has been stung by a series of promising experimental drugs failing in late-stage testing over the last couple years.

U.S. revenue fell 3 percent, to $7.24 billion, while international revenue jumped 13 percent, to $10.32 billion. The international revenue was reduced by 1 percent due to unfavorable currency exchange rates.

The company said it is still on track to cut annual spending by $4 billion to $5 billion by the end of 2012, compared with 2008 levels, as it continues to shed thousands of jobs and close numerous factories and research sites since buying Wyeth. Pfizer said it met its target of more than $2 billion of those cuts in 2010.

For all of 2010, Pfizer reported a 4 percent decline in net income, to $8.26 billion, or $1.02 per share. Revenue totaled $67.81 billion, up 36 percent, thanks to $18.1 billion from sales of Wyeth products.

In morning trading, Pfizer shares rallied by 2.5 percent, or 46 cents, to $18.68, making them the top gainer on the Dow Jones industrial average.

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The International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for Ireland’s economic growth today in a report that called for the country to reduce its budget deficit and overhaul its banking sector to recover from financial crisis.

The Washington-based fund said it expects Ireland’s economy to grow 0.9 percent in 2011, down from 2.3 percent estimated by the fund in October. The IMF also forecast 1.9 percent growth in 2012, in a staff report accompanying its agreement to contribute 22.5 billion euros ($30 billion) to an 85 billion-euro rescue effort with European authorities.

“Even this modest recovery is subject to downside risks,” the IMF said, predicting that unemployment would stay above 10 percent through 2015. “The large fiscal adjustment will remain a drag on consumption, as will the unwinding of home-grown imbalances from the boom years — leading to weak credit growth, continued weakness in property prices and wages, and high real debt burdens.”

Ireland’s financial woes pose “significant” spillover risks that could affect Greece, Portugal, Spain and other euro- area economies, the Washington-based fund said. Financial contagion also could affect banks from countries including the U.K., Germany, France and the U.S. that have large portfolio investments in Ireland, the IMF said.

Bond Yield

The yield on Irish 10-year bond rose to 8.59 percent, the highest since Dec. 2, while credit-default swaps insuring Irish debt climbed for a third day, their longest run of gains this month. Ireland’s credit rating was cut five levels by Moody’s Investors Service earlier today and further downgrades are possible as the government struggles to contain losses in the country’s banking system.

European Union leaders grappled this week with how to fix the current crisis and prevent future debt shocks in Brussels talks. German officials, driven by public outcry against propping up fiscally reckless countries, have resisted enlarging a 750 billion euro emergency fund or developing joint bond sales.

There are “significant risks” that could affect Ireland’s ability to pay back the loan, meaning the IMF is taking on “substantial risk,” according to a Dec. 8 document included in today’s release says. The IMF’s board approved the rescue funds yesterday after Ireland’s parliament approved the bailout, and IMF spokeswoman Caroline Atkinson said the fund retained enough liquidity “to meet any needs” that may arise bad credit payday advance.

General Election

The IMF said today that Ireland’s upcoming general election is a risk to the rescue program, along with economic uncertainty and the “unprecedented” budget cuts needed. The fund said the main opposition parties have indicated “broad support” for the rescue program’s objectives of cutting the budget and stabilizing the banks while also wanting to revisit some of the specific policies.

Ireland has pledged to shrink its financial sector and increase banks’ ability to withstand economic stresses as a condition of receiving aid. Irish banks are slated to undergo new stress testing in the first half of 2011, starting with the six biggest banks followed by credit unions and subsidiaries of foreign banks.

The Irish banking sector remains vulnerable to “constant funding concerns” and loans to the Irish property market, the IMF said in today’s report. Another factor is the government’s costs in managing Anglo-Irish Bank, which was nationalized two years ago and has “sucked in ever-increasing public funds,” the IMF said.

Subordinated Debt

Ireland plans to require holders of subordinated debt to share in the banking system’s losses. At this time there are no plans to require losses from senior bondholders, and the IMF concurs with that decision, said Ajai Chopra, deputy director of the IMF’s European Department, on a conference call with reporters today.

Exports will continue to lead Ireland’s recovery, the fund said. Government budget cuts will hamper growth, and “subdued” inflation will help competitiveness and also act as a “short- term drag” on the recovery, the IMF said.

Ireland’s ratio of debt to gross domestic product is expected to reach 99 percent by the end of 2010, up from 25 percent in 2007 at the onset of the financial crisis, the IMF said. Debt is expected to peak at 125 percent of GDP in 2013, and it could go higher if the shocks to Ireland’s economy become permanent, the fund said.

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The Swiss central bank may keep borrowing costs near zero tomorrow in a bid to keep a lid on the franc after Europe’s debt crisis pushed the currency to a record, threatening the country’s recovery.

The Swiss National Bank, led by Philipp Hildebrand, will leave the three-month Libor target rate at 0.25 percent, according to all 19 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The Zurich-based central bank will announce its decision at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow followed by a press conference 30 minutes later.

The Swiss franc has appreciated 16 percent against the euro this year as investors became more concerned about the ability of European governments to contain the fiscal crisis and prevent a breakup of the 16-member region. While the SNB in June stopped intervening in currency markets, a stronger franc may undermine the country’s export-led recovery and increase deflation risks.

“The Swiss central bank is definitely mindful of the euro- area crisis,” said David Kohl, deputy chief economist at Julius Baer Group in Frankfurt, who expects the SNB to keep borrowing costs on hold until June 2011. “They will refrain from anything which could push up the franc. It will be a quiet meeting.”

The Swiss currency climbed to a record 1.2759 against the euro today and traded at 1.2778 at 10:25 a.m. in Zurich.

‘Resilient’ Exports

The Swiss government yesterday forecast economic growth to weaken to 1.5 percent next year from an estimated 2.7 percent in 2010, citing Europe’s debt crisis and a strengthening franc among the risks. The SNB, which in September projected the economy to grow about 2.5 percent this year, tomorrow will also release its 2011 economic estimate.

While the SNB in June phased out its 15-month policy of countering franc gains through purchases of foreign currencies, Hildebrand said on Nov. 23 that the central bank is ready “to take exceptionally far-reaching measures” if needed payday loans no faxing.

With governments from Ireland to Spain struggling to reduce their budget deficits, the euro has plunged 5.2 percent against the franc this year. That’s making Swiss exports from Swatch Group AG watches to ABB Ltd. turbochargers less competitive in the region buying two thirds of all goods.

“Swiss exports have so far been surprisingly resilient to the strength of the currency,” said Eoin O’Callaghan, an economist at BNP Paribas SA in London. Still, “it’s too early to sound the all-clear. The sector remains vulnerable to additional appreciation.”

‘Dominant Issue’

Switzerland’s recovery is already cooling. Growth weakened in the third quarter, leading economic indicators fell to the lowest level in seven months in November, and investor confidence declined. Consumer prices rose 0.2 percent in November from a year earlier partly as a stronger franc lowered costs of imports such as heating oil.

The SNB in September forecast inflation to average 0.7 percent this year and 0.3 percent in 2011 before accelerating to 1.2 percent in 2012. The central bank, which aims to keep annual gains in consumer prices below 2 percent, has said that inflation may “temporarily” turn negative in early 2011.

Dirk Schumacher, an economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in Frankfurt, says that while he considers the SNB’s inflation forecasts too low, he doesn’t expect the central bank to raise projections as policy makers keep the benchmark rate on hold.

“The euro-region crisis remains the dominant issue at the moment,” Schumacher said. “The SNB is well aware that the consequences for the Swiss economy, through the exchange rate, could be quite dramatic if the situation got a lot worse.”

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The 24-hour global news and current affairs channel Al-Jazeera English has been given a downlinking license to broadcast in India.

Al-Jazeera English’s Managing Director Al Anstey says this means cable and satellite companies in India will be able to add the Qatar-based channel to their lineup.

Anstey said in a statement that the channel, which applied for a license four years ago, already has a bureau in New Delhi.

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Japanese politicians need to find ways to boost economic growth and can’t count on legislation that would reduce the Bank of Japan’s independence to cure deflation, a ruling Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker said.

“We can’t expect Japan’s economy to overcome its difficulties just because the law is revised — the issues aren’t so simple,” Shinichiro Furumoto, 45, chairman of the DPJ’s fiscal and finance policy panel, said in an interview on Nov. 26 in Tokyo. “Just implementing quantitative easing and churning out yen won’t spur demand.”

Some ruling and opposition lawmakers want to revise the BOJ law to force the central bank to adopt an inflation target to help conquer more than a decade of falling prices. Furumoto’s comments signal DPJ lawmakers calling for the change may have difficulty convincing party members that shape economic policy.

Discussions on how much influence the government should have over monetary policy must be conducted “carefully” and people need to take into account that the central bank’s independence is guaranteed under the current law, said Furumoto, whose panel is in charge of making fiscal-policy recommendations to the government.

Some 150 DPJ lawmakers, who call themselves the anti- deflation league, said last week the BOJ should adopt an inflation target to eradicate price declines and bolster employment. Opposition group Your Party this month submitted a bill to the diet calling for a revision to the law.

Tax Incentives

The government needs to boost personal consumption through subsidies and tax incentives that are similar to recent stimulus programs that have promoted purchases of energy-efficient cars and electronic goods, Furumoto said.

The DPJ lawmaker said bolstering consumption “will create the demand for money” and it is “only with such demand that the policy of printing money will become effective.”

BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said today that increasing growth expectations among companies and consumers and reviving demand are crucial in trying to overcome deflation.

Japanese companies have 164 trillion yen ($1.95 trillion) in cash on hand because they haven’t found attractive investment options, he said in a speech in Nagoya, central Japan.

The ruling party is considering increasing inheritance taxes while lowering gift levies to encourage older generations to pass on wealth to younger people who have more incentives to buy cars, houses and goods, Furumoto said.

Despite increased calls by politicians for a revision of the BOJ law, Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda haven’t openly discussed the need to overhaul the central bank’s policy goals.

Government Views

Furumoto, who has also served as a parliamentary secretary at the Finance Ministry, said government views on the economy have been reflected in BOJ policy because Kan and Noda have been in close contact with central bank officials.

“Some argue the BOJ is doing whatever it wants because it is protected by its independence,” Furumoto said. “But that would imply the prime minister and the finance minister haven’t played any role in policy, and I disagree with the view.”

Furumoto also said the BOJ is already adopting a price framework similar to inflation targeting, with its board members saying they consider price rises of around 1 percent as stable. The bank last month pledged to maintain a “virtually zero-rate policy” until an outlook emerges for sustained price increases.

Governments of countries such as the U.K. and New Zealand set inflation targets for central banks, and the banks decide themselves the policy steps needed to meet those goals. The Bank of England’s governor needs to write a letter of explanation to the Treasury if inflation fails to stay within the limits.

The 1998 Bank of Japan Law strengthened the bank’s independence by ending the government’s authority to dismiss the governor and deputy chiefs and its right over supervising BOJ operations. It states the bank should strive to achieve “price stability, thereby contributing to the sound development of the national economy.”

Furumoto said the law can be interpreted as making it part of the BOJ’s mandate to support employment even though it does not explicitly say so because policies to stabilize prices can also create jobs.

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China’s reserve-ratio increases for banks and threats of price controls on essential goods are likely to prove insufficient to tame inflation, and the central bank will have to raise interest rates further, economists said.

The People’s Bank of China yesterday ordered a 50 basis point increase in the amount of money that lenders must set aside, two days after the cabinet announced measures to tackle inflation. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

Stocks and oil fell on the central bank announcement, highlighting concern that Chinese efforts to cool the nation’s fastest rise in consumer prices in two years may cause growth to falter. Analysts at nine banks surveyed this week by Bloomberg News predicted the central bank will add to last month’s rate rise, the first since 2007, by year-end.

“Monetary policy is being tightened, as it should be, and a rate hike will follow sooner rather than later,” said Shen Jianguang, a Hong Kong-based economist at Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd. who formerly worked for the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank. The next move “inevitably” will be on rates, Shen said.

China’s benchmark stock index has had its biggest two-week decline since May amid concern that monetary tightening will hamper spending in the fastest-growing major economy. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and the MSCI World Index slipped after yesterday’s announcement. The Shanghai Composite Index earlier closed 0.8 percent higher, paring its weekly decline to 3.2 percent.

Wen’s Meeting

Concern that rising consumer prices will undermine the economy spurred Premier Wen Jiabao to hold a cabinet meeting on the issue this week. The measures contemplated by the State Council range from a crackdown on speculation in agricultural goods to the imposition of price caps on “daily necessities” if needed.

The meeting came amid concern at the threat increased food costs pose to the poorest people in the world’s most populous nation. More than 81 million people in disaster-affected areas may need food assistance from the government this winter, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on its website on Nov. 18.

At Societe Generale, Hong Kong-based economist Yao Wei said this week that China’s “old-fashioned price stabilization policies” will not be enough to reduce the case for monetary tightening. The possibility of “more interest-rate hikes by the year-end remains relatively high,” she said.

Controlling Lending

The increase in banks’ reserve requirements, effective Nov cash advance loans. 29, was the second announced in two weeks. The aim is to step up liquidity management and “appropriately control” credit and loans, the central bank said on its website.

China’s inflation rate reached 4.4 percent in October, exceeding economists’ forecasts. Standard Chartered Plc analysts yesterday lifted their projection for the consumer price index for next year to an average of 5.5 percent, from about 3.2 percent for 2010.

While vegetable costs have helped to drive Chinese inflation higher this year, officials need to use tools such as interest rates to “prevent food inflation from spreading to the general economy,” Wang Tao, a Beijing-based economist for UBS AG. said yesterday.

Inflows of money from the trade surplus, foreign direct investment, and investors betting on gains by the yuan threaten to propel consumer prices after unprecedented lending by banks flooded the economy with cash from late 2008.

Rents, Wage Costs

Standard Chartered, HSBC Holdings Plc, BNP Paribas SA, Citigroup Inc., Credit Suisse Group AG, Mizuho, Royal Bank of Canada, UBS, and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. predict that the central bank will add this year to the quarter- point increases that took the benchmark one-year lending rate to 5.56 percent and the one-year deposit rate to 2.5 percent.

“Inflation is showing up in food most obviously, but also in rents, service sector wages, and non-food commodities,” analysts including Stephen Green, head of research for Greater China at Standard Chartered, wrote in a report yesterday. The bank anticipates a rate increase by Dec. 31 and three more by June 30.

Across Asia, China’s inflation compares with deflation in Japan and, at the other extreme, a 9.8 percent rate in India. In the U.S., consumer prices rose 1.2 percent last month from a year earlier.

Besides possible price caps, the State Council’s plans to rein in prices include selling state food reserves.

“Price intervention could be counter-productive because it may cause panic and worsen inflation expectations,” said Liu Li-Gang, a Hong Kong-based economist at ANZ who previously worked at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and World Bank.

Excess liquidity is the “root of the problem” in China, Tao Dong, a Credit Suisse Group AG economist in Hong Kong said this week.

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Magna International Inc. has confirmed its interest in acquiring Italy’s Pininfarina SpA, after speculation about a possible deal sent stock for the luxury automobile design company soaring.

“This type of acquisition would be one that would earn us additional competence on development matters,” Dieter Althaus, vice president at Magna’s European unit, told Bloomberg News on Wednesday.

“We’re also very considerably engaged in the field of engineering and that’s where design and technology also play a role,” he said.

Pininfarina, designer of Ferrari SpA’s Testa Rossa and Fiat SpA’s Alfa Spider, released a statement noting the company “will communicate any advanced talks when they take place.”

Reports of a possible sale to the auto parts manufacturing giant sent Pininfarina’s stock up 22.3 per cent by 11:30 a.m. EST, the biggest gain in 19 months.

Magna shares closed at $49.28, up 61 cents, or 1.25 per cent.

David Soberman, a professor of marketing with the Rotman School of Management said the move could signal aspirations by Magna to expand beyond being a supplier to become an automobile manufacturer.

But, he said it is more likely a move to offer “one stop shopping” or a broader range of services from design to supplying parts for major customers including Chrysler, Ford and GM payday loans.

“There is obviously a skill or a talent that exists within that company,” said Soberman. “Magna clearly wants to expand the types of services where it is active,” he said.

Speculation about the deal was sparked by the publication of a story by Automotive News Europe published on Wednesday that said three sources with “direct knowledge of the matter” confirmed a deal was being discussed.

Reporter Luca Ciferri noted that Pininfarina had disclosed in a recent quarterly report that the company could be sold as soon as Dec. 31 2010.

Founded eight decades ago the Italian design company has offices in Italy, Germany, Sweden, Morocco, China and the U.S. and counts Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Ford, Volvo, Tata Motors and Chery among its customers.

Pininfarina has well established relationships with several luxury brands, having collaborated with Alfa Romeo for almost 70 years and Ferrari for the better part of six decades.

With files from Bloomberg News

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Greece’s governing Socialists have won mayoral races in Greece’s two largest cities for the first time in 24 years, extending gains in local government elections.

Socialist-backed mayoral candidates Giorgos Kaminis and Yiannis Boutaris won in the capital Athens and the northern city of Thessaloniki, interrupting a streak of conservative victories dating back to 1986.

Prime Minister George Papandreou praised Sunday’s result as a vote of confidence in his austerity program ahead of an inspection by EU and IMF officials on the implementation of a rescue loan agreement worth euro110 billion ($150 billion).

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) _ Greece’s governing Socialists won several key local election runoffs Sunday, including a mayoral race in Athens for the first time in 24 years, despite renewed pressure on the crisis-hit nation to further cut spending.

With 75 percent of the national vote counted, the governing party led in eight of 13 races for regional governors, clinching the contest in greater Athens and three other regions.

The result provided a badly needed boost for Prime Minister George Papandreou, who is facing growing discontent over austerity and rising unemployment _ as well as pressure from European partners to make deeper cuts.

On Monday, the European Union is expected to announce an upward revision of Greek budget deficit figures, including for the year 2009, while officials from the EU and International Monetary Fund are due in Athens for another inspection of cost-cutting efforts.

Papandreou called Sunday’s result a vote of confidence in his austerity reforms and a defeat for the conservatives who campaigned against the terms of a euro110 billion ($150 billion) bailout loan agreement with the IMF and EU .

“Today the citizens have shown the way forward as we proceed on our course, and have rejected cries of destabilization,” he said in a televised address.

Papandreou dropped a threat to call an early general election after the first round of voting Nov. 7, and on Sunday promised his 13-month-old government would serve a full four-year term.

“We have been given sufficient time, precious time to change in the next three years to do what wasn’t done in decades,” he said.

Late Sunday, Papandreou visited the newly elected greater Athens governor Yiannis Sgouros and the city’s mayor-elect Giorgos Kaminis, a mild-mannered outsider who had been written off by pundits at the start of the campaign.

In a weekend newspaper interview, Papandreou said Greece could seek an extension for repaying its rescue loans, and conceded the deficit revision would add pressure on his government to cut costs.

“It’s like running a marathon, and finding out during the race that they have added more kilometers to the course,” he told the Proto Thema newspaper.

Voter turnout Sunday hit record lows with just 34 percent in Athens and 45 percent nationally _ figures that opposition parties argued revealed popular discontent with the government.

“The electorate, and the high level of abstention, have sent a stern warning to all of us,” conservative opposition leader Antonis Samaras said.

“Voters have called on the government to change course, away from policies that have suffocated the economy and plunged society into despair.”

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HFF Inc. today posted a second quarter profit of $2.7 million, or 14 cents per share, compared with a loss of $200,000, or 1 cent per share, in the comparable year-ago quarter.

For the quarter ended June 30, the Downtown Pittsburgh-based commercial mortgage broker (NYSE:HF) had revenue of $34.1 million, more than double the revenue of $16.4 million it posted a year ago.

For the first six months of the year, HFF had net income of $2.6 million, or 14 cents per share, on revenue of $53.5 million. That compares with a loss of $2.2 million, or 14 cents per share, on revenue of $29.7 million in the first six months of 2009.

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Although gasoline prices did not drop by much in Southern California, it was a third-straight week of declines, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch.

According to the Auto Club, the average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.121 per gallon, which is six-tenths of a cent less than last week, a nickel higher than last month, and 17 cents higher than last year.

On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.185, down two cents from last week, four cents higher than a month ago, and 16 cents above last year.

In the Inland Empire, the average per gallon price is $3 cash advance loan no fax.105, which is four-tenths of a cent lower than last week, five cents higher than last month, and 17 cents more than last year.

"The gas price spread between this year and the same time last year has shrunk from a difference of about $1.10 in January to just four cents per gallon in early June, but now the gap has widened again. Right now, the difference between today’s pump price and the July 2009 price is 15 to 17 cents a gallon," Auto Club Spokesperson Jeffrey Spring said in a statement.

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