The Fortune 500 comes out just once a year, but the companies on it make headlines every day. Here then are today’s highlights of news and happenings coming from the biggest names in business.
By Shelley DuBois, reporter
IT’S HARD TO BE BEAUTIFUL and profitable too. Procter & Gamble (PG) just got an $80 billion makeover to market itself as a beauty company last year. But consumers tend to cut spending on cosmetics in a tough economy, and growth in P&G’s beauty department since the overhaul, so far, has been weak. [Wall Street Journal]
MORE DETAILS ON MARINE JET DELAYS were released by the Pentagon. The problems surrounding Lockheed Martin’s (LMT) Marine version of the F-35 fighter jet are solvable, officials say, despite the fact that it’s running behind schedule and above cost. [New York Times]
YAHOO’S SLOW, PAINFUL TURNAROUND strategy is still in the works. The company reported increased profit, but a 12% decline in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2010. Yahoo (YHOO) will have to keep struggling through serious staff cuts, while scrambling to compete with Google (GOOG) and Facebook for online ad dollars. [Wall Street Journal]
THE HEADACHE CONTINUES for Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), which won’t restock shelves with its products on time. The company had hoped to put Children’s Tylenol, Motrin and Benadryl back in stores by mid 2011. But executives mentioned during an investor call that the drugs won’t reappear until later. [CNNMoney]
AFTER THE OIL, BP SPILL AFTERMATH continues for other energy companies looking to drill in the Gulf. These companies must prove to the U.S. Department of the Interior that they are capable of containing underwater wells gushing oil, should another BP-sized (BP) accident occur. So far, the government hasn’t been convinced, and has held off on issuing new deep-water exploration permits. ExxonMobil (XOM) is leading a group called the Well Containment Corp., which would pool adequate spill cleanup resources. [Bloomberg Businessweek]
THE COST OF FIGHTING ORACLE made a dent in business software company SAP’s profits for the fourth quarter. The company’s net profit fell 36% from €681 million the same time last year. This past November, a judge ruled that SAP must pay Oracle (ORCL) $1.3 billion for intellectual property infringement. [Wall Street Journal]