Alliant Energy Corp. LNT -0.21% said Chairman and Chief Executive William D. Harvey would retire at the end of March and named its operating chief as his successor. Harvey had been chairman and chief for the last six years, having worked at the utility company and its predecessor for 25 years. Alliant named Chief Operating Officer Patricia L. Kampling to become chief executive and chairman after he... 

Xilinx Inc.’s XLNX +7.17% fiscal third-quarter profit fell 17% on weaker revenue from the chip maker’s communications customers, though its earnings per share topped analysts’ estimates. Shares rose 7.1% to $37.82 after hours as the company predicted its fourth-quarter revenue would rebound by 2% to 6% sequentially, delivering between $521.3 million and $541.8 million in sales. Analysts’... 

SAN FRANCISCO -(MarketWatch)- Biogen Idec Inc. BIIB +0.23% Chief Executive George Scangos is trying to solve a problem of his own creation: He must replenish an early-stage drug research pipeline that he decimated after taking over the biotechnology company in 2010. Scangos and his research chief eliminated about 17 early-stage drug projects in 2010 and last year to hone the company’s focus,... 

PetSmart Inc. PETM +0.04% has appointed Chief Executive Lawrence Robert F. Moran as chairman and also promoted Executive Vice President David K. Lenhardt to president and chief operating officer. Moran has served as the pet product retailer’s CEO and president since 2009 and previously served as chief operating officer. Moran will retain his CEO title while Phil Francis, the board’s former... 

Claire’s Stores Inc. said Chief Executive Eugene S. Kahn has resigned from the women’s accessories and jewelry retailer, and two other executives were named to take over his responsibilities on a temporary basis. Kahn has worked as chief executive since the company went private in 2007 in a $3.1 billion takeover by private-equity firm Apollo Management LP. While the board will conduct a... 

Progress Software Corp. PRGS +4.23% named Jay Bhatt, a former executive at Autodesk Inc. ADSK +6.04% , as its president and chief executive, effective Dec. 5. The business-software maker said in August that President and Chief Executive Richard D. Reidy would step down once it named a successor. Reidy had been in the roles since March 2009. Progress, which serves customers in the telecommunications,... 

ZURICH — Credit Suisse Group CS -0.09% Thursday said it will close its U.S. offshore unit Credit Suisse Private Advisors as part of plans to boost the profitability of its private banking activities. The unit, a U.S. registered broker dealer and investment adviser, will be integrated into Credit Suisse’s private banking unit in the U.S. Ten advisers will be affected by the changes at the... 

MILAN -(MarketWatch)- The supervisory board of Intesa Sanpaolo SpA on Thursday proposed Enrico Tomaso Cucchiani as the bank’s chief executive, a person with direct knowledge of the situation said. The management board of the Italian lender is currently meeting in Turin to discuss Cucchiani’s nomination. The supervisory board of the bank met earlier today. A decision on the successor to... 

Nomura Holdings Inc. NMR +0.49% is in preliminary discussions with big private equity firms about the possible sale of domestic businesses, including its real estate arm, the Financial Times reported Tuesday citing several people familiar with the talks. The bank is weighing selling Nomura Real Estate and Nomura Research Institute, its consulting, information technology and research arm, and is in... 

Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. MRX -2.54% won a bankruptcy auction bid to acquire Graceway Pharmaceuticals LLC for $455 million, topping another company’s stalking horse bid. Graceway, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September, is a specialty pharmaceutical company that makes products that treat various dermatological and women’s health conditions. Medicis Chairman and...