Edgen Group Inc. filed plans for an estimated initial public offering of up to $100 million in Class A shares. The company distributes specialty products, such as highly engineered steel pipe and valves, to the energy sector. It plans to use the proceeds to repay debt and for other general corporate purposes. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, Edgen’s loss narrowed to $18.1 million as sales... 

TOKYO -(MarketWatch)- Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday that it has received orders for 60,000 Aqua hybrid cars ahead of the launch of the compact hybrid in Japan. The pre-launched orders received ahead of Monday’s release are five times the company’s monthly sales target for the new car of 12,000 vehicles. “It will take about four months” to receive the car once an order is placed,... 

SunPower Corp. SPWR +1.50% agreed to acquire a Total SA’s (TOT, F.TOT) solar energy unit for $165.4 million, in a deal that will expand the solar-panel company’s presence in large-scale projects. SunPower shares were up 26% in premarket trading at $7.38. However through Thursday’s close, the stock is off roughly 55% in the past year. Under the deal, expected to close early next year,... 

Auburn, AL December 12, 2011   – (OTCQB: VPWI)Viper Motorcycle Company, a wholly owned division of Viper Powersports, Inc. announced today that it has signed a Head of Agreement with AMV Motorcycles for exclusive distributorship for the United Kingdom and European Continent. Colbert Seagraves, Viper Motorcycle Company’s Vice President of Marketing and Racing Operations stated, “We plan to have... 

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... 

Applied Materials Inc.’s AMAT -2.49% fiscal fourth-quarter profit eased 2.6% as soft demand in its solar and electronic display businesses dragged down sales. Looking ahead, the company, which makes tools used to make semiconductors, television screens and some solar panels, projected an adjusted first-quarter profit of 8 cents to 16 cents a share and a sequential sales decline between 5% and... 

TOKYO (MarketWatch) — Hitachi Ltd. on Wednesday revised upward its group net profit forecast for the six months ended Sept. 30, citing a quicker-than-expected recovery from the March earthquake and tsunami. The Japanese electronics conglomerate raised its group net profit forecast for the fiscal first half to Y50 billion, from a previous forecast of Y10 billion given at the end of July. The company... 

SEOUL (MarketWatch) — Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it expects its third-quarter operating profit to fall 13.6% from a year earlier, as weak demand for its flat panels and computer chips likely offset brisk sales of its flagship smartphone. Samsung, the world’s biggest maker of flat panels, memory chips, flat-screen televisions, and the world’s second-largest handset maker after... 

Caterpillar Inc. CAT -2.06% intends to raise prices on most of its construction and mining machinery by up to 3%, beginning in January, the company said Friday. The price increase will be added to the 2% to 6% increase planned to cover the cost of additional pollution-reduction components to comply with stricter federal standards on diesel-engine exhaust. Caterpillar said actual price increases will... 

Arch Coal Inc. ACI -5.14% slashed its full-year adjusted earnings outlook for the second time this year, attributing the lower view mostly on lost metallurgical coal production at the Mountain Laurel mine complex in West Virginia. Shares of the coal company slid 10% to $13.11 in after-hours trading. Arch Coal now sees full-year adjusted earnings of $1 to $1.40 a share, down from the already lowered...