NATIONAL

HALLIBURTON UNITS EXIT BANKRUPTCY COURT PROTECTION

Halliburton Company, the world’s largest oil field services company, said its DII Industries and Kellogg, Brown & Root units exited bankruptcy, formalizing a $4.7 billion settlement of asbestos claims with more than 400,000 people. The units filed for bankruptcy protection on December 16, 2003, in Pittsburgh to win court approval of the settlement with people who claimed they were exposed to asbestos or silica. The agreement, approved last year by American Bankruptcy Judge Judith Fitzgerald, can’t be appealed, and the Halliburton units can now operate without court protection, the Houston-based company said yesterday in a statement. The plan called for Halliburton to pay $2.3 billion in cash, notes worth $55 million, and 59.5 million shares of common stock into trusts to pay victims. Halliburton plans to fund the trusts by the end of the month.

– Bloomberg News

PEOPLE

D&B NAMES NEW CEO

D&B, one of the world’s largest suppliers of business information, services, and research, yesterday said it named Steven W. Alesio as chief executive. Mr. Alesio, 50, yesterday succeeded Allan Z. Loren as CEO. Mr. Loren remains chairman until May, when Mr. Alesio will take over that post as well. The announcement brings to a close the first phase of a succession plan outlined last May, when Mr. Loren announced his plans to retire from Short Hills, N.J.-based D&B in May this year. Mr. Alesio was named president and chief operating officer of D&B in May 2002. Mr. Loren, 66, served as both chairman and chief executive since joining the company in May of 2000. D&B had 2003 sales of $1.39 billion.

– Associated Press

VIACOM TALKING WITH GREY TO RUN PARAMOUNT

Viacom, the third-largest broadcasting, advertising, and entertainment company, is in talks to hire talent manager Brad Grey to run its Paramount Pictures unit and may announce his appointment this week, people familiar with the matter said.

Mr. Grey would replace Sherry Lansing, who has headed the unit since 1992.

Ms. Lansing, the first woman to head a Hollywood studio, said in November that she would leave her position at the end of this year when her contract expires.

Hiring Mr. Grey would help Paramount’s relations with Hollywood talent and bolster Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone’s efforts to improve the studio’s performance, analysts said.

Paramount ranked seventh among major studio owners in 2004 ticket sales in American and Canada, with $596.6 million, according to market trackerboxofficemojo.com.

– Bloomberg News

MARKETS

GOLD FALLS TO 2-MONTH LOW AS DOLLAR RALLY ERODES METAL’S APPEAL

Gold in New York fell to the lowest price in two months as the dollar rallied against the euro, eroding the appeal of precious metals as an alternative investment to American stocks and bonds. The plunge in gold was the biggest since last month, after prices reached a 16-year high. The metal, sold in dollars, rose 5.4% last year as the dollar fell 7.1% against the euro. The dollar gained after a report yesterday showed that American manufacturing accelerated for a second month in December. “Gold has topped out,” said the chief economist at MKM Partners LLC in Greenwich, Conn., Michael Darda. “The reality is the U.S. economy is strong and it’s going to continue to grow, and that’s going to support demand for the dollar.” Gold futures for February delivery fell $8.70, or 2%, to $429.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest for a most-active contract since November 3. A futures contract is an obligation to sell or buy a commodity at a set price by a specific date. The Comex was closed December 31.

– Bloomberg News

IN THE COURTS

PFIZER SUED OVER PAINKILLER

A federal class action lawsuit has been filed against Pfizer Inc. alleging the pharmaceutical company misled investors about the safety of Celebrex, the nation’s leading arthritis painkiller. New prescriptions for Celebrex have fallen by more than half since a government-led study last month showed high doses of it were associated with an increased heart attack risk. The suit, filed in federal court in Hartford, Conn., last week by the Colchester based law firm of Scott & Scott on behalf of investors, claims the company made false and misleading statements about the safety of Celebrex. Those statements kept the company’s stock price inflated, according to the suit. When the company announced the study’s results, Pfizer’s shares plunged $3.23, or 11.5%, to $25.75, wiping out almost $25 billion of the company’s market value, according to the lawsuit. Stephen Lederer, a Pfizer spokesman, said the company had no immediate response to the lawsuit.

– Associated Press