FAST FOOD

YUM BRANDS TO SPONSOR KENTUCKY DERBY

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Kentucky Derby will have a sponsor for the first time, striking a five-year deal with a fast-food restaurant company that owns KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut. Yum Brands Incorporated, based in Louisville, becomes the first named sponsor of the Derby at Churchill Downs, and the race will be referred to as the Kentucky Derby, presented by Yum Brands, it was announced yesterday. The Yum logo will appear under the famed twin spires for the Derby on May 6, and will also be shown on a sign above the starting gate, on the jackets of the pony riders who escort the horses during the post parade, on television billboards and elsewhere around the track. “You’ll see very discreet signage. It won’t look like a baseball stadium,” Churchill Downs president Tom Meeker said at a news conference.

– Associated Press

TECHNOLOGY

RESEARCH IN MOTION WINS RULING ON BLACKBERRY PATENT

Research In Motion won a provisional ruling against a patent at the center of a court fight over its BlackBerry e-mail device, as a judge prepares to decide whether to stop most service in America. The shares surged 9%. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, after a review initiated by Research In Motion and the office itself, today issued a “non-final” ruling that the patent didn’t cover a new invention and should be canceled, James Wallace, a lawyer for the patent owner, NTP Incorporated, said in an interview. Research In Motion said the decision was “comparable to a final office action.” Research In Motion said in court filings questions about the patents’ validity is a reason the system shouldn’t be shut down in America, where it lost a patent infringement suit to NTP.

– Bloomberg News

ENTERTAINMENT

TIME WARNER REPORTS 21% PROFIT INCREASE

Time Warner Incorporated said fourth-quarter profit rose 21% as films including “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” led to the fastest sales growth in six quarters. Net income advanced to $1.37 billion, or 29 cents a share, from $1.13 billion, or 24 cents, a year earlier, Time Warner said in a statement today. Sales rose 7% to $11.9 billion. Profit excluding some items was 25 cents a share, topping a 21-cent estimate by Merrill Lynch & Company analyst Jessica Reif Cohen. Shares of Time Warner, whose assets also include the Cartoon Network and Fortune magazine, rose 58 cents, or 3.3%, to $18.11 as of 2 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

– Bloomberg News

INSURANCE

CONGRESS PASSES $100,000 INSURANCE LIMIT FOR RETIREMENT

The $100,000 account limit on federal bank deposit insurance will be raised for retirement accounts under legislation passed by Congress on yesterday and expected to be signed by President Bush. The change, which the banking industry has been pushing for about a decade, was included in a $39 billion budget bill that narrowly cleared the House and sped toward the president’s desk. It gives the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation discretion to increase the $100,000 insurance ceiling on deposit accounts to reflect inflation, starting five years from now. For individual retirement accounts held in banks, the account limit will immediately be raised from $100,000 to $250,000.

– Associated Press

INTERNET

GOOGLE KEEPS SUPPORTERS ON WALL STREET AS STOCK FALLS A tumble in Google Incorporated shares after a surprise earnings miss hasn’t shaken the company’s supporters on Wall Street. At least eight analysts, including Anthony Noto at Goldman, Sachs & Company, Imran Khan at JPMorgan Chase & Company, and Robert Peck of Bear Stearns, told clients to buy stock in Google, the most-used Internet search engine, and take advantage of yesterday’s 10% decline. As Google stock posted its biggest one-day drop, falling as low as $387.52, the analysts rushed to affirm their buy recommendations and to assure clients that Google’s growth trajectory remained sound. Google’s report of an 82% rise in net income yesterday missed estimates and heightened concerns among investors that the stock was overvalued.

– Bloomberg News