Johnson Johnson

When Google Inc. and an eBay subsidiary lent their names and considerable funds to a Spanish technology startup called Fon this month, it provided a stamp of approval for the fledgling company and put it on the radar screen of thousands of investors. Maryland hopes to gain a similar lift by association through an agreement it signed yesterday with the world's largest health care products company, Johnson & Johnson, to invest in technology companies based in the state. Johnson & Johnson has promised to invest $250,000 in early-stage Maryland technology companies and help guide their development.

Cut by the Ravens in early April, linebacker and special teams standout Brendon Ayanbadejo still hasn't ruled out playing in the NFL during the 2013 season. He works out daily and keeps himself ready in case a team calls and the situation is right. But right now, the 36-year-old is far too busy with other endeavors to be consumed with whether his 10-year NFL career is over.   “There's not anything that I have to do right now so If the football angle has exhausted itself because there's no more options in football, then that will come to a close on its own and then there will be a point where I have to announce my retirement.

Caterpillar Inc. said second-quarter net income fell 26 percent, far below estimates, and reduced its full-year profit forecast because of slow sales of mining and power-generation equipment. Net income at the No. 1 maker of earthmoving equipment fell to $200 million, or 58 cents a share, from $271 million, or 78 cents, in the year-earlier quarter. Sales fell 3.6 percent to $5.29 billion, the Peoria, Ill.-based company said. Caterpillar, which also makes truck engines and turbines, was expected to earn 73 cents, the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson/First Call.

Johnson & Johnson is expanding a voluntary recall of Tylenol Arthritis Caplets due to consumer reports of a moldy smell that can cause nausea and sickness. The New Brunswick, N.J., company is now recalling all product lots of the Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count bottles with the red EZ-Open Cap. Consumers seeking a refund or replacement can call J&J at 1-888-222-6036. - Associated Press

The battle for control of Guidant Corp., a maker of implantable heart devices, took a new turn last night as Johnson & Johnson raised its bid to $23.2 billion and reached a new agreement with Guidant, pre-empting an offer from Boston Scientific. But outcome was quickly thrown into question when Boston Scientific dismissed Guidant's agreement saying: "Our discussions with Guidant are ongoing. We intend to vigorously pursue this transaction to its completion." Several people close to Boston Scientific suggested last night that the company was planning to make an offer higher than its original $25 billion.

With many investors ducking for cover these days, there is a renewed interest in old, reliable companies such as consumer-products manufacturers. Shares of consumer-products companies tend to hold up better than the average stock during economic and stock-market downturns. After all, most consumers don't stop buying laundry detergent or Kleenex when the economy tanks, but they're probably less likely to buy high-technology or luxury products from the go-go growth companies. The best stocks among the consumer-product makers belong to firms with well-founded growth strategies.

CHICAGO -- Almost nine years after seven Chicago-area residents died from swallowing Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide, the manufacturer agreed yesterday to pay an undisclosed sum to the families of the victims just as the case was going to trial.Details of the settlement were sealed by Judge Warren Wolfson of Cook County Circuit Court, and neither the families' lawyers nor the company would say what form the compensation would take.But Bruce Pfaff, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, described the agreement as "a very favorable settlement for my clients."

Cut by the Ravens in early April, linebacker and special teams standout Brendon Ayanbadejo still hasn't ruled out playing in the NFL during the 2013 season. He works out daily and keeps himself ready in case a team calls and the situation is right. But right now, the 36-year-old is far too busy with other endeavors to be consumed with whether his 10-year NFL career is over.   “There's not anything that I have to do right now so If the football angle has exhausted itself because there's no more options in football, then that will come to a close on its own and then there will be a point where I have to announce my retirement.

Q. My family and I like buying stock in brand name products that we enjoy. We're considering buying shares of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., the chewing gum company. What are your thoughts?A. It remains a quality investment that sticks with you no matter what the economic conditions.However, don't buy shares of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. (around $71 a share, New York Stock Exchange) right now, even though current shareholders should hold on, advised Dick Elam, analyst with Blunt Ellis & Loewi Inc.The steady stocks in the packaged-food group, such as Wrigley, are most favored during recession.

Hikers and skiers have a new piece of armor against the ravages of mangled skin.Johnson & Johnson has just released Band-Aid blister-relief cushions, designed to prevent hot spots from growing into blisters.The rubber-like adhesive pads mold to the body. They provide a cushion against rubbing shoes. They are slightly thinner than moleskin, but unlike that old standby, they hold moisture in the skin to speed healing.

For years, Johnson & Johnson obscured evidence that its popular Ortho Evra birth control patch delivered much more estrogen than standard birth control pills, potentially increasing the risk of blood clots and strokes, according to internal company documents. But because the Food and Drug Administration approved the patch, the company is arguing in court that it cannot be sued by women who claim that they were injured by the product - even though its old label inaccurately described the amount of estrogen it released.

DALLAS -- No passengers died. No planes crash-landed. No pilots even reported malfunctions. But questions about safety inspection failures at Southwest Airlines could still hurt the company's brand and cost it millions of dollars. "A brand is a promise," said Kevin Keller, a marketing professor at Dartmouth College. "When a company violates that promise, in any way, it must apologize sincerely. It must fix the problem swiftly. And it must convince customers that it will never repeat the mistake."

When Google Inc. and an eBay subsidiary lent their names and considerable funds to a Spanish technology startup called Fon this month, it provided a stamp of approval for the fledgling company and put it on the radar screen of thousands of investors. Maryland hopes to gain a similar lift by association through an agreement it signed yesterday with the world's largest health care products company, Johnson & Johnson, to invest in technology companies based in the state. Johnson & Johnson has promised to invest $250,000 in early-stage Maryland technology companies and help guide their development.

Johnson & Johnson and a state technology agency plan to announce today that the New Jersey health care giant will match certain investments by the state in early-stage Maryland companies. The initiative pairs the maker of everything from the venerable Band-Aid to cardiology products with the Maryland Technology Development Corp., known as TEDCO, a state organization created in 1998 to make entrepreneurs out of academics by helping to commercialize their science and technology inventions.

The battle for control of Guidant Corp., a maker of implantable heart devices, took a new turn last night as Johnson & Johnson raised its bid to $23.2 billion and reached a new agreement with Guidant, pre-empting an offer from Boston Scientific. But outcome was quickly thrown into question when Boston Scientific dismissed Guidant's agreement saying: "Our discussions with Guidant are ongoing. We intend to vigorously pursue this transaction to its completion." Several people close to Boston Scientific suggested last night that the company was planning to make an offer higher than its original $25 billion.

A weekly briefing on the economic calendar Monday Earnings: 3M Co.; Bank of America Corp.; Citigroup Inc.; MBNA Corp. Tuesday June housing starts Earnings reports: Amgen Inc.; Ford Motor Co.; Intel Corp.; Johnson & Johnson; Kraft Foods Inc.; Lucent Technologies Inc.; Wells Fargo & Co.; Yahoo Inc. Wednesday Earnings reports: AMR Corp.; Eastman Kodak Co.; eBay Inc.; General Motors Corp.; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Pfizer Inc. Thursday June leading economic indicators; Federal Reserve June 30 meeting minutes Earnings reports: Caterpillar Inc.; Coca-Cola Co.; Google Inc.; Merck & Co.; SBC Communications Inc. Friday Earnings reports: Halliburton Co.; Schlumberger Ltd.

Purchasers of replacement contact lenses manufactured by Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc. during the past 13 years are eligible for credits of up to $100 toward their next purchase and an eye examination under a settlement of an antitrust lawsuit, Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. has announced. The suit was brought by Maryland and 31 other states in 1996. It alleged that Johnson & Johnson and two other defendants, Bausch & Lomb and the American Optometric Association, kept prices high by selling the lenses only through health care professionals.

A weekly briefing on the economic calendar Monday Earnings: 3M Co.; Bank of America Corp.; Citigroup Inc.; MBNA Corp. Tuesday June housing starts Earnings reports: Amgen Inc.; Ford Motor Co.; Intel Corp.; Johnson & Johnson; Kraft Foods Inc.; Lucent Technologies Inc.; Wells Fargo & Co.; Yahoo Inc. Wednesday Earnings reports: AMR Corp.; Eastman Kodak Co.; eBay Inc.; General Motors Corp.; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Pfizer Inc. Thursday June leading economic indicators; Federal Reserve June 30 meeting minutes Earnings reports: Caterpillar Inc.; Coca-Cola Co.; Google Inc.; Merck & Co.; SBC Communications Inc. Friday Earnings reports: Halliburton Co.; Schlumberger Ltd.

Faced with patent expirations on highly profitable drugs, big pharmaceutical companies are turning to small biotechs to restock their medicine chests. The latest example came when Pfizer Inc. agreed recently to buy Vicuron Pharmaceuticals Inc. for $1.9 billion. Vicuron, based in King of Prussia, Pa., worked on antibiotics and drugs for fungal infections, key areas for Pfizer. The acquisition followed one in April by GlaxoSmithKline PLC, which agreed to buy Corixa Corp., a Seattle company focused on vaccines.

On May 27, Rev. Dr. NATHANIELJOHNSON, Pastor of Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in York PA; Survived by Wife Lillie V., three sons, Rodney, Rev. Ryan, and Daron J. Johnson, daughter Robyn F. Johnson, brother Dr. Ja A. Jahannes, sister Julia D. Sterrett, six grandchildren Rodney T., Natalie C., Jaylen M. and Justin N. Johnson, Cierra and Marcus Mayfield, and a host of other family, friends and the congregation of Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church....