Delta will pay dividend, buy back shares

Delta will pay dividend, buy back shares

MINNEAPOLIS

Delta Air Lines will start paying a quarterly dividend and buy back some of its shares — investor-friendly moves common in other industries but rare for airlines.

For years, the industry repelled long-term investors with high debt, losses, labor strife, bankruptcies, and roller-coaster stock prices. Now, airline bosses are eager to show that those days are over and their companies are good investments.

Delta said Wednesday that the dividend and stock buyback will return $1 billion to shareholders. The airline has posted a profit for three straight years, while trimming its debt by $5 billion.

Freddie Mac posts $4.6B net income for first quarter

WASHINGTON

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac earned $4.6 billion from January through March, helped by a stronger housing market. The government-controlled company has turned a profit in the past six quarters.

Freddie said Wednesday that it will pay a dividend of $7 billion to the U.S. Treasury next month and requested no additional federal aid for the fourth-consecutive quarter.

The earnings compared with net income of $577 million in the first quarter of 2012.

Wrigley halts caffeinated gum

WASHINGTON

Wrigley says it is taking a new caffeinated gum off the market temporarily as the Food and Drug Administration investigates the safety of added caffeine.

The company said Wednesday that it has stopped new sales and marketing of Alert Energy Caffeine Gum “out of respect” for the agency, which said it would investigate the health effects of added caffeine in foods just as Wrigley rolled out Alert late last month. A stick of the gum is equivalent to half a cup of coffee.

Associated Press