Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) (BRK) (BRK/B US): Warren Buffett’s holding company reported stakes in DirecTV (DTV) , the largest U.S. satellite-television provider, and Liberty Media Corp. (LMCA) (LMCA US) after the billionaire hired stock picker Ted Weschler to help manage investments.
BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc. (BPAX) : The original developer of Bio-T-Gel, a testosterone replacement therapy for men, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) won U.S. clearance to sell the drug.
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (HIG) : Billionaire John Paulson, who controls one of the largest stakes in the seller of life insurance and property-casualty coverage, filed a document with regulators so he can approach other investors about spinning off its property-casualty unit.
MetLife Inc. (MET) : The biggest U.S. life insurer said fourth-quarter profit surged on earnings from derivatives. Excluding some investment results, profit was $1.31 a share, beating the $1.24 average estimate of 19 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Weight Watchers International Inc. (WTW) : The world’s largest seller of diet programs reported fourth-quarter earnings excluding some items of 86 cents a share, matching the average analyst estimate, and said it would buy back as much as $1.5 billion in shares.
Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC US): The largest U.S. mortgage lender’s Wachovia Capital Markets LLC settled a lawsuit by Normandy Hill Master Fund LP, which claimed the unit failed to disclose signs of fraud at Le-Nature’s Inc. as it arranged a $285 million loan for the company two months before the drink maker went bankrupt in 2006. Terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed in a court filing.
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) (YHOO US): Third Point LLC said it plans to nominate Daniel S. Loeb, Harry J. Wilson, Michael J. Wolf and Jeffrey A. Zucker for the board of the largest U.S. Web portal.
Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) (ZNGA US): The biggest developer of games for social-networking sites topped analysts’ fourth-quarter revenue estimates as new titles such as “Hidden Chronicles” and “CastleVille” added millions of players.
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