Ford earned its biggest profit in more than a decade in 2010 as robust vehicle sales and years of cost cuts paid off. But disappointing fourth-quarter results rattled investors Friday and sent the company’s stock price lower. Ford shares fell 12 percent to $16.63 in late morning trade after

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AstraZeneca has reported a 2% rise in annual pre-tax profits – helped by higher sales of its cholesterol treatment Crestor. The pharmaceutical giant made profits of $10.98bn in 2010, with sales up 3% to $33.3bn.

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Citi made $1.3bn in the last three months of 2010, reversing a $7.6bn loss for the period in 2009. It meant that full-year profits were $10.6bn, compared with losses Citi made in 2008 and 2009. But investors were expecting better fourth

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US agricultural giant Cargill is to spin off its Mosaic fertiliser business to stakeholders, in a deal worth $24bn. It opens the way to a possible takeover bid for Mosaic, which operates in the same area as Canada’s Potash, which BHP Billiton failed to buy last year.

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Apple shares rise as analysts upgrade Target price to $425. Apple received a big vote of confidence as analysts raised their price target for the company’s shares a day after it unveiled record profits and revenues. Putting aside worries about Apple boss Steve Jobs’ health, six

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Police in India have arrested a Citibank employee accused of defrauding clients out of millions of dollars. Shivraj Puri, 32, who is expected to appear in court later, told an Indian newspaper he was innocent.

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Barnes & Noble has reported a rise in sales over the Christmas period, led by the popularity of its Nook electronic book reader. The company, the largest US bookseller, said like-for-like sales – which exclude new store openings – rose 9.7% in the nine weeks to 1 January.

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Retail sales will fall by about £2.2bn in the first quarter of 2011 because of the rise in VAT, according to a report. It says consumers will rein in their spending after the standard rate of VAT rises from 17.5% to 20% on Tuesday.

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