CVS Corporation (NYSE:CVS), seeking to thwart rival suitor Express Scripts sweetened its offer on Thursday for Caremark to $54.12 a share, plus a higher, one-time dividend of $7.50 per share in cash after the deal closed. The dividend previously was $6 per share. CVS also said if the deal is closed, the combined company will make a cash tender offer of $35 a share for 150 million, or about 10%, of its outstanding shares.

Frank Stronach, CEO of Canadian auto parts giant Magna International (NYSE:MGA), confirmed that his company could be interested in taking a stake in DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler division. Stronach said it was vital that Magna be involved in a possible sale of Chrysler to protect itself and help its biggest customer, which carried the first public comments by Magna owner since Chryslers Feb 14 announcement that it would cut 16% of its employees.

Shares of Yahoo (NDAQ:YHOO) tumbled Friday amid reports that the Web portal's deal with AT&T to sell high-speed Internet access may be on shaky ground. The companies reported to be negotiating potentially sweeping changes that could scale back their partnership, according to the Wall Street Journal. The potential fraying of the alliance deals an unexpected new blow for Yahoo, which gets roughly $210 million to $290 million in subscription and advertising revenues annually from AT&T, according to Goldman Sachs analyst Anthony Noto. Yahoo shares fell $1.64 to $29.07 in early afternoon trade on Nasdaq. They had risen around 13% so far this year, prior to Friday's decline. AT&T shares firmed $0.11, or 0.3%, to $36.62 on the NYSE.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) said that it is reorganizing its North American business to better reflect its strategic focus and creating three new business units for its sodas and other beverages as part of the change. In a note to employees, Coke North America President Sandy Douglas said the new operating model has been designed "to transform our business and win in the marketplace."

A second U.S. investment firm dismissed Citigroup's (NYSE:C) $10.8 billion buyout offer for Japanese brokerage Nikko Cordial as far too low, pressuring the U.S. bank to sweeten its bid. Nikko's stock rose to trade 4.4% above Citigroup's offer price after Tennessee-based Southeastern Asset Management, Nikko's third-biggest shareholder, said the brokerage was worth at least 48% more.

Strong demand for corn from ethanol plants is driving up the cost of livestock and will raise prices for beef, pork and chicken, the Agriculture Department said. Meat and poultry production will fall as producers face higher feed costs, the department said in its monthly crop report. Ethanol fuel, which is blended with gasoline, is consuming 20% of last year's corn crop and is expected to gobble up more than 25% of this year's crop. The average price of corn, unchanged from last month, is $3.20 a bushel, up from $2 last year.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE:PG), maker of Tide detergent, Crest toothpaste and numerous other consumer products, reaffirmed its Q3 earnings guidance. The company expects earnings of $0.72 to $0.74 a share for the quarter ending later this month. P&G said it expects sales growth of 7% to 9% in the quarter. Shares rose $0.10 to $62.41 in morning trading on the NYSE. Shares have traded in the range of $52.75 to $66.30 in the past year.

New Century (NYSE:NEW) shares lost a quarter of their value, plunging 25%, or $1.29, to $3.87 on the NYSE. After the closing bell, the stock fell an additional 2.6 % to $3.77 in electronic composite trading.

Financial stocks moved up today: Bear Stearns (NYSE:BSC) shares added 1.8%, or $2.69, to $152.06 on the NYSE while Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) rose 2.2%, or $4.35, to $199.94.

Retail stocks recovered on optimistic economic news: Target (NYSE:TGT) climbed 1.8%, or $1.09, to $61.69 and J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) shares rose 4.1% to $80.86, both on the NYSE. Department store operator Bon-Ton Stores Inc. (NDAQ:BONT) shares shot up 15.8%, or $7.56, to $55.36 on the Nasdaq.

Steel maker Nucor Corp. (NYSE:NUE) jumped 5.3%, or $3.17, to $63.12 on a strong forecast and helped other stocks in the sector. U.S. Steel Corp. (NYSE:X) gained 3.2%, or $2.81, to $90.51.

Phone company AT&T (NYSE:T) was the top-weighted gainer in the Dow and the S&P 500 following a European bond issue and an upgrade by A.G. Edwards. AT&T shares climbed 3.1%, or $1.08, to end at $36.51 on the NYSE.