Luxury-Home Bulder Toll Brothers' (NYSE:TOL) Q1 profit is down 67%. Quarterly earnings declined to $54.3 million, or $0.33 per share, from $163.9 million, or $0.98 per share, during the same period a year ago. Revenue slipped 19% to $1.09 billion from $1.34 billion in the previous year, meeting Wall Street's expectations.

Microsoft Corp. (NDAQ:MSFT) must pay $1.52 billion in damages to telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent SA for violating two patents related to digital music, a federal jury ruled. Shares of Microsoft slipped $0.03 to close at $29.32 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Alcatel-Lucent's stock added $0.10 to end the day at $13.17 on the NYSE.  

Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE:NEM) and Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE:ABX),two of the world's largest gold miners, reported strong Q4 earnings due to higher selling prices. However, they predict that production will slow in the year ahead because of rising operating costs. Barrick Gold had Q4 earnings that more than doubled to $418 million, or $0.48 per share, from $175 million, or $0.32 per share, in the year-ago period. For the quarter ending Dec. 31, Newmont reported their net income of $223 million, or $0.49 per share, compared with $62 million, or $0.14 per share, in the prior-year quarter.

Safeway Inc.'s (NYSE:SWY) Q4 profit surged 77% to cap the grocer's best performance in five years, a comeback driven by contentious cost cutting and a recent makeover that has infused more elegance into its stores. The company earned $307.9 million, or $0.69 per share, in the three months ended Dec. 30. That compared with net income of $173.5 million, or$0.39 per share, at the same time in 2005.

J.C. Penney Co. (NYSE:JCP) said its Q4 profit fell 13%, partly due to higher taxes. The company predicts a weaker Q1 than Wall Street expects. Penney shares fell $2.96, or 3.4% to $83.39 in trading on the NYSE. In the fiscal year that just ended, Penney earned $1.15 billion, or $4.96 per share. That's up 6 percent from $1.09 billion, or $4.26 per share the year before. Revenue also grew 6%, to $19.90 billion from $18.78 billion.

Turbo Tax software maker Intuit (NDAQ:INTU) posted lower Q2 net income and cut its full-year forecast. The company also said unit sales through Feb. 17 of Turbo Tax, which generates about 25% of overall revenue, were up 1% from the previous year. The company's Q2 net income fell to $145 million, or $0.40 a share, from $183 million, or $0.50 per share, a year ago.

Analog Devices (NYSE:ADI) forecast that profit for its current quarter would be $0.37 to $0.42 a share on revenue of between $640 million to $670 million. Analysts had forecast Analog Devices would show a fiscal Q2 profit of $139.3 million, or $0.39 a share, on revenue of $655.1 million. Shares of Analog Devices leaped as investors responded to an optimistic outlook that the company announced along with earnings. The company said net profit in its first fiscal quarter ended Feb. 3 was $153.2 million, or $0.44 a share, compared with $120.6 million, or $0.32 a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 11% to $691.6 million, well above estimates of $652 million.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) plans to add two cruise ships to its existing lineup, in an effort to meet increasing demand and provide more trip destinations. Disney, which currently has two ships, said the new ocean liners will hit the waves in 2011 and 2012. Each ship will have 1,250 rooms.

Europe's biggest bank, HSBC Holdings (NYSE:HBC), has ousted the head of its North American operations, Bobby Mehta, in the wake of this month's shock profit warning from its troubled U.S. mortgage business. The bank also replaced the head of its New York-based retail banking operation, HSBC Bank USA. HSBC said Mehta stepped down as chief executive of HSBC Finance Corp. and as head of HSBC North America with effect from February 15. HSBC also appointed Paul Lawrence as president and CEO of HSBC Bank USA and HSBC USA Inc. with immediate effect, replacing Sandy Derickson, who is leaving the bank.