Market Roundup (AAPL, MRK, FITB, PNC, TTWO, GOOG)
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) may pay as little as $219.35 for the tablet's parts, says iSuppli. That leaves room to cut the price of a device that analysts say may be too expensive.
Merck (NYSE: MRK) will pay more than $12 million in legal fees and improve the monitoring of drug safety in a settlement of shareholder litigation connected to Vioxx. Merck had pulled Vioxx from the market in 2004 due to safety concerns.
Fifth Third (NASDAQ: FITB) is looking to repay the $3.4 billion it had received from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in the second half of the year. Bigger rivals like PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE: PNC) have already repaid the relief amount they had received.
Videogame publishers are set to release several major titles in the forthcoming months, with an aim to extend the demand for games beyond the holidays. The big launches come as publishers spend more to develop potential blockbusters and jockey with rivals for release dates, much like Hollywood studios. One example, Take-Two's (NASDAQ: TTWO) "BioShock 2," released Tuesday, may have cost $20 million to develop.
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) plans to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks in some selected locations across the US. "Our goal is to experiment with new ways to help make Internet access better and faster for everyone," GOOG said.
