American Tower's profit increases in third quarter

Boston-based American Tower Corp., which owns wireless communication towers, said third-quarter profit rose 2 percent on tower revenue growth. Earnings increased to $60.5 million, or 15 cents per share, compared with $59.6 million, or 14 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected net income of 14 cents per share. For the period ended Sept. 30, operating revenue rose 11 percent to $409.3 million from $367.6 million, topping Wall Street's estimate of $401.6 million. (AP)

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. owns two more insurance companies after completing a deal with White Mountains Insurance Group. Documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission show the companies consummated the deal Friday. Berkshire traded 1.6 million shares of White Mountains stock, valued at $793 million, for Commercial Casualty Insurance Co., International American Group, and $708 million cash. Berkshire retained more than 89,000 shares of White Mountains, whose executive office is in Hanover, N.H. Both acquired insurers are only managing existing policies until they are paid off and the companies close. They are not writing new policies. (AP)

Raytheon Co., the world's largest missile maker, won a $422 million order to supply its Standard Missile-2 weapons to the United States and allied nations including Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. The Waltham company will supply the Block IIIA and Block IIIB versions of the missile, which has been the US Navy's primary surface-to-air fleet-defense system for more than 30 years.

More Americans threw in the towel in October, as monthly bankruptcy filings topped 100,000 for the first time since bankruptcy laws were tightened three years ago. Businesses and individuals in the United States filed 108,595 bankruptcy petitions of all types, up 13 percent from the prior month, according to data provided by Automated Access to Court Electronic Records, a service of Jupiter eSources LLC. Filings dropped precipitously after more restrictive bankruptcy laws came into effect in October 2005. (Bloomberg)

Viacom Inc., the media company controlled by Sumner Redstone, said third-quarter profit dropped 37 percent as ad sales declined at US cable channels and Paramount Pictures posted a loss. Net income fell to $401 million, or 65 cents a share, from $641 million, or 96 cents, a year earlier, Viacom said. Excluding some items, profit totaled 55 cents per share, in line with figures the company provided Oct. 10. Ad sales at cable networks including MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon dropped 3 percent in the United States, Viacom said. Cable channels contributed 97 percent of Viacom's operating income last year. (Bloomberg)

Revising its estimate, the government now says only 20,000 troubled borrowers will apply to refinance home loans to make them more affordable by next fall under a new program. The $300 billion Hope for Homeowners program was launched Oct. 1 to help ease the mortgage crisis. The Congressional Budget Office had projected it would allow 400,000 troubled homeowners to swap risky loans for conventional 30-year fixed rate loans with lower rates. But the government got only 42 applications in the program's first two weeks, according to the Federal Housing Administration. The low turnout was first reported by the industry newsletter Housing Wire. (AP)

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn said he sold more than two-thirds of his shares in Lear Corp. as his associate resigned from the automotive supplier's board. Regulatory documents show Icahn, once the company's biggest stockholder, sold 8.5 million shares. The sale brought his stake down to about 3.8 million shares, or just under 5 percent. He previously held a 16 percent stake. With his stake under 5 percent, Icahn is no longer required by law to file share sale notices with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Vincent Intrieri, a senior managing director at Icahn Partners LP, said in his resignation letter that his firm's funds are reducing their positions in Lear to realize tax losses before year's end. (AP)