Revenue

United Airlines will buy the Pacific division of Pan American World Airways for $750 million in cash under an agreement announced today by both carriers. The agreement, which is subject to approval by the Department of Transportation and the President, would enable United to provide service to all Pacific points now served by Pan Am, including Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

Humphrey: The manufacturer of gyroscopes used in missiles and other weapons systems, reported a first-quarter profit of $205,961, on revenue of $5.3 million, compared with a first-quarter 1988 loss of $22,359 on revenue of $2.9 million. The improvement in profitability and the 79% increase in revenue was due mainly to shipment approvals for Humphrey gyros used in the Hellfire weapons system, Chairman Paul Humphrey said.

The following list of the 10 largest car dealerships in Los Angeles and Orange Counties is taken from Auto Age magazine's list of the nation's 500 largest dealerships. The ranking is by total revenues from parts and service and from the sale of new and used cars of a single franchise, such as Chevrolet or Toyota, fleet sales are not included, nor are brokers or owners of several smaller dealerships. (Nat'l rank) Dealership Primary make sold Owner 1. (1) Longo Toyota Penske Corp. 2.

Walt Disney Co. reported a 6% drop in first-quarter earnings, compared with a year ago, in part because of charges associated with its high-profile dispute with the creator of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and a decline in operating income at the film studio. The Burbank entertainment giant reported net income of $1.4 billion, or 77 cents a share, for the quarter ending Dec. 29, down from $1.5 billion over the same period in 2011. Revenue for the first quarter rose 5% to $11.3 billion.

Merrill Lynch: The Wall Street firm reported that first-quarter profit plunged 46% to $37 million despite a 25% rise in revenue to $3 billion. The revenue gain was attributed mainly to a 60% increase in interest and dividend revenue. The company noted that excluding those increases, however, revenue was up just 5%, reflecting the general weakness in the securities industry.

The two privately held water-heater companies reached a final agreement for Rheem to buy Westlake Village-based Raypak for an undisclosed sum pending approval from federal antitrust regulators. Raypak, with 300 employees, has annual revenue of $24.6 million, according to Standard & Poor's. It put New York-based Rheem's revenue at $800 million to $900 million.

Hawkeye Entertainment, a Studio City film and television company headed by singer Harry Nilsson, said it lost $162,758 in the third quarter that ended July 31, compared to a loss of $93,728 a year earlier. In the nine-month period, Hawkeye lost $637,595, compared to a loss of $72,434 a year earlier. Hawkeye reported no revenue in either the third quarter or the nine-month period. A year earlier, it reported no revenue for the third quarter and $100,000 in revenue for the nine months.

One of the most puzzling aspects of the "fiscal cliff" negotiations, at least to me, has been President Obama's insistence on raising the tax rates on the highest income brackets. After appearing flexible on that issue in the days after the election, he has since made it abundantly clear that any deal with the GOP must increase the government's bite on individual incomes greater than $200,000 and on couples earning more than $250,000. Why raise marginal rates when there are other approaches that could generate the same amount of revenue without distorting labor and investment incentives or making the United States less attractive to global entrepreneurs?

Newark, N.J.-based People Express posted record third-quarter earnings of $16.5 million, compared to $6.8 million in the third quarter of 1984. Operating revenue for the quarter totaled $269.6 million, up from $174.8 million in the comparable quarter of 1984. A spokesman for the company said the carrier "is extremely pleased with the record results for the quarter. It is especially gratifying to have results such as these in spite of the negative impact of Hurricane Gloria in September.