UPDATE 1-Orbital Sciences Q2 profit up, raises '07 view

(Reuters) - July 18 - Orbital Sciences Corp. , which makes small rockets and space systems, said quarterly profit rose 40 percent, helped by robust revenue and operating profit growth in its satellite and space systems segment.



The Dulles, Virginia-based company also raised its full-year earnings and revenue outlook on the back of strong new business bookings received during the second quarter.


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Internet-call service SunRocket cuts off service

(Reuters) - Vienna, Virginia-based SunRocket, which is a rival to
Vonage Holdings in the home and small business market
for Voice over Internet Protocol phone services, gave no
warning it was shutting down operations on its Web site.




Callers to its customer service line heard a brief recorded
message, saying: "We are no longer taking customer service or
sales calls. Goodbye."


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

US senator's bill bolsters FCC indecency standard

(Reuters) - The bill introduced by Democratic Sen. John Rockefeller, of
West Virginia, would authorize the Federal Communications
Commission to take action in cases where the agency finds that
a single expletive was uttered fleetingly.




At issue is an FCC ruling in March 2006, in which the
agency concluded that News Corp.'s Fox television
network had violated decency rules when expletives were uttered
by singer Cher during the 2002 Billboard Music Awards broadcast
and actress Nicole Richie during the 2003 awards.


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Virgin Media says receives bid approach

(Reuters) - Virgin Media's Nasdaq-listed shares surged almost 20 percent to $28.88, giving the group a market capitalization of $9.4 billion. Analysts said an offer could be pitched between $30 and $35 per share and draw other bidders into an auction.




Virgin Media said in a statement it had already started a review of its strategic options, including a sale of the group, and the proposal would be considered as part of that process.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Dominion to sell gas assets to Linn Energy

(Reuters) - Last November, the Richmond, Virginia-based company said it would pursue the sale of most of its exploration and production assets as part of a restructuring. Prior to the Mid-Continent deal, Dominion had agreed to sell $11.84 billion of those assets.




The sale of the Mid-Continent operations, which are primarily in Oklahoma, is expected to close by the end of the third quarter. The rest of Dominion's asset sales have closed or are scheduled to close by that time, the company said.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Virgin Media seeks buyer, Carlyle bids -sources

(Reuters) - LONDON, July 1 - British cable operator Virgin
Media has appointed Goldman Sachs to seek a possible
buyer after it received approaches from various private equity
firms, people familiar with the situation said on Sunday.




Carlyle Group [CYL.UL], for one, offered in recent weeks to
buy the company, whose leading shareholder is the flamboyant
entrepreneur Richard Branson, the sources said, but they declined
to disclose the price put forward.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

GateHouse sells W. Virginia newspaper for $77 mln

(Reuters) - The West Virginia daily newspaper has a daily circulation of about 28,000 and a Sunday circulation of about 33,000, Champion said. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter, Champion said. The company plans to finance the acquisition with debt.



Champion closed up 7 cents, or 1 percent, to $7.15 on the Nasdaq stock market. GateHouse fell 53 cents, or 2.8 percent, to close at $18.57 on the New York Stock Exchange.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Dominion to buy back 55 mln common shares

(Reuters) - Dominion expects to start a modified Dutch auction
self-tender by mid-July. Shareholders could tender some or all
of their shares at prices from $82 to $92 per share, said the
Richmond, Virginia-based company. The company then will pick a
price and buy shares tendered at that level or below.




The share buyback program is part of the power company's
plan to use the proceeds from the sales of most of its oil and
natural gas exploration and production assets.


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Loews, XTO Will Buy Dominion's Onshore Oil, Gas Business for $6.5 Billion

(Bloomberg) -- Loew's Corp., the holding company
owned by New York's Tisch family, and XTO Energy Inc. agreed to
buy most of Dominion Resources Inc.'s onshore oil and gas
exploration business for about $6.5 billion.

The sale includes reserves equal to about 3.5 trillion
cubic feet of gas, Richmond, Virginia-based Dominion said in a
statement. Dominion, the second-largest U.S. utility owner, put
the exploration business up for sale in November to raise cash
for debt reduction and share buybacks.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 1-U.S. expert panel urges regulation of tobacco

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, May 24 - The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration should be given the power to regulate tobacco
products and cigarette taxes should be hiked as part of a
government campaign to reduce smoking, an expert panel
recommended on Thursday.




"These dangerous products are essentially unregulated,"
Richard Bonnie, a University of Virginia law professor and
chairman of the 14-member Institute of Medicine panel, told
reporters.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News