Lilly CEO: Offer for Icos won't go higher

Eli Lilly Chief Executive Sidney Taurel said Thursday his company's offer of $32 a share for Icos is a "full and fair" price, and he has no plans to sweeten the $2.1 billion proposal.

Taurel made the comments during a CNBC interview. Icos stock fell 53 cents after his remarks, closing at $32.84.

The deal for the Bothell company has sparked criticism. Earlier this week, a leading proxy advisory firm recommended shareholders vote against the acquisition because the price is too low.

Lilly also said Thursday it expects a profit of $3.25 to $3.35 a share in 2007, including a 10-cents-a-share charge for the Icos takeover.

Marketing

Ex-Mariners star in new game

Former Seattle Mariners star Edgar Martinez today is launching a promotional-merchandise agency, Branded Solutions by Edgar Martinez, with two industry veterans.

Branded Solutions will sell branded promotional merchandise and apparel to Fortune 500 companies and for sports-marketing events.

The Redmond-based company is an extension of the embroidery and promotions company Martinez founded more than a decade ago.

Martinez will serve as chief executive, while partners Brian Haner and Tom Goos will be president and vice president, respectively.

Haner and Goos own and operate the Kirkland-based merchandise agency Image Source.

Alaska Air Group

Results expected to miss estimates

Alaska Air Group expects a break-even fourth quarter, missing analysts' estimates, Chief Financial Officer Brad Tilden said.

The Seattle-based parent of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Airlines was expected to earn 45 cents a share, according to the average estimate compiled by Bloomberg.

Alaska's costs are rising faster than expected this quarter, Tilden told investors Thursday, without being more specific.

The Seattle company, parent of Alaska and Horizon airlines, is working to trim expenses by using only Boeing 737s and flying longer flights.

The ninth-largest U.S. carrier shrank its growth rate this quarter to 4 percent from a planned 6 percent. Unit costs rose because Alaska spread its expenses over fewer seats.

"Our operation wasn't running as well as it needs to be, and that's why our capacity was pulled back some," Tilden said in New York at a Calyon Securities conference.

He said he wasn't sure what prompted analysts to project higher earnings, adding they also may have overestimated revenue in the quarter, traditionally one of Alaska's weakest.

Alaska stock dropped 92 cents to $38.93 Thursday.

Redfin

"Sweet Digs" to offer frank look at homes

Consistent with its stated goal of bringing "more candor to real estate," Seattle discount real-estate brokerage Redfin has launched a blog offering daily reviews of for-sale homes on its site, redfin.com.

The blog, "Sweet Digs," follows a six-month trial blog commentary of "the most popular, the most interesting, the most expensive and the most depressing houses for sale," Redfin President Glenn Kelman blogged.

Up to 30 reviews a week will be offered by writers Redfin hired from craigslist posts.

Microsoft

Book-search service begins test run

Microsoft, whose Internet search service is losing users to Google, began testing a feature that scans out-of-print books to compete with a similar service offered by its rival.

Live Search Books lets users look through out-of-print books scanned from libraries, including the universities of California and Toronto, Microsoft said on its Live Search Web log.

Using books that aren't protected by copyright laws may help Microsoft avoid the lawsuits that have hindered Google's book search, released two years ago.

Boeing

Tour firm orders 2 more Dreamliners

First Choice Holidays, a British tour operator, said Thursday it ordered two Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners, with deliveries beginning in 2011. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

First Choice, the European launch customer for the 787, placed its first order for six 787s in July 2004. The company has eight 787s on order. Boeing will deliver First Choice's first 787 in 2009.

Nation and World

Palm

Bid to switch judge fought in patent suit

Palm, maker of the Treo wireless e-mail phone, objected to NTP's request to have a patent lawsuit heard by the same judge who handled the similar case against BlackBerry creator Research In Motion (RIM).

"Palm is not RIM, and this action is not another 'BlackBerry' case," Palm said in court papers filed Tuesday. NTP asked for the switch to U.S. District Judge James Spencer in Richmond, Va., on Nov. 16, 10 days after suing Palm.

Closely held NTP, based in Richmond, claims Palm is infringing on patents for wireless e-mail. In March, RIM paid NTP $612.5 million to settle similar claims. Before that accord, Spencer was on the verge of ruling whether most BlackBerry service in the United States should be cut off.

The Palm case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar in Norfolk, Va. NTP said Spencer should hear the case because he is familiar with the technology.

Barnes & Noble

Results delayed for internal review

Barnes & Noble said Thursday it will postpone filing results for the latest quarter to allow an internal committee to complete its review of stock-options grants.

The bookseller said it doesn't expect to file its report for the third quarter ended Oct. 28 by the fifth calendar day after the due date in early December.

The company's preliminary net loss for the third quarter was $2.8 million, or 4 cents a share, the filing said. Third-quarter sales increased 3 percent to $1.1 billion, the filing said.

Watson Wyatt

Stock-option value plummets since 2001

Stock-option grants by large companies dropped 71 percent in the past five years, according to a study by consulting firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide.

The value of stock options declined from $137 million in 2001 to $40 million in 2005, according to the study, which looked at the total value of options granted at 793 companies in the Standard & Poor's Composite 1500.

Compiled from Seattle Times staff, Bloomberg News and The Associated Press