From wire reports

Intel beats forecasts 3rd straight quarter

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Semiconductor giant Intel Corp. said Tuesday its second-quarter profits doubled from a year ago as stronger-than-expected demand for computer microprocessors offset the weakness of its communications chip business.

It's the third consecutive quarter that Intel has exceeded forecasts, though executives and analysts said there's no evidence to suggest a long-hoped-for upswing in consumer and corporate computer buying.

Mirant is latest big bankruptcy filer

ATLANTA - Energy supplier Mirant Corp. succumbed to bankruptcy after struggling for more than a year with heavy debt and weak revenues, aggravated by questions about the company's accounting and behavior in California's energy market.

It was the biggest corporate bankruptcy filing in a year and places the company 10th on the list of biggest bankruptcies.

Mirant, which listed $20.6 billion in assets and $11.4 billion in debt, filed its Chapter 11 petition late Monday, the day before a $1.1 billion payment was due.

The filing is the latest milestone of financial turmoil for the company, which joined its rivals in furiously selling assets, trimming the size of trading contracts and refinancing debt since the 2001 demise of Enron Corp.

Smithfield to buy Farmland Industries

SMITHFIELD, Va. - Smithfield Foods Inc., the world's largest pork processor, said Tuesday it has agreed to acquire the pork manufacturing and processing assets of bankrupt Farmland Industries Inc. for $363.5 million in cash. Smithfield is the parent of Springdale, Ohio-based John Morrell.

Farmland Industries, based in Kansas City, Mo., is a farmer-owned cooperative. Its pork business had sales of $1.8 billion last year.