Staff/Wire reports

TransCanada Corp., Canada's largest pipeline company, resumed negotiations with Alaska regulators to build a pipeline to carry natural gas to the North American pipeline grid from the state's North Slope region.

TransCanada will ask for a permit to lease a right-of-way for the pipeline from the state, according to a statement from Gov. Frank Murkowski's office.

Leading indicators rise 0.3% in March

The index of leading U.S. economic indicators rose 0.3 percent in March, a sign the expansion has gained momentum. The year-over-year increase in the measure of where the economy is headed is the biggest in two decades.

Companies took longer to fill orders in March, a sign of increased demand, while jobless claims fell, building permits rose and tax refunds put more money in the hands of consumers.

J.C. Penney to add stand-alone stores

J.C. Penney Co., the second-largest U.S. department-store chain, will expand by adding more stand-alone stores instead of mall-based locations or through acquisitions, chief executive officer Allen Questrom said.

The retailer doesn't plan to use proceeds from selling its Eckerd drugstore chain to buy another chain, Questrom said during a meeting with analysts and investors.

The company will use the money from Eckerd to buy back shares and debt and boost spending on new stores, he said.

CEO Siegel resigns from US Airways

US Airways president and chief executive David Siegel, whose demands for cost cuts created animosity among union leaders, resigned Monday from the nation's seventh-largest airline.

He will be replaced by Bruce Lakefield, a member of US Airways' board of directors and a close ally of chairman David Bronner, who has enjoyed better relations with labor groups.

Siegel led the company out of bankruptcy protection a year ago after an eight-month stay in Chapter 11. The company cut costs by nearly $2 billion a year, including about $1 billion in concessions from labor groups.

But unions were critical of Siegel's leadership. Late last year the Air Line Pilots Association called for his resignation.

Buffett makes tickets available on eBay

Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., has sold hundreds of tickets to the company's annual meeting in an effort to foil Internet auctions for the passes.

Buffett listed tickets to the event, attended by more than 10,000 shareholders and their guests last year, on eBay's Web site late Friday at $5 a pair after seeing sellers scalp them for as much as $58 each.

The annual gathering in Omaha, Neb., is a magnet for admirers of Buffett, 73, who has become the world's second-richest man by spotting undervalued assets.

3M earnings increase 43.8% in first quarter

Diversified manufacturer 3M Co. saw first-quarter profit surge 43.8 percent as the maker of Post-it Notes and Scotch-brand tapes benefited from swings in foreign currency and increased sales in its display business.

For the quarter ended March 31, 3M said Monday it earned $722 million, or 90 cents a share, up from $502 million, or 63 cents a share, a year earlier.

Worldwide sales rose 14 percent to $4.94 billion, from $4.32 billion.

The earnings results beat the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call by 3 cents a share.

Coke plans to launch mid-calorie cola

Coke is launching a mid-calorie cola that promises half the sugar, carbohydrates and calories of its regular version.

The Atlanta-based company said Monday that Coca-Cola C2 will debut first in Japan and then the United States this summer.

In January, PepsiCo Inc. said it, too, was looking at the idea of selling a mid-calorie cola. The company has since named the product Pepsi Edge and said it would debut in the United States this summer.