Earnings will be 57 cents to 59 cents a share in each of the next two quarters, the New York-based company said. Colgate's profit was expected to rise to 67 cents in the third quarter and 68 cents in the fourth, the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Meanwhile, another P&G rival, Unilever, cut its annual profit forecast as sales of the company's main brands declined for a second straight quarter. The shares dropped to their lowest mark in almost four years.

Chairmen Antony Burgmans and Niall FitzGerald said they will spend more on advertising as companies, including P&G, cut prices. Unilever has spent four years trimming its number of brands to 400 from 1,600 to focus on the most profitable. Sales of those, which account for 95 percent of revenue, fell for the first time since 2000 in the second quarter.

Oil prices reach their highest level of month

WASHINGTON - Oil prices advanced to their highest level in a month Monday, surpassing $46 a barrel, as supply constraints in the United States and Russia piqued the nerves of a market already edgy about the world's limited production capabilities and rising demand.

Cash-strapped Russian oil giant Yukos said it would halt some oil exports to China, while U.S. petroleum inventories are expected to decline again this week due to production, refining and shipping delays caused by Hurricane Ivan.

Software company may make fraud deal

NEW YORK - Computer Associates International Inc. and federal prosecutors reportedly are near a deal that could end a two-year accounting fraud investigation of the software company, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Computer Associates, based in Islandia, N.Y., restated two years of earnings in April, admitting it wrongly booked $2.2 billion in revenue. One trick the board has acknowledged was called the "35-day month," in which employees inflated revenue by closing quarterly books a few days late.