Aiming to deliver a profit
By LIZ HEITZMAN of the Tribune’s staff
Thanks in part to a heavy marketing push, the birthing center at Columbia Regional Hospital has been gaining market share for the past three years, though it still lags behind Boone Hospital Center.

PC INFO
Don’t drag old problems onto your new hard drive
By SCOTT A. MAY
Last week’s column on computer upgrades touched home for at least one reader, who writes that their hard drive is too old and small, so they are thinking of getting a new one. Their question is: If you copy everything from your old drive to your new drive, will everything work just like before?

TOP DRAWER
A listing of the honorable, noteworthy, new and what’s ahead for businesspeople in Columbia.

Royal Caribbean sails into expensive waters
MIAMI (AP) - Royal Caribbean International yesterday ordered the world’s largest and most expensive cruise ship, a $1.24 billion vessel that will hold as many as 6,400 passengers. It’s the latest step in the industry trend of supersized ships, which delight many passengers but are too crowded for other guests.

Google to blend its Gmail, instant-messaging services
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Online search engine leader Google Inc. is wedding its instant-messaging and e-mail services in the same Web browser, hoping the convenience will lure users from the larger communications networks operated by its chief rivals.

Registry does not block all calls
Knight Ridder Newspapers
SAN FRANCISCO - The number of telemarketers calling Craig Lawrence at home in Illinois fell sharply after he signed up for the National Do Not Call Registry a couple of years ago. But it didn’t completely quiet his ringing telephone.

Pizza chains battle to offer best deals
Knight Ridder Newspapers
DALLAS - Pizza lovers might remember 2005 as the year of the real deal.

Bush proposes reductions in dairy programs
WASHINGTON (AP) - President George W. Bush’s budget proposal includes a new tax on dairy farmers along with reductions to two dairy price support programs.

Disney selling ABC Radio network to Citadel
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Walt Disney Co. is selling its 22 ABC Radio stations and network to Citadel Broadcasting Corp. in a $2.7 billion cash and stock deal that would hand Disney shareholders a majority stake in the new company.

GM cuts dividend, execs’ pay
DETROIT (AP) - General Motors Corp., under shareholder pressure to return to profitability, announced today it is cutting in half its yearly dividend to $1 a share and reducing the salaries of its chairman and senior leadership team.

At ceremony, Bernanke pledges to focus on Fed mission
WASHINGTON (AP) - New Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke vowed yesterday to do his best to carry out the central bank’s mission of fighting inflation, fostering economic growth and nurturing a healthy jobs climate.

Aibo owners feel bite of Sony restructuring
TOKYO (AP) - The world’s first mass-marketed robot, Sony’s Aibo, recognizes its owners’ faces and is programmed for sympathy, like a canine companion. Its eyes light up in red to show anger, green to convey happiness. It even learns its own name.