Business news in brief

Johnson & Johnson, hammered by recalls that have kept some nonprescription medicines and other products off the market, posted a 12 percent profit decline and a 5.5 percent drop in revenue for the fourth quarter. The company said Tuesday that net income was $1.94 billion, or 70 cents a share. That was down from $2.21 billion, or 79 cents a share, in 2009's fourth quarter. The company said during a conference call that last year's product recalls and shutdown of a plant in Fort Washington, Montgomery County, cost it $900 million in sales in 2010, Bloomberg News reported. Meanwhile, J&J forecast earnings per share of $4.80 to $4.90 for 2011. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting $4.99 a share for 2011. - AP

DuPont Co. reported a decline in fourth-quarter earnings as increased sales were offset by higher costs and the loss of pharmaceutical business from patent expirations. DuPont, Wilmington, reported net income of $376 million, or 40 cents a share, for the quarter, down from $441 million, or 48 cents a share, a year earlier. Earnings excluding significant items totaled $463 million, or 50 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $402 million, or 44 cents a share, in the fourth quarter of 2009. DuPont boosted full-year 2011 earnings guidance to a range of $3.45 to $3.75 a share, up from previous guidance of $3.30 to $3.60 a share. - AP

Families boosted their investments in Pennsylvania's college-savings program 5 percent last year, even as the national economy remained slow, state Treasurer Robert McCord said. The new investments in the state's 529 College Savings Program totaled $309.8 million, an annual record. The program offers parents two plans to save for their children's college education. As of Dec. 31, the program had total assets of $2.16 billion, an increase of 17.5 percent from 2009, McCord said. It consisted of gains on the program's investments as well as the money contributed by families during the year. That included about 16,600 accounts opened last year. - Paul Schweizer

Burkholder Bros. Inc., an Aston landscaping firm, said it would hire 12 employees to bring its peak employment to about 50. The new hires, as the company gears up for spring and summer, will be for sales, management, and field workers. The company also projected it would increase its revenue to $4 million in 2012 from an expected $3 million to $3.5 million this year as it boosts its customer base and expands into new markets. The company was founded in 1996. - Paul Schweizer

The Consumer Confidence Index rose in January to its highest since May, with Americans growing a little more confident about the job market and business conditions. The Conference Board, a New York business research group, said its Consumer Confidence Index climbed to 60.6 from 53.3 in December. In the Middle Atlantic states - Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York - the index rose to 53.5 from 48.9 in December. Still, the January readings are far from the 90 level that signals a healthy consumer mind-set. - AP

Google Inc. plans to hire more than 6,200 workers this year in the biggest expansion yet by the Internet's most profitable company. The company outlined its hiring plans Tuesday with the Associated Press without providing many specifics beyond its pledge to hire more people than it did in 2007, when it added 6,131 workers. Google hired nearly 4,600 people last year to end 2010 with 24,400 employees. Based on its hiring commitment, Google's workforce will increase at least 25 percent this year. - AP

Yahoo Inc.'s fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled, but declining revenue makes it clear the Internet company is still struggling to cash in on the boom in online advertising. Yahoo earned $312 million, or 24 cents a share, in the October-to-December period. That compares with net income of $153 million, or 11 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue dropped 12 percent from the prior year to $1.53 billion. The results come as Yahoo is laying off 100 to 150 workers, about 1 percent of Yahoo's workforce. Yahoo had jettisoned 600 workers just before Christmas. - AP

Lowe's Cos. Inc., the home-improvement retailer, plans to eliminate 1,700 middle-management jobs in stores as profit growth trails that of larger Home Depot Inc. Lowe's also plans to add 8,000 to 10,000 weekend sales positions to improve staffing at the chain's busiest time of the week. Lowe's had about 239,000 employees as of Jan. 29, 2010, compared with Home Depot's 317,000. Profit growth at Lowe's trailed Home Depot's last quarter. - Bloomberg News

Kimberly-Clark Corp. reported flat fourth-quarter net income and announced restructuring plans to deal with rising costs. The maker of Kleenex tissues also raised its dividend 6 percent and expects to buy back $1.5 billion in shares this year. It plans to streamline, sell, or close five or six plants, including one in Everett, Wash., and two in Australia, chairman and chief executive officer Thomas Falk said. The company employs more than 800 at a plant in Chester, Delaware County. It reported net income of $492 million, or $1.20 a share, in the fourth quarter. That compares with $492 million, or $1.17 a share, a year earlier. It had more shares outstanding in last year's quarter. Revenue for the three months ended Dec. 31 rose 2 percent to $5.08 billion. - AP

Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. is paying a $10 million fine to settle charges of civil securities fraud by regulators who accused the firm of misusing customers' order data to make trades for its own account and for failing to disclose trading fees. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the settlement Tuesday with Merrill Lynch, which was acquired by Bank of America Corp. in January 2009 at the height of the financial crisis. Merrill neither admitted nor denied the allegations under the settlement. The SEC said the violations took place from 2002 to 2007. - AP