Here is a look at more of Wednesday's top business stories:
Avon says sales growth is speeding up
NEW YORK, June 5 (UPI) -- Cosmetics company Avon Products Inc. said sales growth was speeding up in the second quarter, as strength in the United States and other markets offset pressure in Argentina, and said it continues to expect 10 percent earnings growth.
The world's largest seller of beauty products said it expects sales to be up about 4 percent in the quarter, improving from a 2 percent gain in the first quarter.
Sales would be up 7 percent to 8 percent excluding Argentina, where the devaluation of the peso and the economic crisis have hurt results, the company said.
U.S. sales are expected to be up 6 percent to 7 percent.
Earnings for the quarter are expected to be 63 cents a share, up from 57 cents a year ago, the company said.
Avon also repeated its full year estimate of $2.30 a share.
Analysts on Wall Street expect Avon to post earnings of 63 cents a share in the second quarter and $2.31 for the year, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
Commenting on the outlook, Andrea Jung, Avon's chairman and chief executive officer, said, "We are very pleased that the positive momentum in our global operations is continuing, and that we are on track to deliver our third consecutive year of double-digit earnings growth.
"The U.S. is building strength-on-strength and should have another excellent quarter, indicating that our strategies to enhance Avon's image and strengthen our direct selling channel are working," Jung said.
"And our international operations -- particularly Europe -- should post impressive local currency results, despite economic challenges in some markets," she said.
Avon is scheduled to report its second quarter results on July 19.
NYC board rejects ConEd electric substation
NEW YORK, June 5 (UPI) -- A New York City land-use board rejected Consolidated Edison's plans to build a 10-story electric substation on a plot of land the utility owns in lower Manhattan.
Con Edison had sought a zoning variance from the Board of Standards and Appeals that would have allowed it to build the substation on a former parking lot near 24th Street and Sixth Avenue.
The substation, which would convert high-voltage power to lower levels for delivery to homes and businesses, is necessary to meet booming power demand in the Chelsea neighborhood, Con Edison said.
Electric consumption in that area has grown about 5 percent in past five years -- almost twice the rate seen in the rest of Manhattan, according to Con Edison.
The utility said it was disappointed with the board's decision and would work with the city to find a new location for the substation.
But finding a suitable spot in Manhattan for the large structure will be a huge challenge, the utility said previously.
To help ensure the lights stay on in Chelsea this summer, Con Edison said it will place eight generators mounted on flatbed trucks in a handful of locations around the neighborhood.
The units, which range in size from 2 megawatts to 800 kilovolts, will run only during periods of high electric demand, the utility said.
Chelsea residents have opposed the generators and the substation.
Smithfield Foods posts lower results
SMITHFIELD, Va., June 5 (UPI) -- Smithfield Foods Inc., the nation's largest pork producer, said its fourth quarter net income for the period ended April 28 fell to $24.9 million, or 22 cents a share, from $53.5 million, or 49 cents a share during the same period last year.
Analysts on Wall Street had expected the company to post a net income of 21 cents a share, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
Sales rose to $1.96 billion from $1.51 billion a year ago in part to the addition of sales of newly acquired companies.
The company attributed the lower results in the fourth quarter versus a year ago to sharply lower live hog prices and weak fresh pork demand as a result of the excess protein supply in the domestic marketplace.
A major contributing factor was the Russian ban on chicken imported from the United States.
Joseph W. Luter III, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "We are disappointed in our fourth quarter results, which reflected lower fresh pork prices and live hog prices."
CellStar pulls out of U.K., Peru and Argentina
CARROLLTON, Texas, June 5 (UPI) -- CellStar Corp., a distributor of wireless communication products, said it would pull out of the United Kingdom, Peru and Argentina and take a $10 million charge.
CellStar said it would assess the rest of its European and Latin American businesses over the next six months and could make further divestitures if those operations cannot be made more profitable.
The company said its revolving credit facility was amended in conjunction with the decision.
Robert Kaiser, chief financial officer, said, "Improving our position in the U.K. would require substantial investment, which we are not willing to make in that market, and the economic climate in Peru and Argentina, coupled with our small scale, provides little upside and significant risk."
Most of the one-time, after-tax charge of $10 million will be for the difference between the historical book value of the operations and the net proceeds received.
CellStar said it intends to focus more on markets in Asia, Mexico, and the United States, particularly Miami.
Tower Automotive lifts earnings guidance
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., June 5 (UPI) -- Auto parts maker Tower Automotive Inc. said it raised earnings guidance for the second quarter, citing better-than-expected operating results.
Tower, which builds suspension systems and auto components, said it expects net earnings for the second quarter ending June 30 in the range of 36 cents to 40 cents per diluted share, on revenues of about $710 million to $725 million.
The company said interest expense savings and an increase in the number of its shares outstanding contributed to the revised outlook.
Tower said its previous second quarter earnings guidance was 33 cents to 38 cents per share, including the recent stock offering and related interest expense savings, on sales of $695 million to $715 million. On a pre-offering basis, the guidance was 37 cents to 42 cents.
Tower recently completed a stock offering of 17.25 million shares and said it used the proceeds of about $222.5 million to repay borrowings under its senior credit facility.
