A. Wal-Mart cuts sales forecastWal-Mart Stores, Inc. cut its August sales forecast Monday,

A. Wal-Mart cuts sales forecast

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. cut its August sales forecast Monday, saying it expects sales at stores open at least a year to be flat to up 2 percent, citing weak back-to-school trends and hurricanes that forced it to close up to 75 stores. Wal-Mart had been forecasting that sales at stores open at least a year, known as same-store sales, would rise 2 to 4 percent for the month. Wal-Mart stock fell about 2 percent in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

B. El Paso sees $ 2. 7B drop in assets

El Paso Corp. on Monday disclosed the full damage from its drastic cut in reserves earlier this year, saying a long-awaited restatement will slash the value of its oil and gas assets by $ 2.7 billion. The Houston company, the largest U.S. natural gas pipeline operator, also said it expects to cut its debt by 9 percent from its current level to under $17 billion by year-end. El Paso, which earlier this year cut its proven natural gas reserves by 41 percent and said it would restate earnings back to 1999, had about $ 2. 7 billion in cash and credit revolvers as of July 31.

C. FedEx shares rise on outlook

FedEx Corp. raised its earnings forecast for the fiscal first quarter and frill year Monday, citing strong demand for its international express, ground and less-than-truckload services. Shares of FedEx rose as much as 3:7 percent in the first half of Monday's New York Stock Exchange trading. Chief Financial Officer Alan Graf said risks existed, such as prolonged high oil prices, that could hurt the world economy, but the company expects its business to remain strong.

D. IBM sees 30% gain in Web hosting

International Business Machines Corp. widened its lead last year in the U. S. market for Internet hosting services as it won a greater share of the medium-sized business market, according to data recently published by market research firm IDC. The Armonk, N. Y. - based company has identified Web hosting as a key to boosting overall revenue growth. As the hardware business that had been its mainstay has matured over the past several years, IBM has focused on services. According to the most recent report from IDC, published in late July, IBM's Web hosting market share in the United States rose to 24.8 percent in 2003 from 23.5 percent in 2002 and just 15 percent in 2000.

E. Viagra abuse may boost HIV risk

San Francisco has petitioned federal regulators to warn that use of anti-impotence drugs such as Viagra could increase the risk of sexually transmitted disease and HIV, officials said on Monday. The request to the Food and Drug Administration earlier this month is a response to the recreational use of Viagra among gay men, who use it to enhance promiscuous sex. "The predominant problem that we see in San Francisco is with widespread use among gay men with multiple partners," said Jeffrey Klausner, director of sexually transmitted disease prevention at the city's health department.

The company has decreased its expectation of turnover.