Highmark Inc. and Independence Blue Cross said yesterday that for the second time the Justice Department has cleared the proposed merger of the two companies under federal antitrust law. The Justice Department first reviewed and cleared the proposed deal in May 2007. The two companies are awaiting approval from the state.

Microsoft Corp. said its fiscal fourth-quarter net income jumped 42 percent, helped by strong sales of its Office and Windows software. Earnings rose to $4.3 billion, or 46 cents per share, but that missed Wall Street's expectations by a penny per share. A year ago, Microsoft reported earnings of $3 billion, or 31 cents per share. Revenue increased 18 percent to nearly $15.8 billion.

Coca-Cola Co. said its net income fell 23 percent in the second quarter as it took a charge because of troubles at Coca-Cola Enterprises, the bottler in which the beverage company has a 35 percent stake. Coca-Cola earned $1.42 billion, or 61 cents a share, down from $1.85 billion, or 80 cents, in the year-ago quarter. The results included a charge of 40 cents per share related to Coca-Cola Enterprises. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected a profit of 96 cents per share. Excluding one-time items, the per-share figure came to $1.01. Revenue rose 17 percent to $9.05 billion. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola Enterprises, which has about 80 percent of the U.S. market for Coke, said it would raise prices after Labor Day because of higher commodity costs and declining U.S. soda sales.

Google Inc. said second-quarter net income rose 35 percent to $1.25 billion, or $3.92 per share, up from $925.1 million, or $2.93, a year ago. If not for costs incurred for employee stock compensation, Google said it would have earned $4.63 per share. That figure missed the average earnings estimate of $4.74 per share among analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

IBM Corp. said second-quarter profit leaped 22 percent to $2.77 billion, or $1.98 per share. That's 16 cents per share higher than the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial. Sales for the period jumped nearly 13 percent to $26.8 billion.

Money manager BlackRock Inc. said second-quarter net income increased to $274.1 million, or $2.05 a share, from $222.2 million, or $1.69, a year ago. Profit excluding some compensation costs was $2.14 a share, beating analysts' average estimate of $1.97 a share. Revenue increased to $1.39 billion from $1.10 billion.

Nucor Corp. posted second-quarter profit of $580.8 million, or $1.94 a share, vs. $344.9 million, or $1.14, a year ago. Revenue rose 70 percent to $7.09 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected, on average, earnings per share of $1.83.

Merck & Co. will start cutting checks for former users of its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx next month after announcing yesterday that it would fund a $4.85 billion settlement expected to resolve roughly 50,000 lawsuits. The Vioxx case has cost Merck at least $6.8 billion, including more than $1.53 billion through March 31 on legal costs for defense research and individual trials, most of which it has won.

Freddie Mac said 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.26 percent this week, down from 6.37 percent last week. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages dipped to 5.78 percent, down from 5.91 percent last week ... Robinson-based Aethon Inc., the maker of the TUG robots that deliver medicines in hospitals, is marketing its train robot to children's hospitals nationwide. The train robot is in use in hospitals in Wisconsin, North Carolina and California.