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NEWS AT A GLANCE

British Airways profit doubles

British Airways said its annual profit more than doubled, to $1.32 billion, and that it would pay a dividend for the first time in seven years. But it warned that the current quarter would be "particularly difficult" due to high oil prices and the airline's bungled move into the new Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow airport. (MarketWatch) British Airways boosted earnings by increasing traffic on its flights between London and the U.S., especially among corporate fliers. It projected a nearly $2 billion rise in fuel costs for the current year. "The figures are slightly ahead of consensus, but the caution for this year on fuel is clear," said JPMorgan analyst Chris Avery. "At $120 oil, BA won't make much money in the new year." (Bloomberg)

Yahoo and Icahn square off

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn said he had amassed 59 million shares of Yahoo and would work to replace the board of directors with a slate that backs a merger with Microsoft. Icahn said the current board "acted irrationally" by refusing Microsoft's $47.5 billion buyout. (Reuters) Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock replied that the board had "kept an open mind and an open ear" during negotiations, but that Microsoft undervalued the company and "has publicly stated that they have moved on." Icahn reportedly has not received any sign of renewed interest from Microsoft. Icahn has launched 17 proxy battles to date. "If we go to an election, Icahn will win," said Larry Haverty of Gabelli Funds' Gamco Investors. (Los Angeles Times, free registration)

British Energy lands suitors

British Energy Group, the largest U.K. producer of nuclear power, said it had received several takeover bids, with some valuing the company at as high as $21.3 billion. The news sent British Energy shares up by as much as 7 percent in London early today. (MarketWatch) British Energy operates eight nuclear power plants, and is an integral part of the British government's plan to amp up nuclear production and replace aging facilities. (Reuters) Before the announcement, only France's state-controlled Electricite de France SA, the world's largest nuclear power company, was known to have bid on the company. "It's moderately positive to have the indication that there's more than one party," said Pali International analyst Angelos Anastasiou. (Bloomberg)

London's shisha underground

England's smoking ban has largely pushed shisha underground in London's "Little Cairo" district, and that's taking its toll on the neighborhood. Smoking shisha, the tobacco water pipe found throughout the Middle East and North Africa, is a social event, and the 66 pre-smoking-ban shisha cafes along Edgware Road were the cornerstone of the area's nightlife. Smoking is still allowed outside, but poor weather and limited seating have stripped the ritual of much of its appeal. That has led to underground shisha parlors, which risk a $5,000 fine for noncompliance with the ban. They are also, by most accounts, smoky and unpleasant. "You may as well buy your own and smoke it at home," says Saman Ziaie, 21. (Bloomberg)

BEST COLUMNS OF THE DAY

The fragile nest egg

Investors and homeowners have come to expect returns of about 10 percent on their investments, says Sandra Block in USA Today. But those assumptions, which form the basis of many retirement plans, "rest on two decades of outsize returns." And if experts are right that we now face years of "below-average returns on both stocks and home equity," we're left with a "sobering fact": many people won't have enough saved for retirement. Add to that higher inflation and a sluggish economy, and "many of us will have to save more, expect less, and work longer than we'd planned." Sure, "pessimists have been wrong in the past," but by avoiding "overly rosy projections" you only risk a bigger nest egg.

Letting go of the legacy

General Electric is "jettisoning one of its most iconic units," appliances, says Matt Vella in BusinessWeek.com. And joining the "small but high-profile club" of companies that have shed "businesses once synonymous with their brand names" could work well for GE, as it has for fellow club members IBM and Eastman Kodak. Just like Kodak turned its consumer film business into "cutting-edge digital imaging products," GE could swap stoves and refrigerators for a new generation of home devices, maybe health care products like defibrillators. The real question is why GE "took so long to make this move." Appliances have been a "reliable, albeit declining, generator of cash," but its hard to grow without cutting loose "legacy businesses."

GOOD DAY FOR: New Windows, after Microsoft joined the One Laptop Per Child project, potentially boosting orders for the $188 laptops. Adding the Windows operating system to the XO laptops, which currently run a Linux-based system called Sugar, will add up to $20 per laptop. Project founder Nicholas Negroponte said he hoped the change would ease skepticism among education ministers in potential client nations. (AP in Yahoo! Finance)

BAD DAY FOR: Puffed rice, after the price of rice dropped for a fifth day, for a total weekly decline of 14 percent. That marks the grain's steepest fall in since July 2004. New supplies of rice from Pakistan and Japan eased concern about a global shortage of the staple. "The wheels are in motion for lower food prices," said UBS analyst John Reeve. (Bloomberg)

NOTED: Nordic brewer Carlsberg said it will raise $6.3 billion by selling stock to existing shareholders, to settle about half the debt it acquired by purchasing the Russian assets of British brewer Scottish & Newcastle. Beer consumption is growing in Russia, but staying stagnant in Western Europe. About 76.3 million shares will be sold at a 40 percent discount, in Denmark's largest-ever stock sale. (Bloomberg)

This column was written by Peter Weber of TheWeekDaily.com.