Business news with words analysts+plans+san. 6 news.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- A giant new Chinese sovereign-wealth fund is moving ahead with plans to start hiring outside money managers, something analysts expect will become more prevalent in a rapidly growing $2 trillion-plus market.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Auto parts and building products manufacturer Quanex Corp. reported late Tuesday fiscal fourth-quarter operating income of $62.9 million, or $1.05 a share, up from $59.3 million, or $1.03 a share, a year ago. Revenue for the three months ended Oct. 31 rose nearly 6% to $557.9 million from $527.7 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial predicted Quanex would earn 97 cents a share on $548 million in revenue. Quanex warned it expects building products sales to drop 5% in 2008 due to the tough home building market. The company announced last month it plans to spin off its building products unit to shareholders and sell its auto parts business to Gerdau S.A. in a deal worth $1.7 billion. Shares of the Houston-based company rose 18 cents ahead of the report to close at $49.34.

SHARES in Intel Corp and Yahoo! Inc have advanced in German trading after earnings topped analysts' estimates. This has spurred optimism about sales of computers, electronics and online advertising going into the holidays, Bloomberg News reported. Intel, the world's largest chip maker, said late on Tuesday that profit rose 43 percent on demand for personal computers in Europe and Asia. Yahoo, owner of the most-visited United States Website, reported a surge in sales of banner ads. That helped its profit fall less than analysts predicted. "You're seeing solid to better-than-expected if not spectacular news out of a couple of big bellwethers, with both Yahoo and Intel looking pretty good," said Kevin Landis, chief investment officer at Firsthand Capital Management in San Jose, California. His firm owns Yahoo stock and plans to buy shares in Intel. "It is going to be good news for tech stocks," he said. Intel, whose processors run more than 70 percent of the

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- If you're suffering from sticker shock shopping for long-term health-care plans, pooling your resources could cut those jitters substantially. Instead of buying for one, advisers and analysts say you can sometimes slash premium costs by approaching long-term-care insurance as a couple.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Cognos Inc. said Thursday that earnings rose nearly 12% in its second fiscal quarter, slightly beating Wall Street's expectations. For the period ended Aug. 31, the business software maker reported earnings of $26.5 million, or 31 cents a share, compared to earnings of $23.8 million, or 26 cents a share, for the same period last year. The company said earnings on a non-GAAP basis was $34.7 million, or 40 cents a share, for the recent period. Revenue rose 10% to $252.4 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of 38 cents a share on revenue of $250.8 million, according to Thomson Financial. The company also said it plans to buy back up to $200 million worth of stock by October of 2008.

Just two months after the release of the iPhone, which Steve Jobs proclaimed was the best iPod ever, Apple is expected to reveal Wednesday how it plans to move the iPod line forward. The company has summoned reporters and analysts to San Francisco's Moscone...