Business notes

KENTUCKY

CERADYNE GETS $31.5 MILLION ORDER

Ceradyne Inc. has received a $31.5 million order for ceramic body armor from the U.S. Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. The order is for what are called enhanced side ballistic inserts, to be delivered from September to November. The armor is made by Ceradyne plants in Lexington and in Costa Mesa, Calif. U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan wear them as protection against bullets and bombs. Ceradyne's stock trades on Nasdaq as CRDN.

SUSPENSION EXTENSION HEARING POSTPONED

A hearing on an extension of trainer Patrick Biancone's suspension has been postponed from May 19 pending a ruling from Franklin Circuit Court. Biancone has requested an injunction to block the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority from taking up allegations that Biancone violated a six-month training ban imposed after three vials of cobra venom were discovered in his barn at Keeneland. The KHRA meets next on Monday at the Kentucky Horse Park.

NATIONAL

TEXAS VIOXX VERDICT IS OVERTURNED

A Texas appeals court Wednesday overturned a multimillion-dollar verdict against Merck & Co. in one of the few trials the drug company lost over its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx. A Texas jury in April 2006 awarded $32 million to the widow of a short-term Vioxx user who died of a heart attack in 2001 at age 71. That award -- $7 million for compensatory damages and $25 million for punitive damages -- later was cut to about $7.75 million. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel ruled in favor of Merck.

CONSUMER PRICES UP JUST 0.2% IN APRIL

Consumer prices slowed in April despite the biggest jump in food costs in nearly two decades. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that consumer prices edged up 0.2 percent last month, slightly lower than expected and less than the 0.3 percent rise in March. The lower inflation reflected a flat reading for energy, which helped offset a 0.9 percent jump in food. That was the biggest one-month surge since a 1.5 percent increase in January 1990.

MACY'S LOSES, BUT BEATS FORECASTS

Despite a $59 million loss and a sales slump in the first quarter, Macy's Inc. on Wednesday posted results that beat Wall Street expectations. Analysts credited tight controls on expenses and inventories. The loss resulted from lower sales and the cost of consolidating business units, Macy's said. Revenue was $5.75 billion, down from $5.92 billion a year earlier.