Cemex

Mexican cement maker Cemex de CV, which has acquired British RMC, announced
that it will reduce its U.K. head count by 750 in order to cut costs. The downsizing
will mean job losses for nearly a tenth of RMC's total workforce.

The company said in a statement in New York that the British staff would be
consulted about the reductions. It also did not rule out quarry closures.

Cemex said it intends to reduce its total workforce by 2,000 and achieve savings
through this and other cost-cutting measures to the extent of pounds 110 million
annually by 2007.

Mexican cement giant Cemex will cut an estimated 2,000 jobs, including 750 in Britain,
as part of its recent acquisition of Britain's RMC group.

The cuts will save the company $70 million by 2007, Juan Pablo San Agustin, Cemex's
senior vice president for strategic planning, said in a conference call Tuesday with
analysts.

The company plans to save another $290 million by implementing changes in processes,
energy and maintenance, procurement, and other areas, San Agustin added.

The savings forecast is above the $200 million Cemex initially expected when it

Target

Third quarter net income at Target Corp. unexpectedly declined due to weak sales of
higher-margin apparel and home goods, disappointing Wall Street and further lowering
expectations for holiday sales, which some observers expect to be the weakest in five
years. Management responded with a new, expanded share-repurchase plan.

The bottom line for the three months ended November 3 dipped 4.4% to $483 million, or
56 cents per diluted share, well short of the consensus estimate of 62 cents per share from
analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Sales for the quarter gained 9% to $14.34 billion, as comparable-store results grew 3.7%,
down from a 4.6% increase a year ago. Target's credit card operations continued to grow
at a double-digit pace, as net revenues climbed 19% to $493 million, helping fuel a 9.3%
increase in total revenues to $14.84 billion.

Our third quarter earnings were disappointing due to soft sales in our higher-margin
categories, leading to lower-than-expected gross margin in our core retail operations,"
says chairman and chief executive officer Bob Ulrich in a statement. "But we have not
observed any meaningful change in the intensity of the competitive environment and
continue to believe we are well positioned to operate in a variety of sales environments
going forward
Although the final sales results aren't in yet, analysts are confident that Wal-Mart has
finally trumped its closest competitor in the 2007 holiday sales race.