Biz Buzz

LONG ISLAND

Partnering to fight TB

Stony Brook University is partnering with French drugmaker Sanofi to study a potential new treatment for tuberculosis, based on chemical compounds discovered in labs at the school's Institute of Chemical Biology & Drug Discovery. Stony Brook said it had embarked on a multiyear collaboration with Sanofi, but officials would not discuss financial terms of the deal. Iwao Ojima, director of the Stony Brook institute, said he hopes the partnership will lead to a treatment that could shorten treatment times and target strains of tuberculosis that are resistant to traditional antibiotics. -- Jonathan Starkey

Empire earnings climb

Empire National Bank reported higher earnings for last year's fourth quarter and record earnings for the year despite a decrease in loan activity. Empire, based in Islandia with branches in Shirley and Port Jefferson Station, said net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was $1.4 million, or 34 cents a share, up 17 percent from a year earlier. Net income for the year was $4.6 million, or $1.09 a share, up 142 percent from a year earlier. Loans outstanding totaled $212.9 million, down 2.6 percent from a year earlier. -- Tom Incantalupo

NATION

Woman to head Sam's Club

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's biggest retailer, said Friday that it has named Rosalind Brewer as president and chief executive of Sam's Club -- the first woman and the first African-American to hold a CEO position at one of the company's business units. Brewer, 49, was previously president of Wal-Mart's U.S. East unit. -- AP

Safety probe of Volt ends

The government is ending its safety investigation into the Chevrolet Volt. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday that it's closing the probe and believes the Volt and other electric cars don't pose a greater risk of fire than gas-powered vehicles. The agency started studying the Volt last June after a fire broke out in a Volt three weeks after it was crashed in a safety test. -- AP

WORLD

Iran cracks down on Barbie

Police have closed down dozens of toy shops for selling Barbie dolls in Iran, part of a decades-long crackdown against "manifestations of Western culture," the semiofficial Mehr news agency reported Friday. Barbie dolls are sold wearing swimsuits and miniskirts in a society where women must wear headscarves in public. -- AP