News Summary: Halliburton 4Q tops expectations

HALLIBURTON 4Q: Halliburton's net income for the fourth quarter fell 26 percent because of a decline in North America, where drilling activity slowed and the company has been forced to charge lower prices for its services.Still, the results beat Wall Street expectations and shares jumped.

THE NUMBERS: The world's second-largest oilfield services company earned $669 million, or 72 cents per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31. That's down from $906 million, or 98 cents per share, a year ago. But excluding one-time items, earnings were 67 cents per share, 6 cents above the forecast of analysts surveyed by FactSet.

GOING LONG: While Halliburton had traditionally kept its focus closer to home, it is looking increasingly abroad. During the fourth quarter, revenue rose in Latin American, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, offsetting slowed activity in North America.