Investors have long hankered for the split, as most see the publishing unit as a drag on earnings and revenues.

WSJ: News Corp 3Q beats Street on pay TV, 'Pi'

Raytheon's commercial aircraft unit is a financial drag, as is its ailing pension plan.

FORBES

The obvious star of the quarter was strength out of the HDFS unit which had been a major drag on results as the recession deepened.

FORBES: Harley-Davidson's Stock Price Looks A Little Porky

First, he expects that Merck will finally complete a long-planned spinoff of its pharmacy benefits unit, Medco, this summer, eliminating a drag on its stock.

FORBES: For Merck, Steps In The Right Direction

In recent years, Time Inc. has been a drag on corporate-level results and revenue from the magazine unit hasn't recovered from the recession as advertisers continue to shift money out of print formats and onto digital ones.

WSJ: Time Inc. cuts 500 people, 6 pct of workforce

An aircraft-leasing unit that was valuable to AIG when it had a high credit rating but has been a drag ever since will be offloaded, too.

ECONOMIST: Prudential buys AIA: Grand Pru | The