Johnson & Johnson threatened to abandon its $25.4 billion plan to acquire the Guidant Corporation, a troubled heart device maker.

For millions, what matters most about Bush's tax proposal is how it affects homeowners' bottom line. If the proposal becomes law, the value of their homes will almost certainly fall.

Media stocks bumped up yesterday on the prospects of financial moves at companies like Time Warner and Knight Ridder. In general, though, Wall Street is still not buying the new story.

CNN ousted its longtime prime-time anchor, Aaron Brown, in favor of Anderson Cooper, who received extensive media attention over his coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

Google has completed the first major expansion of its Google Print database, adding the full text of more than 10,000 books that are no longer under copyright.

Wal-Mart Stores said on Wednesday that it would extend its control of Seiyu, its ailing Japanese affiliate, by installing one of its top United States executives.

Northwest Airlines' flight attendant union said that it would agree to temporary concessions worth about $117 million in exchange for more time to negotiate a contract.

Paramount Pictures is expected to name the talent agent John Lesher, whose clients include Martin Scorsese, to be the president of struggling Paramount Classics.

Jeff McClusky, an influential player in the music industry who devised a technique that sidestepping laws against bribery, said this week that he was dumping the business model he pioneered.

The Credit Suisse Group, Switzerland's second-largest bank, posted a 42 percent increase in third-quarter profit on Wednesday.

By The New York Times.

Three top executives of Mercury Interactive, maker of software for testing Internet programs, resigned amid an investigation into the pricing of employee stock options.

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 2 (Dow Jones/AP) - Qualcomm reported Wednesday that its earnings rose 37 percent in its latest quarter, led by demand for next-generation cellphones.

By The Associated Press.

By Reuters.

The Bush administration is proposing to allow foreign investors to control airlines based in the U.S., a move intended to attract capital to hard-pressed carriers.

Deutsche Telekom, the largest phone company in Europe, said Wednesday that it would cut 19,000 jobs from its German payroll over the next three years.

The Treasury's new 30-year bond will be auctioned on Feb. 9, helping to raise an estimated $171 billion during the January-March quarter.

General Electric said yesterday that it expected as much as $1.2 billion in savings next year, four times earlier estimates.

ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC Sports announced their acquisition of the television rights to the next two World Cups and Women's World Cups through 2014 for an estimated $100 million.

The C.E.O. of Novartis said on Wednesday that the Swiss drug company would consider building a vaccine production plant in the United States.

By Reuters.

The Cablevision Systems Corporation said that its board had authorized management to prepare to pay a $3 billion dividend that was proposed last week.

By The Associated Press.

Time Warner announced improved earnings and said it would buy back $12.5 billion of its shares in the wake of criticism from the activist investor Carl C. Icahn.

Johnson & Johnson's stumble in the purchase of the Guidant Corporation, the medical device maker, illustrates the perils of designing a corporate strategy around acquisitions.

Using the cheap digital tools - cellphone cameras, laptops and Web editing software - teenagers are pushing content onto the Internet as naturally as they view it.

The PGA Tour's adoption of a new season-long points system and late-summer playoff starting in 2007 is a naked pitch for more television money.

The new BlackBerry 8700c is a thoroughly modernized version of a gizmo whose technologies were rock-solid but a tad behind the times.

From 1990 to 2000, the number of people working in the U.S. grew by more than nine million from immigration alone. What effect did this have on the wages of native-born Americans?

Liquor advertising on Sirius is emblematic of how the relationships between marketers and media companies are being transformed as consumers embrace new options like satellite radio.

Some small businesses are concerned with ending preventable tragedy, not just turning a profit. The sales and income generated by the products are secondary to the lives they may save.

The economic impact of a possible bird flu pandemic is a matter of 'grave concern', the World Bank says.

Reuters - Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (005930.KS) expects prices of its core computer memory chips to stabilize in the second half of 2006 and said lower flash chip prices would boost demand, sending shares up 2.6 percent.

Catering giant Compass sacks several executives following an investigation into alleged corruption over UN contracts.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics aims to become one of the world's three largest electronics firm by 2010.

Reuters - BMW , the world's biggest premium carmaker, reported a drop in third-quarter pretax profit that was worse than expected after poor results in its core auto business and a loss on a financial instrument.

Reuters - Strong telecom sales and the success of video games 'World of Warcraft' and 'The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction' helped Vivendi Universal beat forecasts with a 12 percent rise in third-quarter sales on Thursday.

Reuters - Consumer goods giant Unilever reported a higher-than-expected 25 percent rise in third-quarter earnings on Thursday as cost savings and a move to higher priced products more than compensated for higher input costs.

Reuters - Germany's Adidas reported a 28 percent rise in third-quarter net income from continuing operations due to strong growth in Asia and America, beating analysts' forecasts and prompting it to raise its 2005 forecast.

AP - Congress has three months left to get Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's views, not only on economic policy but also on just about anything lawmakers want him to weigh in on.

Vodafone is in talks to up its stake in South African mobile phone operator Vodacom to 50% in a £1.35bn cash deal.

Reuters - Costco Wholesale Corp. said on Thursday its worldwide October sales rose 10 percent at stores open at least a year, helped by strong demand for food and gasoline.

Reuters - Volkswagen , the world's fourth-largest carmaker, missed expectations as it reported operating profit rose by half in the third quarter on the back of cost-savings effects.

Reuters - Consumer goods giant Unilever reported an 11 percent dip in third-quarter profit as expected on Thursday but its shares fell because, despite a big rise in marketing, it failed to increase prices and its margins dropped.

Reuters - Sporting goods maker Adidas raised its 2005 outlook on Thursday after third-quarter net income rose by nearly a third as orders picked up before next year's soccer World Cup in its home market Germany.

German carmaker BMW reveals a drop in profits blaming high costs, as rival VW says a cost-cutting drive boosted its earnings.

The editor of the Financial Times, Andrew Gowers, quits following a dispute with the newspaper's publisher.

Washington is considering proposals to give foreign investors more say in how US airlines operate.

A judge has ruled that UK laws do not criminalise some types of attacks on computer networks.

Reuters - Top U.S. cable operator Comcast Corp. on Thursday said quarterly profit rose slightly but revenue climbed more sharply as a result of new high-speed Internet subscribers and digital phone customers.

Reuters - J.C. Penney Co. Inc. on Thursday said sales at department stores open at least a year rose 2.4 percent in October, and it raised its quarterly profit forecast.

Reuters - Limited Brands said on Thursday its sales at stores open at least a year fell 4 percent in October.

Reuters - U.S. stocks futures pointed to a flat Wall Street opening on Thursday with some traders fearing hawkish testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan later and Friday's non-farm payrolls numbers looming.

Reuters - U.S. stocks futures indicated a nearly flat market opening on Thursday, with strong October retail sales offset by worries about congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan later Thursday.

Iran's government backs plans to give low income families the chance to invest in state-owned firms, reports say.

Reuters - Stocks opened higher on Thursday as a productivity report eased concerns about rising inflation and interest rates and as some retailers, including Target Corp., reported strong October sales.

Reuters - Business productivity surged in the third quarter, far outpacing Wall Street forecasts, and an unexpected decline in labor costs helped ease inflation worries.

Reuters - U.S. retail chain store sales rose in October, as the arrival of cooler weather helped spur demand for fall clothing and merchandise.

Reuters - Top U.S. cable operator Comcast Corp. on Thursday said quarterly revenue rose 10 percent alongside new high-speed Internet and digital phone customers, even as profit was undermined by investment losses.

AP - Congress has three months left to get Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's views, not only on economic policy but also on just about anything lawmakers want him to weigh in on.

AP - A blast of cold weather toward the end of October boosted sales of cold weather wear and gave many of the nation's retailers solid sales for the month. The outlook for the holiday season remained cautious with energy prices still high.

In a major victory for Merck, the company will not be held liable for the 2001 heart attack suffered by a man taking Vioxx.

US pharmaceutical giant Merck wins a high-profile court case in New Jersey over its arthritis painkiller Vioxx.

The London Stock Exchange signals its determination to end the uncertainty surrounding its future as an independent company.

The US and China have made 'substantial progress' towards agreeing a textile trade deal, the US says.

Leading US stores enjoyed better-than-expected sales last month, figures show, as high gasoline prices fail to deter consumers.

US business productivity - the amount of output per hour of work - soared during the third quarter, figures show.

The European Central Bank votes to leave the eurozone's interest rate untouched at 2% for another month.

Reuters - The U.S. economy has good momentum despite some drag from the impact of recent hurricanes, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Tuesday, but he warned that potential inflation was a concern.

Reuters - New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer on Thursday announced a lawsuit against Guidant Corp., accusing the medical devices maker of hiding information about a defect in a heart defibrillator.

Reuters - Retail chains reported stronger-than-expected October sales as easing gasoline prices and a drop in temperatures at the end of the month after unseasonably warm weather spurred consumer demand for fall merchandise.

Reuters - Stocks rose on Thursday after Dow component Merck & Co. got a favorable verdict in a drug liability trial and data on productivity and the services sector reassured investors about inflation and the economy.

AP - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress Thursday that economic fallout from the recent spate of devastating hurricanes should prove fleeting and that the economy remains sturdy.

The ruling is a reversal of a verdict in which a jury awarded $253 million to the widow of a man who died after taking the drug.

Five luxury brand names - including Gucci and Prada - sue China's famous Silk Street market for selling fake goods.

Catering giant Compass sacks several executives following an investigation into alleged corruption over UN contracts.

Reuters - U.S. retail chains reported stronger-than-expected October sales as easing gasoline prices and a drop in temperatures at the end of the month after unseasonably warm weather spurred demand for fall merchandise.

Reuters - General Motors Corp. on Thursday said it will invest about $20 million in its Shreveport, Louisiana, truck assembly plant to increase production of the Hummer H3 sport utility vehicle and Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon mid-size pickups.

AP - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress Thursday that economic fallout from the recent spate of devastating hurricanes should prove fleeting and that the economy remains sturdy.

Reuters - U.S. stocks advanced on Thursday, after Dow component Merck & Co. got a favorable verdict in a drug liability trial and government indicators on productivity and the services sector reassured investors about the economy's prospects.

Reuters - German sporting goods firm Adidas said on Thursday it plans to raise around 640 million euros ($771.9 million) in fresh capital to help finance its $3.8-billion-takeover of U.S. rival Reebok.

Fed Chairman Greenspan, however, registered longer-term concerns about inflation and the federal budget deficit.

Soft drinks giant Coca-Cola will stop sales of its Vanilla Coke and Vanilla Diet Coke in the UK from early 2006.

Reuters - Bankrupt Refco Inc. on Thursday said all bids submitted for its assets by Friday's deadline must stay on the table for 25 days or until the sale closes, in case the winning bidder can't close the deal.

AP - With just three months left before he leaves office, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan raised a warning to Congress: The country could face "serious economic disruptions" if bloated budget deficits are not curbed.

Reuters - Stocks rose on Thursday, as Dow component Merck & Co. got a favorable ruling in a liability trial and reports on labor productivity and the services sector, boosted optimism on the economy's outlook.

AP - The outlook for the holiday shopping season brightened Thursday as many of the nation's retailers reported that their sales improved in October with the arrival of colder weather.

The editor of The Financial Times, Andrew Gowers, resigned today over 'strategic differences' with Pearson, the newspaper's owner.

Reuters - U.S. airlines are breathing a little easier over the past week as jet fuel prices have eased significantly, returning to levels before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita knocked out refineries, sending prices soaring.

Reuters - Another bidder for Refco Inc.'s futures brokerage emerged on Thursday, joining a field of at least six possible buyers, a day before offers are due for the bankrupt brokerage.

AP - The Asian Development Bank projected Thursday that a bird flu pandemic in Asia could kill 3 million people, cause economic losses of up to nearly $300 billion and possibly push the world into a recession. China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand would likely be hit hardest in the event of an outbreak, the report said.

Reuters - U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, as Dow component Merck & Co. got a favorable verdict in a liability trial, while reports on labor productivity and the services sector boosted optimism about the economy's outlook.

AP - The outlook for the holiday shopping season brightened Thursday as many of the nation's retailers reported that their sales improved in October with the arrival of colder weather and the easing of gasoline prices.

Internet retailer Amazon.com reveals two new online schemes to help readers buy books in different ways.

Reuters - U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as drug maker Merck & Co. won a key Vioxx liability trial, while reports on labor productivity and the services sector boosted optimism about the economy.

The data, which showed that the economy was growing at a strong clip without signs of widespread inflation, surprised many analysts.

Reuters - The dollar rose to a two-year high against the yen on Friday after comments from the Federal Reserve chairman a day earlier suggested the U.S. currency's interest rate advantage would keep growing.

AP - Buoyed by a big income tax benefit, Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. reported a net profit Thursday for the third quarter but noted that revenue had declined in its revamped publishing unit.

Amazon.com and Google are both developing systems to allow consumers to purchase online access to any page, section or chapter of a book.

The drug giant's victory could slow the flood of personal-injury lawsuits against the company, legal experts say.

The editor of The Financial Times, Andrew Gowers, resigned over 'strategic differences' with Pearson, the newspaper's owner.