Chinese industrial production continues to grow strongly, so much so that some officials are now fearful of overcapacity.

Three UK men wanted in the US regarding the Enron scandal are seeking a judicial review as they fight extradition.

Australian telecoms firm Telstra plans to cut its workforce by as much as one-fifth by 2010.

Mobile phone giant Vodafone reveals rising user numbers and revenues, but warns of slower growth ahead.

The World Trade Organization approves Saudi Arabia's application for membership after 12 years of talks.

Reuters - Telstra Corp. Ltd. is to axe up to 12,000 jobs, a fifth of its workforce, and overhaul its networks in the next 5 years, but its shares fell 7 percent after Australia's biggest phone company downgraded its outlook and investors fretted about how much the plans will cost.

Insurance claims for damage caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit profits at insurer American International Group.

Mobile phone giant Vodafone reveals rising user numbers and revenues, but warns of slower growth ahead.

UK consumer price inflation eases in October, as a result of lower banking changes and a drop in fuel prices, official figures show.

Reuters - Specialty pharmaceutical company Allergan Inc. has made a $3.2 billion bid for Inamed Corp. in an attempt to break up Medicis Pharmaceutical Co.'s proposed takeover of Inamed.

A Chinese metal dealer disappears after apparently leaving China with a giant copper bill.

Strong export growth lifts German GDP over the past three months but consumer spending continues to fall.

Reuters - Johnson & Johnson cut the price it will pay for rival device maker Guidant Corp. by about 15 percent, the companies said on Tuesday, rescuing a deal that was on the verge of falling apart.

Reuters - Home Depot Inc., the world's largest home improvement retailer, on Tuesday reported better-than-expected quarterly profit on increased sales and benefits from technology upgrades.

Reuters - Boeing Co. launched its biggest airliner on Tuesday, announcing orders worth $5 billion for a stretched and upgraded version of its 747 from freight carriers Cargolux and Nippon Cargo Airlines.

Reuters - Staples Inc. , the leading U.S. office supply retailer, on Tuesday said quarterly profit rose, meeting Wall Street expectations, as sales climbed.

Reuters - U.S. stock futures were lower, pointing to a softer market opening on Tuesday, after a sales warning from discount retailer Target Corp. late Monday rattled optimism about strong holiday spending.

AP - Staples Inc. said Tuesday its third-quarter profit grew 14 percent as gains in the office products retailer's copying services and sales of digital cameras and computers offset slower sales overseas.

Johnson & Johnson agreed to acquire Guidant for $21.5 billion, valuing the troubled heart care device maker at about $4 billion less than last year's offer.

World trade talks will fail unless Europe makes fresh concessions, Apec nations are expected to warn this week.

Boeing is to enlarge its 747 passenger aircraft, boosting capacity to 450, to compete with the new Airbus A380.

US retail sales fall 0.1% in October due to a sharp fall in car sales but the figures are still better than expected.

Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy is due to visit India as Western supermarkets plan to enter the Indian marketplace.

The European Court of Auditors refuses to sign off the EU accounts for the 11th year running.

Shares in drinks giant Diageo slide after the firm warns the recent US hurricanes could affect its profits.

Shares in mobile phone giant Vodafone fall 9% amid concerns over its Japanese market and slowing growth.

The OFT is investigating a complaint from online retailer that manufacturers have raised the prices of electronic goods.

Reuters - U.S. producer prices rose unexpectedly in October as rocketing home heating costs outflanked cheaper gasoline, while retail sales fell on lower auto sales but by less than analysts had expected.

Reuters - Johnson & Johnson cut the price it will pay for rival medical device maker Guidant Corp. by about 15 percent to $21.5 billion, the companies said on Tuesday, rescuing a deal that was on the verge of falling apart.

Reuters - Chicago Federal Reserve President Michael Moskow on Tuesday signaled more central bank interest rate hikes like ahead, saying such a policy was 'appropriate' to hold down inflation.

Reuters - U.S. stocks were set to open little changed on Tuesday after inflation and retail sales data were better than market expectations, but discount retailer Target Corp.'s sales warning reduced optimism for robust holiday spending.

AP - Youth apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters Inc. said Tuesday its third-quarter profit climbed 27 percent on robust sales, beating its own outlook from earlier this month, but forecast fourth-quarter results shy of Wall Street's consensus. The company's shares tumbled more than 6 percent.

The troubled maker of heart devices agreed to a new offer of $21.5 billion, about $4 billion less than last year's offer.

Ben S. Bernanke will have to fend off two contradictory perceptions at his Senate confirmation hearing today.

US giant Johnson & Johnson buys heart care device maker Guidant for $21.5m, a price 15% less than the original offer.

The man nominated by the US president to succeed Alan Greenspan at the US Fed, Ben Bernanke, puts his case to senators.

The US heads for a showdown with many countries over control of the net at this week's UN summit in Tunisia.

The music industry launches its largest wave of action against people suspected of sharing music files.

Reuters - U.S. producer prices rose unexpectedly in October as rocketing home heating costs offset cheaper gasoline, while retail sales deflected weakness in auto demand to fall less than anticipated.

Reuters - Investors dumped retail stocks on Tuesday after a gloomy sales forecast from discounter Target Corp. cast doubts on prospects for the all-important holiday shopping season.

Reuters - U.S. stocks were little changed on Tuesday after a sales warning by discount retailer Target Corp. reduced optimism for robust holiday spending.

AP - Off-price retailer TJX Cos. on Tuesday posted lower earnings for the third quarter, hurt by warmer weather and weak performance of women's sportswear.

Inflation at the wholesale level tapered off in October after surging in the immediate aftermath of the hurricanes, the government reported today.

The new, larger 747-8 will come in both a passenger and freighter version, ending widespread speculation that Boeing would launch only a freighter version.

Russia's Gazprom says it is confident plans to allow more foreign investment will pass as MPs discuss the issue.

US hotelier Host Marriott is to acquire 38 properties from Starwood Hotels & Resorts for more than $4bn.

A summit aimed at helping poorer nations benefit from the internet is opening in Tunis as states argue over control of the net.

High gas and electricity prices are blamed on malfunctioning energy marketd by the European Commission.

Reuters - Investors dumped retail stocks on Tuesday after a gloomy sales forecast from discounter Target Corp. cast doubts on prospects for the all-important holiday shopping season.

Reuters - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, led by gains in the Dow after Johnson & Johnson said it renegotiated a lower takeover price for medical device maker Guidant Corp.

AP - The Salomon Brothers Fund Inc. has struck a deal with dissident shareholders to terminate its closed-end format, effectively converting itself into a traditional mutual fund.

AP - Off-price retailer TJX Cos. said Tuesday that its third-quarter profit declined by nearly 15 percent, hurt by warmer weather and weak performance of women's sportswear.

President Bush's pick to replace Alan Greenspan also promised to move slowly on inflation targeting.

Reuters - JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive William Harrison said the No. 3 U.S. bank wants to have an international retail presence within the next three to five years with a focus on emerging-market countries.

Reuters - Advanced Micro Devices Inc. , the world's No. 2 microprocessor maker, expects its 2006 operating profit and earnings per share to improve significantly in 2006, the company's chief financial officer said on Tuesday.

AP - Retail sales performed far better than expected in October as consumers took encouragement from falling gasoline prices.

Reuters - U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday, after a sales warning from Target Corp. dented investor hopes for a strong holiday sales season, sending the retail sector broadly lower.

AFP - Falling sales of motor vehicles and gasoline dragged US retail spending down in October to an overall decline of 0.1 percent, the Commerce Department said.

Ben S. Bernanke, currently a top economic adviser at the White House, also promised today to protect the Federal Reserve's independence from politics.

The troubled maker of heart devices agreed to a new offer of $21.5 billion, about $4 billion less than last year's offer.

Kenneth Y. Tomlinson was found to have repeatedly broken federal law as he sought to combat what he saw as liberal bias.

Reuters - Johnson & Johnson will acquire medical-device maker Guidant Corp. for 15 percent less than previously agreed, rescuing a deal that nearly collapsed following safety concerns and litigation over Guidant's heart products.

Reuters - Shares of General Motors Corp. fell to a new 23-year low on Tuesday as news of a new incentive program spread amid concerns about a possible bankruptcy filing at the world's largest automaker.

Reuters - U.S. stocks slipped on Tuesday after a sales warning from discount chain Target Corp. dimmed hopes for a strong holiday sales season, pushing the retail sector lower.

AP - Depending on which retailer you ask, sales this holiday season may be merry or just ho-hum.

Oil prices hit their lowest level for four months on hopes that already healthy US fuel reserves will remain buoyant.

US hotelier Host Marriott is to acquire 38 properties from Starwood Hotels & Resorts for more than $4bn.

Reuters - A copper trader for a secretive, high-level Chinese government agency has gone missing. But more than his whereabouts, traders are seeking clues as to how his employer -- and Beijing -- will handle the potential fallout.

Online casinos have been signing endorsement deals with celebrities, including Jesse Ventura and Tom Arnold, but the stars could be putting themselves in legal jeopardy.

AP - Teen fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. said Tuesday that its third-quarter earnings rose 79 percent, and the company raised its profit guidance for the year.

Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman nominee, stoutly defended his proposal to base monetary policy on an explicit target for inflation.

Guidant, the troubled maker of implantable heart devices, agreed to be acquired by Johnson & Johnson for $21.5 billion, $4 billion lower than the original price.

The Senate Finance Committee's vote to impose a $5 billion tax on oil companies was a telling sign of the impact of soaring energy prices.

New computer systems at hotels are keeping track of guests' preferences and changing the room conditions automatically - from temperature to what's in the minibar.

By The Associated Press.

Germany, saddled with some of the highest taxes in Europe, has put an improbable measure at the heart of its economic agenda: an increase in the tax on consumption.

Facing fierce competition in Europe and poor results in Japan, the Vodafone Group warned that its profit margins would narrow through early 2007.

By Bloomberg News.

JOHN J. MACK, under pressure to lift Morgan Stanley's profits and its flagging stock price, will take his eponymous knife to the firm's highly regarded investment banking division and dismiss as many as 22 managing directors in the coming days, said a person briefed on the plan.

Gemstar-TV Guide International said that it would stop publishing its money-losing Inside TV magazine, just eight months after it was introduced.

The New York Stock Exchange reached a settlement yesterday with 10 dissident seat holders, or exchange owners, who had sued to halt the exchange's merger with the electronic trading operator Archipelago Holdings.

Advanced Micro Devices expects its operating profit and earnings per share to improve significantly in 2006.

Sony BMG plans to recall millions of CD's because they contain copy restriction software that poses risks to the computers of consumers.

High doses of Lipitor were no better at preventing major heart problems than regular doses of a competing drug, Zocor, according to a study.

Google is poised to enter the highly competitive classified advertisement business, posing a threat to online and traditional businesses in that field.

The federal agency that insures pensions reported yesterday that its financial position stayed roughly constant over the last fiscal year, after three years of record losses. But its executive director warned that the pension system's troubles, and the risk to the agency, were not over.

Negotiators from more than 100 countries agreed late Tuesday to leave the United States in charge of the Internet's address system.

International Herald Tribune.

As more big companies take note of the boom in pet products, the market could become more difficult for the niche firms that are now flourishing.

Allergan, a company best known for eye-care products and its Botox antiwrinkle therapy, said yesterday that it had offered a $3.2 billion combination of cash and stock to acquire Inamed, a leader in breast implants and the fast-growing market for antiobesity devices.

By Bloomberg News.

By Bloomberg News.

The doctors agreed to pay $32.5 million to settle a federal inquiry into claims that they performed unnecessary procedures.

Inflation at the wholesale level tapered off in October after surging in the immediate aftermath of the hurricanes, the government reported yesterday, as energy and auto prices fell.

BMW North America.

A new mixed-use development is the latest step in the decade-long transformation of a sleepy college town to a commercial center.

With oil about $60 a barrel, compared with $40 a barrel a year ago, and natural gas prices double those of last year, real estate managers are scrambling to contain their costs for electricity and other forms of energy and to find ways to reduce energy consumption.