The approach fundamentally recasts the traditional arm's-length relationship between a hospital and the doctors who practice there.

Two dozen Republicans teamed up with Democrats killed a $142 billion health and education spending bill.

The airline's forecast assumes higher fares and cheaper fuel.

The Pentagon failed for years to work with financial regulators to prevent deceptive sales of unsuitable financial products to members of the armed forces.

The company cited the costs of cutback but also said that they resulted in a strong increase in operating income.

Chief executive Robert A. Iger said he planned to concentrate on several growth initiatives.

MOSCOW, Nov. 17 - Russia will extend the reach of its natural gas exports by using Turkey as a hub for shipments to southern Europe and possibly Israel, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said Thursday at the formal opening of a pipeline project on the Black Sea.

The Indian company will be the first design center outside I.B.M.'s own walls to make its Power Architecture chips.

Infineon said it planned to create two independent companies, one for logic and one for memory products.

There are troublesome reasons to think lawyers might have become less effective guardians against corporate malfeasance.

By Dow Jones.

Just 15 months after the company went public at $85 a share Google traded Thursday above $400 for the first time.

American products have trouble measuring up to European brands and even some Chinese brands.

The consensus Wall Street view of newspapers now is that they are a dying breed.

The struggling Buick division of General Motors is changing campaigns for the second time in little more than a year.

A couple's firm is leading the revival of the battered state's financing.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 (Dow Jones) - A commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission, Kathleen Q. Abernathy, said on Thursday that she would leave the agency on Dec. 9 after four and a half years on the panel.

The company experienced its worst sales slump in more than three years.

By The Associated Press.

OMAHA, Nov. 17 (AP) - The Union Pacific Corporation said Thursday that James R. Young, president of the company's railroad division, would succeed Richard K. Davidson as president and chief executive in January.

By Bloomberg News.

SEATTLE, Nov. 17 (AP) - Consumers' appetite for lattes and other items at Starbucks continued to grow in the fourth quarter, pushing earnings up 21 percent.

The New York Times yesterday appointed Ray Pearce as vice president for circulation fulfillment services. Mr. Pearce, 45, has served in a succession of jobs in circulation at the paper, most recently as managing director of circulation, since he joined The Times in 1985.

EUROPE.

Oil prices recover slightly after falling more than $1 to five-month lows on Thursday, as a cold snap hits parts of the US.

Leaders from 21 Asia-Pacific nations meeting in South Korea will seek a breakthrough on global trade talks.

Most Chinese internet users are wary of buying goods online, a survey of Chinese internet habits reveals.

Cisco Systems Inc. plans to announce Friday the acquisition of Scientific-Atlanta, a maker of television set-top boxes, for $7 billion.

Google shares rise above $400 for the first time, just 15 months after the firm's $85 a share flotation.

The recent boom in Scotland's house prices shows signs of slowing down, according to figures.

Reuters - Data and communications equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc. intends to announce the acquisition of Scientific-Atlanta Inc. , the top U.S. maker of cable television set-top boxes, for $7 billion, the New York Times reported on Friday.

Loss-making electronics firm Sanyo will speed up a massive restructuring as it tries to turn around its struggling business.

Police fire water cannon at protesters as leaders meet in South Korea to seek a breakthrough on trade talks.

Reuters - Swiss Re said it agreed to buy GE's Insurance Solutions business for $6.8 billion and planned to fund the deal by raising $7.5 billion in new capital, to grow and diversify its business.

Over 5 million people who have applied for shares in state-owned power company Electricite de France (EDF) will pay 32 euros each, raising 7bn euros.

Mortgage lending was steady last month, according to the British Bankers Association and the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

UK public finances were healthier than expected last month, giving a boost to the Chancellor ahead of his pre-Budget report.

Reuters - Data and communications equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc. intends to announce the acquisition of Scientific-Atlanta Inc. , the top U.S. maker of cable television set-top boxes, for $7 billion, the New York Times reported on Friday.

Reuters - General Electric Co. on Friday forecast faster earnings growth for 2006 and said it would increase its dividend and stock buyback plan after announcing the planned sale of most of its Insurance Solutions business to Swiss Re .

Reuters - U.S. stock futures were up, pointing to a slightly higher market opening on Friday after General Electric Co. said it was selling most of its reinsurance business and forecast faster earnings growth in 2006, lifting sentiment about the economy.

USATODAY.com - During the nearly three decades she has worked for the National Retail Federation and its predecessor, Tracy Mullin has seen the holiday-shopping season grow into an economic powerhouse.

Cisco's deal for Scientific-Atlanta highlights the growing convergence of Internet technology, telecommunications and entertainment.

Reinsurer Swiss Re agrees to buy the insurance unit of industrial giant General Electric for $6.8bn.

Loss-making electronics firm Sanyo will speed up a massive restructuring as it tries to turn around its struggling business.

Prices of wholesale gas have doubled in the past week, prompting fears over supplies to the UK.

Reuters - Cisco Systems Inc. on Friday said it would buy Scientific-Atlanta Inc. , a leading U.S. maker of cable television set-top boxes, for $6.9 billion in a deal that would move the networking equipment giant more deeply into the consumer market.

Reuters - Swiss Re said it agreed to buy GE's Insurance Solutions business for $6.8 billion and planned to fund the deal by raising $7.5 billion in new capital, to grow and diversify its business.

Reuters - Leading rural telephone operator Alltel on Friday said it would acquire Midwest Wireless Holdings for $1.075 billion.

Reuters - U.S. stocks opened sharply higher on Friday, boosted by a major sale and higher profit forecast by General Electric Co. , better-than-expected earnings from Hewlett-Packard Co. and a major takeover by Cisco Systems Inc. .

Reuters - Liz Claiborne Inc. on Friday made an unsolicited $18 per share bid to buy apparel chain J. Jill Group Inc. after previous friendly offers were spurned.

AP - A record 4.8 million individual investors have ordered shares in the initial public offering of France's state-controlled power company, Electricite de France, French Finance Minister Thierry Breton said Friday.

Reuters - AnnTaylor Stores Corp. on Friday said quarterly profit more than doubled, beating Wall Street estimates, as an improved apparel line helped avoid the drastic discounts that crushed last year's results.

General Electric will sell its reinsurance business to Swiss Re for $6.8 billion, substantially completing the company's exit from the insurance industry.

Internet equipment maker Cisco Systems agrees to pay $6.9bn for TV set-top Scientific-Atlanta.

More than 5 million people apply for shares in state-owned power company Electricite de France.

Reuters - General Electric Co. on Friday forecast sharper earnings growth for 2006, boosted its dividend and stock buyback plan and agreed to sell most of its reinsurance business to Swiss Re for up to $7.6 billion.

Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. got off to a fast start this holiday season with an aggressive, early advertising campaign, but Target Corp. and Best Buy Co. Inc. look set to catch up quickly, analysts said on Friday.

Reuters - U.S. stocks erased early gains and were little changed on Friday as media and entertainment company Walt Disney Co. fell on weaker earnings and some energy shares declined as oil prices slid this week.

AP - Apparel designer and retailer Liz Claiborne Inc. said Friday it has made an unsolicited offer worth about $366 million for J. Jill Group Inc., after a previous bid to buy the upscale women's apparel seller failed earlier this year. The offer sent J. Jill shares soaring.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet hints at a readiness to 'take a decision on interest rates'.

The price of gold climbs to its highest level in almost 18 years after Russia said it might double its reserves.

Reuters - General Electric Co. on Friday forecast sharper earnings growth for 2006, boosted its dividend and stock buyback plan and agreed to sell most of its reinsurance business to Swiss Re for up to $7.6 billion.

Reuters - U.S. stocks erased early gains and were little changed on Friday as media and entertainment company Walt Disney Co. fell on weaker earnings, and sliding oil prices dragged down some energy shares.

General Electric reached a deal to sell its reinsurance business to Swiss Re for cash and stock valued at $6.8 billion.

German antitrust authorities object to newspaper group Axel Springer's agreed takeover of the country's top TV broadcaster.

US phone company SBC Communications' $16bn acquisition of its former parent AT&T is given the go-ahead.

Reuters - As General Motors Corp. prepares to announce much-awaited job cuts and U.S. assembly plant closings, analysts wonder if the cuts will be aggressive enough to convince people of a possible turnaround at the ailing auto giant.

Reuters - U.S. stocks edged up on Friday on strong earnings from blue-chip Hewlett-Packard and a unit sale and dividend increase from General Electric Co. , but weaker earnings from Walt Disney Co. limited gains.

Talks aimed at liberalising air services between the US and Europe result in the lifting of restrictions on Atlantic flights.

Reuters - Refco Inc.'s former Chief Executive Phillip Bennett pleaded not guilty to eight counts of conspiracy, fraud, and other charges on Friday.

Reuters - U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday as strong Hewlett-Packard Co. earnings and a raised profit forecast from General Electric Co. lifted blue-chips, fueling hopes for a year-end market rally.

AP - With higher prices at the pump hurting sport utility vehicle sales, automakers are looking to squeeze out every ounce of fuel economy possible, including designing vehicles that flow through the air as efficiently as birds or airplanes.

AP - Liz Claiborne Inc. on Friday made an unsolicited $366 million offer to buy J. Jill Group, an upscale women's apparel seller trying to rebound from recent earnings disappointments as it struggles to shift from catalog to retail sales.

AP - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is planning its first update to vehicle fuel economy tests since 1985. The EPA says the current tests don't reflect real-world driving. Here are some assumptions made by the current tests compared to more recent data from the EPA. The EPA calculates velocity in mph per second.

Investor's Business Daily - Consumers in Brazil are the same as consumers anywhere: Most need loans to buy cars, furniture, appliances and the like.

Reuters - Ford Motor Co. , facing a deepening financial crisis, said on Friday it plans to eliminate 4,000 salaried jobs, or 10 percent of its North American white-collar work force, as part of a larger restructuring plan.