China?s central bank said it would gradually promote reforms of the yuan?s exchange rate regime and improve its foreign exchange management this year.

Reuters - Responding to complaints that the United States is losing its edge to foreign markets, a panel set up by the nation's biggest business lobby has recommended structural changes at the Securities and Exchange Commission, the end of quarterly earnings guidance and a boost in the nation's retirement savings, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Reuters - The main stumbling block in the Doha Round of global trade talks is the failure of the United States and European Union to make substantial concessions on agriculture, China's commerce minister said on Monday.

The Internet company myShape.com records the measurements of women, who can then shop from clothing collections matched to their body dimensions.

Japan's economy, the world's second largest, grew more quickly than many experts forecast, state figures show.

The divide between the UK's richest and poorest regions is set to shrink significantly by 2015, a study says.

Boots bosses meet to decide whether to open up its books to a private equity firm which has made an approach for it.

Price cuts for British Gas customers, lowering their gas bills by 17% and electricity by 11%, come into force.

Reuters - Akzo Nobel said on Monday it was selling its pharmaceuticals unit Organon BioSciences to Schering-Plough for 11 billion euros ($14.5 billion), dropping plans to float it in a public share offer.

Reuters - Dutch chemical distributor Univar NV said on Monday it is buying U.S. chemicals distributor Chemcentral Corp. for $600 million in cash, including assumed debt, to expand its U.S. operations.

Swisscom offers to takeover Italian broadband internet provider Fastweb in a deal worth about 3.7bn euros.

Greggs, the UK's largest bakery chain, blames tough trading conditions for a drop in full year profits.

Reuters - Akzo Nobel said on Monday it was selling its drugs unit Organon BioSciences to Schering-Plough for 11 billion euros ($14.5 billion), dropping plans to float it in a public share offer.

Reuters - The Tokyo Stock Exchange said on Monday it would not strip Nikko Cordial Corp. (8603.T) of its share listing over an accounting scandal, a surprise decision that could weaken Citigroup's $10.8 billion takeover bid for the brokerage.

Reuters - A bidding group fronted by former Benetton and BAR motor racing team boss David Richards said it will hold a news conference at 1300 GMT and sources familiar with the matter said it will announce it is buying a majority stake in luxury car maker Aston Martin from Ford .

Reuters - Swedish hygiene and paper product maker SCA (SCAb.ST) said on Monday it had signed a deal to buy all of Procter & Gamble's European tissue operations for 512 million euros ($672 million) in cash.

China's trade surplus has surged to an almost record level in February, official state figures show.

South Korea hopes to ensure future coal supplies by investing in a vast coal mining project in the Republic of Sakha.

Luxury car company Aston Martin is expected to be sold to a British-led consortium on Monday.

Drugs firm Akzo Nobel will sell its drugs unit Organon BioSciences to Schering-Plough for 11bn euros.

Reuters - Private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. said on Monday that it would acquire discount retailer Dollar General Corp. for $22 a share in cash.

Reuters - Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity was looking at a possible bid for CanWest Global Communications Corp.'s stake in Australian broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd. , a source familiar with the situation said.

Reuters - Texas Pacific Group and Cerberus have submitted bids for control of struggling consumer electronics firm JVC (6792.T), sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Reuters - Health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc. said on Monday it would acquire Sierra Health Services Inc. for $43.50 per share to help it expand in the fast-growing U.S. Southwest.

The surplus in February, $23.76 billion, is likely to add to tensions with the United States.

A former Cingular Wireless outlet has been remade into AT&T?s answer to Apple?s successful retail stores.

Luxury car business Aston Martin has been sold to a British-led consortium for £479m.

Reuters - Akzo Nobel said on Monday it was selling its drugs unit Organon BioSciences to Schering-Plough for 11 billion euros ($14.4 billion), in a last-minute reversal of plans to float it on the stock market.

Reuters - Private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. said on Monday it will acquire discount retailer Dollar General Corp. for $22 a share in cash, or about $6.9 billion.

Reuters - Ford Motor Co. is selling British luxury car maker Aston Martin to a group fronted by former Benetton and BAR motor racing boss David Richards in a deal worth 479 million pounds ($925 million).

Reuters - The New York Times Co. board of directors met with leading shareholders in late February, a spokeswoman of the paper confirmed on Monday, amid a fight to cut the Sulzberger family's long-standing control of the company.

AP - Dollar General Corp. said Monday it is being acquired by private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. for about $6.87 billion in a deal that will take the discount retailer private.

As part of its recovery plan, Ford will sell the maker of upscale British sports cars to a group of investors that includes the racing mogul David Richards.

Shares in US mortgage lender New Century are suspended amid fears the group may be close to bankruptcy.

Alliance Boots bosses reject a proposed £9.7bn ($18.7bn) offer from a private equity group, saying the suggested price was too low.

Reuters - New Century Financial Corp., the largest independent U.S. subprime mortgage lender, said on Monday its lenders plan to halt financing, pushing the company closer to bankruptcy.

Reuters - Private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. said on Monday it will acquire discount retailer Dollar General Corp. for $22 a share, or about $6.9 billion.

Reuters - Britain's Alliance Boots Plc on Monday rejected an approach worth 9.7 billion pounds ($18.8 billion) from private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts , saying the offer undervalued its prospects.

Reuters - U.S. retail sales outside the auto sector firmed in February, but were restrained by the housing slump and rising gasoline prices, according to a report published Monday.

AP - Dollar General Corp. said Monday its board has agreed to a buyout offer of about $6.9 billion from the private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. in a deal that will take the discount retailer private.

US drugs giant Merck is to be fined an initial $20m in after losing a case brought by a user of its Vioxx painkiller.

US regulators file civil charges accusing four former executives at telecom-equipment firm Nortel of accounting fraud.

Reuters - Private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. said on Monday it will acquire discount retailer Dollar General Corp. for $22 a share, or about $6.9 billion.

Reuters - Schering-Plough Corp has agreed to buy Akzo Nobel NV's drugs unit Organon BioSciences for 11 billion euros ($14.4 billion) in a bid to gain scale and diversify away from cholesterol medicine.

Reuters - A New Jersey jury found on Monday that Merck & Co. Inc.'s withdrawn arthritis drug Vioxx was responsible for a plaintiff's heart attack and it awarded $20 million in compensatory damages.

The Nanjing Automobile Corporation, which bought the remaining MG assets two years ago, is about to restart production in China.

Economists were surprised by the number because Chinese exports tend to lag in the winter. The rising trade surplus with the United States is expected to inflame political tensions on Capitol Hill.

The $14.4 billion cash deal for Organon BioSciences, a maker of birth-control pills, took investors by surprise.

Shares in US mortgage lender New Century are suspended amid fears the group may be close to bankruptcy.

China's trade surplus surges to near record levels of $24bn in February, according to official state figures.

US regulators file civil charges accusing four former executives at telecom-equipment firm Nortel of accounting fraud.

Reuters - New Century Financial Corp. , the largest independent U.S. subprime mortgage lender, said on Monday its lenders plan to halt financing, pushing the company closer to bankruptcy amid dwindling cash and $8.4 billion in obligations that could come due immediately.

Reuters - Schering-Plough Corp has agreed to buy Akzo Nobel NV's drugs unit Organon BioSciences for 11 billion euros ($14.4 billion) in a bid to gain scale and diversify away from cholesterol medicine.

Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said on Monday that starting next year, it will ask its electronics suppliers to fill out a scorecard assessing the sustainability of their products.

AFP - The euro rose against the dollar on Monday as confidence in the US economy remained shaky, dealers said, while the yen strengthened and the pound was sold off as investors unwound their "carry trades."

Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. , the world's largest retailer, is moving its top lobbyist in Washington to its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, where he will become vice president of corporate affairs.

Reuters - A New Jersey jury on Monday ordered Merck & Co. to pay $27.5 million in punitive damages after finding that the drugmaker was willful and reckless in promoting arthritis medicine Vioxx, which has since been withdrawn.

Reuters - An investor group backing a $3.4-billion plan to support auto parts maker Delphi Corp.'s emergence from bankruptcy may sell more than 70 percent of its common stock stake to additional investors, one of the group's co-leaders said on Monday.

The stent maker predicts it could raise at least $1 billion by spinning off a portion of the company to the public.

The Serious Fraud Office head defends the dropping of a probe into BAE Systems' dealings with Saudi Arabia.

A new issue £20 note featuring a portrait of Scottish economist Adam Smith comes into circulation.

Reuters - A New Jersey jury on Monday ordered Merck & Co. to pay $47.5 million in damages after finding that the drugmaker's withdrawn arthritis drug, Vioxx, was responsible for a plaintiff's heart attack and that the company was reckless in promoting the drug.

Reuters - Texas Instruments Inc. kept the midpoints of its quarterly profit and revenue forecast unchanged on Monday, disappointing investors who had hoped for an improvement in the chipmaker's outlook.

Investor's Business Daily - The monthly federal deficit hit $120 bil in Feb., but was down 26% for the first 5 months of fiscal 2007, the Treasury Dept. said. Receipts totaled $120.3 bil in Feb., while spending was $240.3 bil.

Investor's Business Daily - African-American and Latino borrowers are paying more than whites for home loans in six areas of the country, a report released at a Federal Reserve community advisory meeting suggested. In Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Boston, Charlotte N.C., and Rochester, N.Y., African-American and Latino borrowers were almost four times more likely to get a higher-cost home loan. The report focuses on both prime and subprime lending by major financial services. Banks should eliminate discriminatory lending, the report said.

Wall Street lenders cut their credit lines to New Century Financial, forcing it ever closer to bankruptcy.

The hedge fund industry seems resigned to no longer be a wallflower in Washington as it joins the lobbying dance with Congress.

Congressional Democrats suggested that Halliburton?s relocation was possibly part of an effort to dodge U.S. taxes and investigations.

Many top executives have urged the rollback of laws passed in the wake of the Enron and WorldCom scandals.

Some companies are reviving travel, with options on destinations, as bonuses for their best workers.

The stent maker said it was considering a public stock offering for 18 percent to 25 percent of its Endosurgery division.

Ford will raise $848 million toward its overhaul plan by selling Aston Martin, its British luxury sports car brand.

Reuters - Countrywide Financial Corp., the largest U.S. mortgage lender, said on Monday that foreclosures rose to a five-year high and turmoil in the subprime market may hurt earnings, and its shares fell.

A compromise by TV networks and advertisers on a system to count how many people watch commercials has hit a snag.

A former Cingular Wireless outlet has been remade into AT&T?s answer to Apple?s successful retail stores.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the giant buyout firm, said it would pay $6.9 billion to take the discount retailer Dollar General private.

A program that offers a special security checkpoint for frequent travelers hasn?t rolled out at nearly the pace originally predicted.

TXU manipulated the Texas electric market in 2005, costing consumers $70 million and giving the utility $20 million in extra profits.

A federal judge ordered a halt to seed sales and banning any planting of the crop after March 30.

The Weinstein Company announced it had acquired Halston, the legendary fashion brand, in partnership with a private equity firm.

The former chief executive and others were accused of committing accounting fraud to meet earnings forecasts and investor expectations.

Money spent on computing technology delivers gains in worker productivity that are three to five times those of other investments, a new study said.

Swisscom offered 3.74 billion euros, or $4.93 billion to acquire FastWeb, one of the largest fixed-line phone companies in Italy.

When strangers in strange lands impress you with unexpected care and generosity, you start to wonder about your own impact as a traveler.

Johnson & Johnson received subpoenas from federal prosecutors related to sales and marketing of three drugs.

The $2.6 billion purchase will give UnitedHealth, the nation's largest health insurance company, its first managed care presence in Nevada.

Express Scripts said it would not make a higher offer for Caremark, which some analysts said might mean a victory for CVS.

Some of the lawyers who helped negotiate a proposed settlement with State Farm withdrew their request for a federal judge to approve the multimillion-dollar deal.

A jury ruled that Merck?s painkiller contributed to an Idaho postal worker?s heart attack, and awarded him $20 million in damages.

The government will offer households as much as $80 to convert TVs to receive digital broadcasts before the end of analog broadcasts in 2009.

Investors looked past problems in the subprime lending sector to another parade of acquisition deals.

The casino company said it hired Merrill Lynch to help it explore strategic alternatives, which could include the possibility of a sale.

The company accepted a Harvard professor?s proposal that the chief executive?s pay be subject to approval by three-quarters of the independent directors.

Oxbow Carbon and Minerals Holdings raised its offer for the Great Lakes Carbon Income Fund to about 657 million Canadian dollars ($562 million), topping a higher bid from Rain Commodities and extending a bidding war for Great Lakes, a producer of carbon used to make aluminum. Oxbow raised its bid to 13.50 Canadian dollars a share for Great Lakes Carbon, which was above Rain?s bid of 13.25 Canadian dollars a share, Oxbow said. Oxbow, a unit of the privately held energy company Oxbow Group, bid 13 Canadian dollars a share on Wednesday. Oxbow is based in West Palm Beach, Fla., and Rain Commodities is based in India. Shares in Great Lakes Carbon trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The Blackstone Group sold the majority of its property holdings in Germany to institutional investors for about 1.6 billion euros ($2.1 billion), the company said yesterday. Blackstone said it had sold a majority stake in its Vitus subsidiary to a consortium including Round Hill Capital and Morley Fund Management, the wealth-management unit of the British insurer Aviva. Blackstone bought Vitus, which has more than 31,000 apartments, from a German holding company, WCM, at the end of 2004.

Alliance Boots, the British pharmacy chain, rejected a £9.7 billion ($18.7 billion) takeover proposal from the private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company. Alliance Boots said that the 1,000 pence ($19.32) a share offer from Kohlberg Kravis and its largest shareholder, the Italian billionaire Stefano Pessina, undervalued the business and its prospects. The company?s board held an emergency meeting to discuss the friendly bid, made after the London Stock Exchange closed on Friday. Alliance Boots, formed after Alliance UniChem and the Boots Group merged last year, said the board did not believe that the offer ?reflects the fundamental value of the company or the attractive prospects, opportunities and synergies available to Alliance Boots following the very recent completion of its merger.? Alliance Boots has retail operations in six European countries and in Thailand. It is also a pharmaceutical wholesaler in Europe for more than 125,000 pharmacies, hospitals and health centers.

Four Seasons Hotels, the world?s largest operator of luxury hotels, reported a fourth-quarter profit on higher room revenue. Four Seasons, based in Toronto, said profit was $16.9 million, or 44 cents a share, in contrast to a loss of $37.8 million, or $1.03 a share, a year earlier. The company said it had higher costs in the year-earlier period related to retirement benefits and lower revenue after ending its lease for the Pierre in New York. Revenue rose 19 percent, to $69.8 million, from $58.5 million, because of an increase in hotel management and ownership fees. Revenue for each available room worldwide rose 14 percent, to $258.13; at properties in the United States, it was up 8.4 percent, to $297.83. Four Seasons agreed last month to be sold to a group of private investors.

Reuters - Microsoft Corp. is in talks to buy privately-held Tellme Networks, a maker of Web-based voice technology, for about $800 million, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition on Monday.

AP - A national animal rights group wants to put a group of fur retailers and manufacturers in the dog house.