Germany says the United States has blocked progress on two key issues to protect the global environment.

Barclays has approached Dutch rival ABN Amro with merger plans to create a bank worth £80bn, reports say.

The BBC will face some tough choices on its future after winning a lower than expected licence fee, its director general says.

Even dead cats bounce, as the idiom goes, and the stocks of subprime lenders did just that last week.

Ex-Livedoor boss Takafumi Horie attacks his jail sentence for fraud, saying he committed no crimes.

US consumer prices rise 0.4% in February, putting pressure on the Federal Reserve ahead of its next rate meeting.

Big advertisers are threatening to ask satellite broadcaster Sky to cut its fees after its row with Virgin, a report says.

The BBC will face some tough choices on its future after winning a lower than expected licence fee, its director general says.

Reuters - Barclays Plc has approached Dutch bank ABN AMRO with a merger plan that would create a global bank worth 80 billion pounds ($155 billion), UK newspapers reported on Sunday.

Reuters - The U.S. housing slump has cast a shadow over the wealthy retirement community of Naples on Florida's sunny Gulf Coast, once one of the hottest real estate markets in the country, but there is little sign the boom has turned to all-out bust.

Reuters - The anxiety level on Wall Street may escalate this week with housing sector indicators due and a Federal Reserve meeting that most agree will end with no change in short-term interest rates.

Reuters - Britain's Imperial Tobacco Plc said on Sunday it would continue "friendly" efforts to buy rival Altadis after the Franco-Spanish company rejected its 45 euros per share approach.

Reuters - Britain's Cadbury Schweppes Plc is looking to find about 300 million pounds ($584 million) of yearly cost savings to bolster its confectionery profits, the Sunday Times reported.

Reuters - Amsterdam-based ABN AMRO Holding NV has received M&A-related approaches from several rival banks in recent weeks after activist shareholders publicly pushed for a sale or breakup of the Dutch bank, sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

Reuters - Google Inc. purchased video game advertising firm Adscape to expand into in-game advertising, the Internet search leader said on its Web site on Friday.

A takeover of ABN by Barclays would be the largest crossborder merger ever in the European banking industry.

A fledgling film-financing company may give filmmakers and stars more earning power and ownership of their projects.

Nickelodeon, a Viacom unit, was the first of many TV networks to promote their digital ventures at the annual advertising previews.

In part because of its provocative ads, True.com has become one of the most popular and controversial sites in the online dating industry.

Assignment Zero, a new online journalism experiment, will use the combined reporting efforts of readers to tell the world a story.

Amazon.com has bolstered its classical music discounts, hoping to fill the gap left by vanishing retailers.

Nissan hopes to lure in customers with 20,000 key rings ?lost? in bars, parks and concert halls.

The recall involves more than 60 million cans of dog and cat food sold under dozens of brand names.

A takeover of ABN by Barclays would be the largest crossborder merger ever in the European banking industry.

Investors should not expect to see much from the Blackstone Group?s prospectus if the firm goes ahead with an initial public offering.

Imperial Tobacco of Britain said it would continue ?friendly? efforts to buy Altadis, which rejected its initial attempt at 45 euros a share.

Microsoft researchers say they have traced the companies and techniques behind thousands of spam Web pages.

The National Labor Relations Board said it will prosecute the Santa Barbara News-Press for unfairly firing eight reporters.

The chancellor is urged to hold off on more corporate tax increases in his Budget by an employers group.

Reuters - Dow Chemical Co. is in talks with India's Reliance Industries Ltd. about a potential joint venture, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Sunday citing people familiar with the matter.

Reuters - Oil prices shed early losses to rise back above $57 on Monday on concern over falling gasoline supplies in the United States and political instability in top producer Nigeria.

The president of UBS?s investment bank who helped turn the Swiss bank into a mergers and acquisitions giant, is said to be leaving the firm.

Internet radio companies say a recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board would make it impossible for them to stay afloat.

Bravo Networks announced its acquisition of Television Without Pity, the review site that has bitingly criticized the network?s shows.

A business partner of Conrad M. Black and three companies will pay $63.4 million to settle with the Sun-Times Media Group.

Lycos Europe is remaking itself for the U.S. market using the brand and services of Jubii, its Danish search and community business.

To satisfy customers, purchases should be lengthy but undemanding, The Journal of Consumer Research found.

A review to find an agency for the tourism campaign for Empire State Development will proceed without Eric Mower & Associates.

FED MEETING The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee will conduct a two-day meeting, to conclude Wednesday. It is expected to keep the benchmark interest rate steady at 5.25 percent, as it has since June, but analysts will be looking closely at its statement for clues to where interest rates are heading.

Reuters - Bank of Queensland Ltd. launched a A$2.45 billion ($1.9 billion) takeover bid for rival Bendigo Bank Ltd. , potentially creating Australia's seventh-biggest commercial bank by assets.

AP - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's radical policies pose 'substantial risk' for private firms and are expected to undermine the South American country's economic growth in 2007, the world's leading banking organization said Sunday.