The Massey Energy Company was fined $1.5 million for 25 violations that contributed to the death of two West Virginia coal miners in January 2006.

Investors in the publisher of computer game Grand Theft Auto oust the firm's chief executive.

The BBC and BSkyB are set to lose the rights to televise the FA Cup to ITV and Setanta, reports say.

The owner of TK Maxx says hackers have stolen details from 45 million credit and debit cards used by shoppers.

Spain's national airline Iberia is targeted by a private equity firm in a possible 3.4bn-euro takeover bid.

Private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts raises its offer for healthcare and drugs firm Alliance Boots to £10.2bn.

The owner of Heathrow airport is referred to the Competition Commission amid concerns about its market dominance.

Reuters - Drugs retailer and distributor Alliance Boots has received an improved 10 billion-pound ($19.7-billion) bid proposal from its deputy chairman and private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, it said on Friday.

Reuters - Iberia said on Friday it had received a bid approach from private equity firm Texas Pacific Group , valuing the Spanish airline at about 3.4 billion euros ($4.5 billion).

AFP - HSBC, the British-based banking giant, will set up a retail operation in Japan early next year and aims to open as many as 50 branches within four years, a newspaper reported on Friday.

Spain's national airline Iberia is targeted by a private equity firm in a possible 3.4bn-euro takeover bid.

Indian regulators delay a decision on whether to approve Vodafone's $11.1bn takeover of Hutchison Essar.

Investors in the publisher of computer game Grand Theft Auto oust the firm's chief executive.

More than 300 workers will march from the Rhondda Burberry factory, which has finally shut after 60 years.

UK airport operator BAA is referred to the Competition Commission amid concerns about market dominance.

Reuters - Drugs retailer and distributor Alliance Boots has received an improved 10 billion-pound ($19.7-billion) bid proposal from its deputy chairman and private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, it said on Friday.

Indian regulators delay a decision on whether to approve Vodafone's $11.1bn takeover of Hutchison Essar.

Up to 400,000 people will not be paid on Friday as a result of a technical problem, an industry body warns.

Reuters - Iberia said on Friday it had received a bid approach from private equity firm Texas Pacific Group , valuing the Spanish airline at about 3.4 billion euros ($4.5 billion).

Reuters - S&P stock futures suggested a flat market opening on Friday, with investors cautious before data on inflation and economic activity, while

Reuters - Britain's biggest pharmacy chain, Alliance Boots, opened its books to its deputy chairman and a private equity firm after they raised their proposed bid by 4 percent to 10 billion pounds ($19.7 billion), the company said on Friday.

AP - U.S. stocks headed toward a moderately lower open Friday ahead of the government's spring planting report as well as data on personal income and spending.

Reuters - Retailer Home Depot Inc. , which is boosting store spending this year in a bid to win back market share, slowed its store growth in 2006, according to a federal filing on Thursday.

Exxon Mobil announces its biggest single investment in China - a joint venture to run petrol stations and a refinery.

Spain's national airline Iberia is targeted by a private equity firm in a possible 3.4bn-euro takeover bid.

Shares in Vodafone fall 3% as mobile phone firm reveals its UK profit margins are being squeezed by lower tariffs.

Reuters - Incomes rose much more sharply than expected in February, while spending and core consumer price growth also outpaced forecasts, a government report showed on Friday in a sign of consumer resilience that could fuel inflation.

Reuters - Inspired by the fuel ethanol boom, U.S. farmers intend to plant the largest amount of land to corn in 63 years -- 90.454 million acres -- the government said on Friday, potentially enough to produce a record 12.5 billion-bushel crop.

Reuters - Stocks rose on Friday after a report showing business activity in the U.S. Midwest expanded at a stronger-than-expected pace in March, easing worries about the economy.

AFP - US consumer spending and personal income both rose 0.6 percent in February, the government said Friday, surprising analysts expecting hits from slowing economic conditions.

AFP - Discount shoppers the world over were put on guard Friday after the retail group TJX disclosed that some 45.6 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen by hackers in 2005 and 2006.

Growers intend to plant more than 90 million acres in an effort to meet demands for ethanol, food and feed.

US consumer sentiment slips to its lowest level in six months, as prices rise and incomes slow.

Unemployment in the eurozone in February hit its lowest rate since records began, official figures show.

Reuters - U.S. farmers plan to cash in on the fuel ethanol boom by planting the largest area to corn in 63 years, potentially yielding a record crop and calming fears that renewable fuels will steal grain needed for food and feed, the federal government said on Friday.

Tariffs on coated paper will end a policy of not applying duties to subsidized goods from non-market economies.

The US has failed to change laws that unfairly target offshore-based gambling websites, a WTO panel rules.

Man Group, the world's largest listed hedge fund, is to sell its brokerage business to focus on managing money

Reuters - A U.S. law that requires banks to serve the less affluent has on balance had positive effects but needs to evolve with the rise of nonbank lenders, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Friday.

Reuters - A raft of stronger-than-expected U.S. economic reports on Friday, including data on personal income, inflation and manufacturing, buttressed the view that the economy was on solid footing and interest rates were unlikely to fall any time soon.

Growers intend to plant more than 90 million acres in an effort to meet demands for ethanol, food and feed.

The founder of gaming website Betonsports is arrested and sent to the US to answer criminal charges.

Cafe Rouge owner Tragus ups its offer for tapas chain La Tasca in an effort to trump a rival bid.

Reuters - Private equity firms Bain Capital and Blackstone Group are among the bidders for Ceridian Corp. , sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, raising the chances that the entire business services company will be sold.

Reuters - Shares of cancer vaccine makers soared on Friday after an advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended approval of a product made by Dendreon Corp.

Reuters - Bankrupt U.S. auto parts maker Delphi Corp. posted a $132 million net loss for February, the company said in a limited operating report filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Friday.

Five generations of the family that owns and operates the McIlhenny Company have kept the Tabasco sauce business going while weathering many storms.

A deal to end a 17-day strike at a French port which threatens to shut refineries in Europe is near, reports say.

India's central bank raises interest rates for the second time in three months in an bid to bring inflation under control.

Reuters - A U.S. law that requires banks to serve the less affluent has widened access to credit and helped increase home ownership, but needs to evolve to address the rise in nonbank lenders, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Friday.

Reuters - U.S. stocks ended the last session of a turbulent quarter little changed on Friday as word the United States had imposed duties on some Chinese imports offset strong economic news and a pullback in oil prices.

AP - Consumers' spending and income showed bigger-than-expected gains in February, and construction posted the first increase in nearly a year, hopeful signs that the economic slowdown will not worsen.

AFP - Around 150 workers walked out of a Burberry factory for the final time on Friday as the luxury goods retailer quit Wales to transfer production to China.

The Bush administration said Friday that it would reverse more than 20 years of American policy and impose potentially steep tariffs on Chinese manufactured goods.

The new policy could lead to duties on imports of Chinese steel, plastics, machinery and textiles.

The Agriculture Department said farmers would plant more corn this year than at any time since World War II.

With many adjustable-rate mortgages about to reset at a higher rate, it is important to take action before the lender does.

Debit card transactions were once free, but that is no longer always the case. Overdraft charges are one more thing to keep in mind when using your card.

Gasoline prices are surging again, but if drivers stop at a Burger King along the way, at least some of the food they eat will be from suppliers that treat their animals well.

All flights from Brazil's major airports are suspended after air-traffic controllers declare a hunger strike.

The new policy could lead to duties on imports of Chinese steel, plastics, machinery and textiles.

A battle for Major League Baseball is a reminder that once upon a time, in an era we barely remember now, sports and television lived in harmony.

With the Tribune Company on the verge of deciding its future, perhaps no interested party remains more in the dark than its 20,000 employees, who could end up as majority shareholders.

Being busy is part of our modern world, but there are some simple ways to wrestle back control.

The deal, if successfully concluded, would quickly remove 85 percent to 90 percent of tariffs between the United States and South Korea.

Companies like Microsoft are filing lawsuits against outfits they say engage in a practice called ?domain swiping.?

Business 2.0 reports that we are about to witness a new round of technology companies racing to go public.

Germany?s largest retailer will pay the heirs of a department store once owned by a Jewish family more than $100 million for the confiscation of what is now prime real estate in Berlin.

A proposal to create a specialized .xxx suffix for sex-related entertainment Web sites received a final rejection by the agency governing the Internet address system.

The founder of the BetOnSports gambling Web site, Stephen Kaplan, is named in a 22-count criminal case related to Internet gambling.

A majority stake in the brokerage unit, which will be renamed MF Global, will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the third quarter of this year.

The acquisition comes during a time of increasing investor interest in the car rental business.

J. Paul Sticht, the first outsider to lead R. J. Reynolds, led the company through a time of rapid diversification.

Escalating trade tensions between the United States and China pushed the Standard & Poor?s 500-stock index slightly lower yesterday, the last trading day of March, limiting its third straight quarterly advance.

Daniel A. Carp will become chairman of the board after Delta Air Lines emerges from bankruptcy protection at the end of April.

Consumers spent more in February, and construction spending rose by the largest amount in 11 months.

A federal appeals court overturned a Securities and Exchange Commission rule exempting certain securities brokers who offer investment advice from strict disclosure requirements.

In the time it takes to read this sentence, you could be making big money in the markets. In theory.

Rentokil?s Initial Electronic Security Group operation sells integrated security systems, intrusion detection, closed-circuit televisions, access control and security software.

The move by Altria Group Inc. may bolster the prices of municipal bonds backed by the payments.