The Los Angeles Times was nothing but trouble for Tribune and it may prove even more of a challenge for Samuel Zell.

Small electronic gadgets are the items most easily left behind, but travelers leave all sorts of things on planes and in hotel rooms.

Google plans to begin selling TV ads on the satellite programming channels distributed by EchoStar?s DISH Network.

If the decision stands, some scientists and consumer groups say it could ease limits on research in the field.

More people and more airplanes are being squeezed into an infrastructure that wasn?t built to accommodate such a load.

Citibank and five universities will pay $5.2 million to resolve an investigation into student loan practices.

Employee stock ownership plans of the sort being used by the Tribune Company have not always worked out as hoped.

The auditor of Fremont General resigned with a complaint that the company had failed to provide information when promised.

If successful, Aeroflot?s bid for the Italian flag carrier would be its first large investment outside the former Soviet Union.

The Supreme Court?s ruling that the Clean Air Act expressly authorizes the E.P.A. to regulate carbon dioxide emissions was a strong rebuke to the Bush administration.

AT&T and its Mexican affiliate, América Móvil, have bid more than $6 billion for control of Italy?s largest cellphone company, Telecom Italia.

I am a self-confident guy. So I?m really surprised at the inordinate amount of time I spend worrying about my socks.

The president of a Kentucky company conceded he may have received ?some legal protection? from Hollinger Inc.

Joseph P. Nacchio called for a repurchase of $1 billion in company stock in 2001, a former Qwest president testified.

A federal judge dismissed charges against Christopher Calger who admitted to participating in the fraud that destroyed the company.

Two former executives also will pay fines to settle charges that the company exploited a Medicare loophole.

The Metavante Corporation would become its own company under a deal being completed by its parent company, the Milwaukee bank Marshall & Ilsley, and the private equity firm Warburg Pincus.

Merrill Lynch & Company?s buyout fund and Pacific Equity Partners agreed to buy Veda Advantage, the biggest credit-checking company in Australia and New Zealand, for 814 million Australian dollars ($659 million). Veda, which is based in Sydney, said its directors endorsed the bid, which was for 3.61 Australian dollars a share. The deal comes as record household debt has spurred demand for Veda?s data.

A maker of bleach and other household products, the KCP Income Fund, said it would be acquired by a private equity firm, Caxton-Iseman Capital of New York, in a deal worth about 493 million Canadian dollars ($423 million). The companies said shares of KCP would be redeemed for 10 Canadian dollars each, a 25 percent premium to the closing price of 8 Canadian dollars on Friday. Shareholders of KCP said in November it had retained TD Securities and Genuity Capital Markets to help it review strategic alternatives. KCP said the move was set off by the Canadian government?s decision to start taxing income trusts.

Giving by foundations climbed past $40 billion last year, according to estimates by the Foundation Center, breaking a record of $36.4 billion set in 2005.

Wesfarmers, Australia?s biggest home-improvement retailer, said it had bought an 11.3 percent stake in the Coles Group, the country?s second-biggest retailer, and is seeking talks with the company. Wesfarmers paid 16.47 Australian dollars ($13.40) a share for its stake, information from the Australian Stock Exchange shows, valuing Coles at 19.7 billion Australian dollars, or $16 billion. Coles, Australia?s second-biggest retailer, put itself up for sale in February, after saying it would not meet profit forecasts that had been cited to reject a bid of 18.2 billion Australian dollars by the private equity firm Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Company.

Vehicle sales fell for a 21st straight month, led by Nissan and Toyota, capping their worst business year in three decades. Sales of cars, trucks and buses, excluding minicars, fell 12.6 percent, to 487,738 vehicles in March from a year earlier, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said. Nissan?s sales fell 16 percent, while Toyota?s dropped 12 percent. Sales of vehicles excluding minicars dropped 8.3 percent, to 3.59 million units, the lowest level in 29 years, in the 12 months ended March 31.

Lloyds TSB is to offer the UK's first business bank account which complies with Islamic law.

Tribune has joined forces with Samuel Zell to take the company private and pay shareholders $34 a share.

Wesfarmers, Australia?s biggest home-improvement retailer, said it had bought an 11.3 percent stake in the Coles Group, the country?s second-biggest retailer, and is seeking talks with the company. Wesfarmers paid 16.47 Australian dollars ($13.40) a share for its stake, information from the Australian Stock Exchange shows, valuing Coles at 19.7 billion Australian dollars, or $16 billion. Coles, Australia?s second-biggest retailer, put itself up for sale in February, after saying it would not meet profit forecasts that had been cited to reject a bid of 18.2 billion Australian dollars by the private equity firm Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Company.

The EU is investigating what online music store iTunes charges users in Europe, accusing it of restricting choice.

The US says that more than 60 of its main trading partners are still engaging in unfair practices.

New Century Financial, one of the largest sub-prime lenders in the US, files for bankruptcy protection.

The strong UK property market is boosting growth in the construction industry, a report says.

Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury sees its annual profits drop 74% after 'a challenging year'.

MPs and councillors take a petition of 8,000 signatures to Eurostar opposing cuts to services at Ashford.

The firm which owns the Los Angeles Times agrees to be bought by property magnate Sam Zell for $8.2bn.

Dutch mail firm TNT Post says it will be forced to cut up to 7,000 jobs in the face of growing competition.

Business class airline Silverjet aims to raise £26m through the sale of extra shares in the company.

Reuters - Google Inc. has struck its first major deal to enter the television advertising business with U.S. satellite TV operator EchoStar, a move that promises to upset the cozy way TV ad impact has been measured.

Russian airline Aeroflot emerges as a surprise contender to take control of struggling Italian carrier Alitalia.

Shares in E.On soar after the German energy giant drops its plans to buy Spanish utility Endesa

Chinese authorities launch a campaign to restrain the country's surging property market, in a bid to cool inflation.

Zimbabwean police are out in force as a general strike gets off to a slow start as workers fear losing their jobs.

Thousands of French Airbus workers have launched a half day strike to protest against a planned 10,000 jobs cuts.

Tesco unveils two new measures to help increase the price UK dairy farmers receive for their milk.

A group of UK shareholders threaten legal action against Eurotunnel in row over travel discounts.

Reuters - Australia's Wesfarmers Ltd. said on Tuesday it planned a A$19.7 billion ($16.1 billion) takeover for underperforming retailer Coles Group Ltd. , in what would be Australia's biggest ever takeover.

AFP - Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers Tuesday led a share raid on retail giant Coles, setting the stage for what could be one of the nation' biggest corporate deals worth 19.7 billion dollars (16 billion US).

Tesco unveils two new measures to help increase the price UK dairy farmers receive for their milk.

A dispute over the ownership of a Bangladeshi phone firm involving Nobel Prize-winning academic Muhammad Yunus escalates.

The Russian unit of accountancy giant PwC denies its Russian licence could be at risk over its Yukos connection.

Reuters - Pending sales of existing U.S. homes rose only narrowly in February as bad weather and weakness in the subprime lending sector put a crimp on the housing market, a real estate agents' trade association said on Tuesday.

Reuters - Airline stocks rallied on Tuesday, with Continental Airlines Inc. up more than 7 percent after the No. 4 U.S. carrier said its March revenue rose 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent.

Reuters - U.S. stocks advanced on Tuesday, helped by lower oil and a report that suggested the housing market was stabilizing, easing concerns about fallout from the subprime mortgage troubles.

Reuters - Shareholders of News Corp. (NWSa.N) approved a plan to swap its stake in DirecTV and $550 million cash for Liberty Media's estimated $11 billion stake in the company, solidifying Rupert Murdoch's control over the company he built.

A high-speed French train with a souped-up engine and wheels broke the world speed record for conventional rail trains, reaching 357 m.p.h.

African economic growth will accelerate in 2007, though its foundations are 'very fragile', a UN report says.

Reuters - DaimlerChrysler AG (DCXGn.DE) said on Tuesday that its U.S. sales had fallen 4 percent in March as weaker sales at its Chrysler unit offset increased sales at its Mercedes brand.

Reuters - Airline stocks rallied on Tuesday, with Continental Airlines Inc. up more than 7 percent after the No. 4 U.S. carrier said its March revenue rose 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent.

Five southern European countries agree to build an oil pipeline from the Black Sea to Italy.

Australia's Macquarie Bank agrees to buy the phone and broadcast mast business of the National Grid for £2.5bn.

Reuters - Ford Motor Co. posted lower March sales results on Tuesday, dragged down by weak demand for its critical F-Series trucks, while Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.T) made further gains.

Reuters - Airbus parent EADS

Layoffs at Circuit City last week suggest that experience isn?t as valuable as we would like to think.

Federal investigators said the companies, which operate retail preparation stores, defrauded the Treasury out of more than $70 million.

Reuters - General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. posted lower March sales on Tuesday, dragged down by weak truck and car rental fleet demand, while Asian rivals led by Toyota Motor Corp.(7203.T) continued to make inroads in the U.S. market.

Reuters - Manulife Financial Corp. , Canada's biggest life insurer, could be gearing up to make a multibillion-dollar acquisition in the United States, a Canadian insurance analyst said on Tuesday.

Reuters - Darden Restaurants Inc. , owner of the Red Lobster and Olive Garden restaurant chains, has settled charges that it failed to fully disclose gift card fees to consumers, U.S. regulators said on Tuesday.

The Russian space agency plans to launch eight navigation satellites to nearly complete a network that will compete with the Global Positioning System operated by the United States.

US automakers including GM and Ford come under greater pressure from foreign rivals, and see sales dip in March.

Mobile phone users often pay too much because staff at some main firm lack tariff knowledge, a report claims.

A strike called by Zimbabwe's unions gets a cool response from poverty-stricken workers who fear losing their jobs.

Reuters - General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. posted lower March U.S. sales on Tuesday, dragged down by weak truck demand and expected cuts to car rental companies, while Asian rivals led by Toyota Motor Corp. continued to make inroads in the market.

Reuters - Two Los Angeles billionaires could launch a counterbid for Tribune Co. after the publisher and broadcaster spurned their earlier offer in favor of a rival bid from Chicago real estate entrepreneur Sam Zell, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Reuters - Marshall & Ilsley Corp. , Wisconsin's largest bank, announced a plan on Tuesday to separate its Metavante Corp. payment processing unit in a deal valuing Metavante at about $4.25 billion, including debt.

AP - Mutual fund investors looking for money-back guarantees on Wall Street have often been told to keep walking.

Federal investigators said the Jackson Hewitt tax-preparation empire defrauded the Treasury out of more than $70 million.

Detroit?s automakers stumbled in March while their Asian competitors took a sizable leap forward.

Investor's Business Daily - Comparable-store sales rose 0.3% in the week ended March 31 from the prior week, according to the Int'l Council of Shopping Centers and UBS. Comps grew 4.9% vs. a year earlier. ICSC estimates March same-store sales rose 4%-5% as shoppers bought Easter-related items, inflating monthly sales at the expense of April.

Vermont, which offers U.S. companies lucrative tax breaks, has become the insurance destination of choice.

The news that Samuel Zell is becoming the new chairman of Tribune has not discouraged potential buyers ? and even his rival bidders ? from planning their next move.

The outsourcing of jobs to countries like India has increasingly included the jobs of Western white-collar elites.

Some developers are rethinking plans to convert aging Manhattan office buildings into residential condominiums.

G.M., Ford and Chrysler all experienced declines while Toyota?s sales increased 7.7 percent, to a record of 242,675 vehicles.