Shell expects to resume oil production in Nigeria within five to six months after shutting down operations because of militant violence.

Discovery plans to start a 24-hour channel focused on eco-friendly living, as part of a push into the rising environmental movement.

Officials at three universities profited from the sale of shares held in a student loan company that each of the universities recommends to student borrowers.

The planned sale would contradict earlier reports that Apollo Management was planning an initial public offering.

Lone Star Funds said it would divest itself of two of its South Korean holdings, fueling speculation it was planning to exit the country.

The two Italian energy companies who won the Yukos auction announced they would sell most of the assets to the state-owned Russian gas giant Gazprom.

This month the Gap will introduce limited-edition shirts designed by Doo-Ri Chung, Thakoon Panichgul and Laura and Kate Mulleavy of Rodarte.

Canada?s Conservative government said local markets would be eligible for deregulation after April 18.

Stocks advanced slightly as oil prices dropped and economic data offered little incentive to buyers.

A subsidiary of Barnes & Noble will take a $10 million charge related to an investigation of stock option granting practices.

Defense lawyers sought to show that millions in payments received by Conrad M. Black and his co-defendants were approved by the board of his former company.

To the chagrin of tech firms, the federal government said it will not accept any more visa petitions for skilled workers for 2008.

The job market also showed only modest improvement, reinforcing views of a weakening economy.

Defense lawyers are expected to introduce evidence about classified business contracts involving secret government agencies.

The world?s largest seed company said a strong market for corn-based ethanol fueled its corn seed sales and raised quarterly profit by 23 percent.

United Artists recruited Dennis Rice, as its president for worldwide marketing and publicity.

The operation was the latest in a string of raids on companies accused of employing illegal immigrants.

The Lundin Mining Corporation, a Canadian mining company operating in Europe, said it had agreed to acquire Rio Narcea Gold Mines for 993 million Canadian dollars ($858 million) to take advantage of record nickel prices. Lundin offered 5 Canadian dollars for each share of Rio Narcea, 3.7 percent higher than its closing price on Tuesday, and 1.03 Canadian dollars per warrant, Colin Benner, the vice chairman of Lundin, said in a conference call. The company plans to increase Rio Narcea?s nickel and copper operation in southern Spain and might sell its gold mine in Mauritania, it said. Rio Narcea is based in Toronto, and Lundin is based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Google agreed to make it easier to remove offensive content posted on its Orkut social-networking site, heeding requests from prosecutors in Brazil. Google will set up a page on Orkut where prosecutors will send requests to remove content, the Rio de Janeiro state prosecutor?s office said. In Brazil, where Orkut is the most-used social networking site, prosecutors complained last year that the company was taking too long to comply with their demands to eliminate some material on the site. Google, based in Mountain View, Calif., said it had added workers to review reports of offensive or illegal content, along with special tools for law enforcement to expedite reviews.

A unit of Siemens, the biggest engineering company in Europe, sued Saint-Gobain Ceramics and Plastics, contending infringement of a patent for a radiation detector that is used in medical diagnostic scanners. Siemens Medical Solutions USA said the United States unit of Saint-Gobain, a European building materials supplier, was wrongly using the technology in marketing PreLude 420 crystals for scanners that produce images from radioactive materials injected into the body to detect diseases like cancer. The suit was filed in Federal District Court in Wilmington, Del. Siemens is based in Germany and Saint-Gobain is based in France.

Cemex, the third-largest cement producer in the world, received clearance from United States antitrust regulators for its $11.7 billion hostile offer for the Rinker Group of Australia. The Justice Department said Cemex, based in Monterrey, Mexico, had agreed to sell 39 operations in Florida and Arizona to preserve price competition for large transportation projects in the two states. Rinker, based in Sydney, a building materials maker, gets about 80 percent of its sales in the United States.

The health care company Roche Holding agreed to buy the BioVeris Corporation of the United States for $600 million to expand its medical testing business. The move strengthens Roche?s position in diagnostics, where it is already a global leader. BioVeris said it had agreed to be acquired for $21.50 a share, a 58 percent premium to Tuesday?s closing price of $13.60. The purchase will allow Roche to expand its immunochemistry business from human diagnostics into segments like life science research, patient self-testing, veterinary testing, drug discovery, drug development and clinical trials.

Thailand's government bans access to the YouTube website over material critical of the country's king.

Reuters - A gauge of U.S. online labor demand rose in March from February, as hirings grew broadly, but year-over-year growth moderated, global online careers and recruiting firm Monster said on Thursday.

Games firm Nintendo raises its annual sales and profit forecasts on strong sales of its DS and Wii consoles.

The global economy should withstand slower US growth and wobbles in its housing market, the IMF says.

Thailand's government bans access to the YouTube website over material critical of the country's king.

Barclays Bank sells most of its Monument sub-prime lending unit for £390m in a bid to cut its bad debts.

Reuters - AT&T is open to the interests of Italian partners in Telecom Italia , where it is discussing a stake in the controlling shareholder, the U.S. phone giant's corporate development head told a newspaper.

Reuters - U.S. bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. has been granted a license to operate in Qatar, where it plans to expand its Middle East business after it moved into Dubai last year.

Officials at three universities profited from the sale of shares held in a student loan company that each of the universities recommends to student borrowers.

Property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz looks set to win a bidding war for restaurant chain La Tasca as he raises his offer.

Reuters - AT&T is open to Italian partners in Telecom Italia , where it is discussing a stake in the controlling shareholder, the U.S. phone giant's corporate development head told a newspaper.

Reuters - Private equity firm Apollo Management LP is exploring raising money by selling a stake in the company through a private placement or by making a public offering, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

US civil rights groups call for borrowers from sub-prime lenders to be helped instead of having homes repossessed.

Gordon Brown is to say the UK is to give £20m in funding to Unicef, as he heads a review of G8 promises made in 2005.

Brussels gives airlines and governments six months to ensure passengers get proper payouts for delayed flights.

US computer and printer firm HP unveils plans it hopes will make it a major force in the global gaming market.

The Bank of England votes to leave interest rates on hold at 5.25% for a second month in a row.

Reuters - Mexico's Cemex SA received conditional approval from U.S. authorities for its $12 billion bid for Australia's Rinker Group Ltd. , paving the way for Cemex to make its next move in the drawn-out takeover battle.

AFP - China's central bank on Thursday ordered major commercial banks to set aside more money in reserves in an effort to slow its economy, the third such cooling measure of 2007.

Turkey suspends talks with Gaz de France over a key pipeline, in protest at a French bill on the Armenian 'genocide'.

Reuters - AT&T says it is open to Italian partners in Telecom Italia as it aims to buy a controlling interest in Italy's biggest telecoms operator, where investors are at loggerheads over the sacking of its chairman.

Reuters - Stocks were headed for a flat to slightly lower open on Thursday, pausing after recent gains and before Friday's March employment report, which will be scrutinized for hints about the economy and profit outlook.

Reuters - Wine and spirits company Constellation Brands Inc. posted higher quarterly earnings on Thursday as a recent acquisition boosted wine sales in North America and New Zealand

Ecuador, South America's fifth-largest oil producer, confirms that it wants to rejoin the Opec oil cartel.

Shares in German sporting goods firm Puma jump amid speculation that it is set to become takeover target.

Reuters - Ford Motor Co., which posted a loss of $12.7 billion last year, said on Thursday Chief Executive Alan Mulally received $28.18 million compensation in 2006, including an $18.5 million bonus.

Reuters - Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. , whose management was replaced last week in a boardroom takeover, said it received a formal order of investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its past stock-options grants practices.

Reuters - Diversified manufacturer Rockwell Automation Inc. said on Thursday James Gelly has resigned as senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Reuters - Blue-chip stocks slipped on Thursday, led by declines in shares of bellwethers such as 3M Co. as rising crude oil prices rekindled concerns about inflation and the outlook for profits.

AP - Two leading retail industry associations have teamed up with the Federal Bureau of Investigations to create a national online database that will allow merchants to share information to fight organized retail theft.

Alan R. Mulally?s compensation included an $18.5 million bonus from a car company that lost $12.7 billion last year.

The publisher of computer game Grand Theft Auto faces a stock options probe by the US finance watchdog.

Growth in east Asia could be derailed if the region fails to cope with a growing wealth gap, the World Bank says.

Reuters - Tracinda Corp., the investment vehicle owned by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, is prepared to offer $4.5 billion for DaimlerChrysler's (DCXGn.DE) loss-making Chrysler Group unit, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Thursday.

Reuters - AT&T says it is open to Italian partners in Telecom Italia as it and America Movil aim to buy a controlling interest in Italy's biggest telecoms operator, where investors are at loggerheads over the sacking of its chairman.

Reuters - Stocks were little changed on Thursday as crude oil prices stayed near $64 a barrel and investors were cautious before jobs data that could shed light on the economy and outlook for profits.

AP - The U.S. economy — despite a painful housing slump — should not fall into recession this year, the International Monetary Fund's top economist said Thursday.

The bid came 12 years after an earlier attempt by the billionaire to buy the company, which was instead acquired later by Daimler-Benz of Germany.

National networks tested the exchange and decided that it went too far in removing humans from the ad sales process.

The automaker, which reported a record $12.7 billion in losses last year, paid its new leader more than three times as much as any other executive.

China will overtake Japan to become Asia Pacific's largest carmaker by 2010, says a global automotive research firm.

Reuters - Tracinda Corp., the investment vehicle owned by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, on Thursday offered to pay $4.5 billion to buy DaimlerChrysler's (DCXGn.DE) struggling Chrysler unit.

Reuters - New Century Financial Corp. , the largest U.S. subprime lender now under bankruptcy protection, was authorized on Thursday to obtain up to $150 million of financing to keep operating under Chapter 11.

Reuters - Menu Foods (MEW_u.TO) said it recalled an additional 20 varieties of its pet food products that used wheat gluten supplied by ChemNutra Inc.

Reuters - Stocks rose in light trading before a holiday weekend on Thursday, as a decline in oil prices and a proposed takeover of automaker Chrysler tempered caution before jobs data.

AP - Newly laid-off workers signed up for unemployment benefits at a faster pace last week as companies try to cope with sluggish growth in the national economy.

Reuters - Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has dropped out of the group bidding for J. Sainsbury , it confirmed on Thursday, as the British retailer declined to comment on reports it had received a buyout offer.

Vanishing cropland and diminishing water supplies are hampering China?s ability to feed itself and changing the profile of global agricultural trade.

The government said it did not export wheat gluten or any product that might have put poison in dog and cat food in the United States.

Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian's firm Tracinda makes a $4.5bn cash offer for Chrysler, the ailing US arm of DaimlerChrysler.

India's government is to allow the creation of Special Economic Zones, hoping to attract overseas investors.

Reuters - Harrah's Entertainment Inc. , the world's largest casino operator, said on Thursday that a majority of its shareholders approved the planned $17.1 billion takeover by two private equity firms.

Reuters - Adidas AG said it will consolidate its Adidas and Reebok U.S. apparel and footwear distribution centers into new facilities in Spartanburg, South Carolina by fall 2009, affecting about 375 employees.

AFP - The United States will overcome a housing slowdown and avert recession, while the rest of the global economy is in sound health, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday.

AP - In an April 3 story about mutual funds, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Charles Schwab & Co. had 16 mutual funds that refund some management fees to dissatisfied customers.

The owner of an Ohio nuclear plant has asked its insurance company to pay for two years of lost production after a corrosion problem that it called ?unexpected and unforeseeable.?

Private equity firm KKR pulls out of the consortium interested in bidding for supermarket group Sainsbury's.

ITV plc unconditionally sell their 9.99% shareholidng in Arsenal Holdings plc to Stan Kroenke's KSE UK INC.

Reuters - Ford Motor Co. on Thursday said it awarded new Chief Executive Alan Mulally compensation of $39.1 million for four months of work in 2006, a year when the second-largest U.S. automaker posted a $12.7 billion loss.

Reuters - WCI Communities Inc. said on Thursday its board determined a $22-per-share buyout offer from billionaire Carl Icahn is not best for the company or its shareholders and recommended stockholders not tender shares.

Reuters - Some of the payments at the center of Conrad Black's criminal fraud trial were reported to U.S. government regulators in a timely fashion and not hidden as prosecutors have suggested, jurors were told on Thursday.

AP - Total money market mutual fund assets rose by $18.24 billion to $2.451 trillion for the week, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday.

National networks tested an online exchange designed by eBay to sell advertising time and decided that it went too far in removing humans from the ad sales process.

American Express is supplanting its ?My life? theme with a specific, product-focused tack embodied by a rhetorical question.

Amicus is to discuss a merger with an American union which would create one of the world's largest unions.

Reuters - Halliburton Co. , the No. 2 U.S. oilfield services company, has split off KBR Inc. , an engineering and construction company that had been a unit for 44 years, the companies said on Thursday.

Diminishing cropland and water supplies are pushing China to seek more of its staples from South America.

Kirk Kerkorian, the billionaire investor, just can?t break his Chrysler habit. After failing in one takeover in the 1990s, he has returned with a $4.5 billion bid for the struggling automaker.

Fighting for market dominance, two makers of artificial sweeteners, Equal and Splenda, are going to court over the meaning of the phrase ?made from sugar.?

Although Samuel Zell will control a minority of the Tribune Company board, he will have the right to veto any major transactions.

Lenders and workers are taking the risks in the Tribune Company deal, but most of the benefits will go to Sam Zell.

Many executives of large companies are starting to call for a national approach to fixing health care, warning that an employer-subsidized health system is unsustainable.

Reuters - Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, almost 10 years after his failed first attempt to buy Chrysler, reentered the fray on Thursday and offered to pay $4.5 billion to buy the struggling automaker from DaimlerChrysler, which paid almost $40 billion for it in 1998.

Reuters - Sears Holdings Corp. has created $1.8 billion worth of securities based on its most famous brand names: Kenmore, Craftsman and Die Hard, BusinessWeek magazine said in its latest issue on Thursday.