Dairy farmers are rushing to convert to organic milk production before new, more stringent federal regulations take effect.

As investment banks increasingly compete with their clients over private equity deals, conflicts arise.

Aranesp did not increase the death rate of lung cancer patients in a closely watched clinical trial.

The industry continues to face tough times as advertisers shift their focus away from print to the Internet.

The installation of an insufficiently tested piece of software set off a chain reaction that eventually cut off BlackBerry service.

Creativity as the pathway to consumer persuasion ? and profitability was a major theme at a recent advertising conference.

The loss was bigger than expected, hurt by slower sales and a bruising price war with its larger rival, Intel.

Delphi expected Cerberus Capital Management would leave a group that pledged to dedicate capital to the company.

First-quarter earnings dropped nearly 7 percent as expanding sales of low-end models in emerging markets pushed down its average selling price.

The world?s largest retailer paid its chief executive $29.7 million last year after sales grew at the slowest pace in more than two decades.

Investors juggled upbeat economic data, divergent earnings reports and a pullback in Chinese stocks.

The results suggest that efforts to bolster results from trading and private equity are paying off, analysts said.

The company said one of its top executives was retiring amid a broader reorganization in the upper ranks.

The moves were part of a broad retrenchment in the subprime lending industry amid mounting loan losses.

The government has joined in a whistle-blower case filed against Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems and Accenture over improper payments connected to government contracts.

The re-emergence of proxy fights is a reason that mergers-and-acquisitions lawyers are redefining the hedge fund practice.

The company?s shares slumped after a forecast that a crucial gauge suggested that medical costs would be higher than expected.

The economy is continuing to lose steam and may expand only slightly in coming months, a recent reading said.

First-quarter profit at Bank of America rose 5 percent as growth in investment banking helped offset higher loan losses and deposit costs.

A group of investors led by Merrill Lynch will acquire Summit Entertainment and make it part of a new movie production and distribution company.

Merck, Schering-Plough and Wyeth all rode strong drug sales to quarterly profits, adding to the wave of good news for investors in major pharmaceutical companies.

Increased use of its credit cards by more customers helped drive first-quarter profit up 21 percent.

Weakness in its Philip Morris USA tobacco business overshadowed improved results abroad.

The results also showed early signs that domestic air fares were under pressure.

An executive of the Samsung Electronics Company of South Korea agreed to plead guilty in the United States to price-fixing charges in a long-running federal investigation of the computer memory chip business, the Justice Department said. The executive, Il Ung Kim, vice president for marketing at the memory division of Samsung, became the sixth Samsung executive to plead guilty in the case, the department said. He agreed to serve 14 months in a federal prison, pay a $250,000 fine and cooperate with prosecutors in the investigation.

Nokia, the world?s largest mobile phone maker, said that its first-quarter earnings dropped nearly 7 percent as expanding sales of low-end models in emerging markets pushed down its average selling price. Net profit came to 979 million euros ($1.3 billion), down from 1.05 billion euros in the first three months of 2006. The company, in Helsinki, said that its share of the global mobile phone market was 36 percent, up slightly from 35 percent in the first quarter of 2006.

The personal computer maker Lenovo Group said it would lay off 1,400 workers and move jobs to emerging markets to better compete with faster growing rivals. Lenovo, which leapt onto the world stage in 2005 when it bought the PC operation of I.B.M. for $1.25 billion, said it would cut a net 650 jobs worldwide. An additional 750 positions will be moved to Brazil, China, India and Slovakia, countries with lower labor costs that are close to Lenovo?s suppliers and manufacturing operations. Lenovo, which is based in China, said the plan would affect 1,400 workers including contractors, or about 5 percent of its work force. The company said it expected to take a pretax restructuring charge of $50 million to $60 million, mostly in the first quarter, and expected savings of about $100 million in the 2007-8 fiscal year, which began on April 1.

Sacyr Vallehermoso, a Spanish construction company, bid 9.75 billion euros ($13.26 billion) to take over Eiffage of France, a diversified construction company that built the Eiffel Tower, setting the stage for a cross-border struggle for control of the company. The bid came less than 24 hours after a shareholders? meeting where Eiffage blocked Sacyr?s request for seats on its board, even though Sacyr holds a 33 percent stake. Sacyr offered 12 of its shares for every five of Eiffage, valuing the stock at 104.69 euros, a 6 percent discount to its closing price Wednesday. Sacyr?s approach pits the builder against Eiffage, which views itself as a venerable part of the French establishment.

Airbus, two years behind schedule on deliveries of the new A380 airliner, is adding 1,000 employees at its plant in Hamburg, Germany, to keep to the latest production deadlines. Airbus plans to hire 250 engineers permanently in Hamburg, the company?s biggest manufacturing site aside from its headquarters in Toulouse, France, and is taking on another 750 temporary workers to complete cabling on its first 25 A380s, a spokeswoman, Barbara Kracht, said.

Asian stocks rebound in Friday trading, buoyed by record highs on America's Dow Jones index and a weaker yen.

China's economy picks up pace, stoking fears it may be overheating and sending shares sharply down.

Only one of Britain's top five richest people was born in the UK, the Sunday Times Rich List 2007 reveals.

A sixth executive of South Korean firm Samsung pleads guilty in the US to charges of microchip price fixing.

Ex-boss of US phone group Qwest, Joseph Nacchio, is found guilty of 19 counts of insider trading.

The board of Alliance Boots backs a £10.6bn takeover bid which would take the firm into private ownership.

Reuters - The United Auto Workers (UAW) union is considering a proposal to seek a majority stake in DaimlerChrysler's (DCXGn.DE) Chrysler Group in return for cost concessions, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Blackberry maker RIM says an insufficiently tested software upgrade was the cause of its network failure.

Chipmaker AMD reports a bigger than expected loss, as its ongoing price war with Intel takes its toll.

Retail sales growth in the UK slowed in March, after a strong rise in February, official figures show.

A bidding war breaks out for Alliance Boots after a rival consortium proposes a £10.8bn offer for the firm.

Siemens chairman Heinrich von Pierer is to stand down, insisting he had nothing to do with the scandal at the firm.

Sony Ericsson's profits for the first three months of the year jumped on strong sales of its Walkman phones.

Reuters - Pfizer Inc. on Friday said its first-quarter earnings fell on special charges, disappointing sales of inhaled diabetes drug Exubera and sharply lower sales of drugs facing generic competition.

Reuters - Xerox Corp. , the world's largest supplier of office printers, copiers and related services, said on Friday that quarterly profit rose, driven by sales of service contracts and supplies.

World Bank directors vow to deal urgently with the scandal enveloping the lender's boss Paul Wolfowitz.

Siemens chairman Heinrich von Pierer is to stand down, insisting he had nothing to do with the scandal at the firm.

Growth in world mobile phone shipments slowed in the first three months of 2007, led by Motorola, a report says.

Reuters - Pfizer Inc. said on Friday quarterly earnings fell on special charges, anemic sales of inhaled diabetes drug Exubera and plunging demand for drugs facing generic competition, sending shares down 2.5 percent.

Reuters - McDonald's Corp. reported higher first-quarter earnings on Friday on strong U.S. demand for its new chicken Snack Wrap and improved performance in international markets such as China, Japan, France and Russia.

Reuters - Caterpillar Inc., the manufacturer of heavy construction and mining equipment, reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Friday and raised its outlook, saying strength in almost all of its businesses was offsetting weakness in residential housing and on-highway engine markets.

Reuters - H&R Block Inc. said on Friday it will sell its subprime lender Option One Mortgage Corp. to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management L.P., sending the tax preparer's shares up nearly 9 percent.

Reuters - U.S. broadcaster Clear Channel Communications Inc. said on Friday it will sell its television group to Providence Equity Partners Inc. for about $1.2 billion.

Reuters - Specialty athletic retailer Foot Locker Inc. said it made a proposal to buy Genesco Inc. for $1.2 billion, or $46 a share.

McDonald's sees its quarterly profits rise 22%, helped by strong international sales and a bigger US menu.

Tsingtao, China's most famous beer, sees its half-year profits soar 77%, buoyed by growth in its home market.

Shareholders of rail and bus firm FirstGroup backed a plan to buy US yellow school bus firm Laidlaw for £1.9bn.

Reuters - Pfizer Inc. cut its 2007 forecast on Friday on plunging demand for hypertension drug Norvasc in the face of generic competition and warned of potentially lower sales of cholesterol fighter Lipitor.

Reuters - McDonald's Corp. has agreed to sell about 1,600 restaurants in Latin America and the Caribbean to a franchisee organization led by the man who brought the Golden Arches to Argentina 20 years ago, the company said on Friday.

Reuters - Caterpillar Inc. reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Friday and raised its outlook, saying "exceptional growth" outside North America was offsetting weakness in the U.S. residential housing and truck engine markets.

Reuters - Foot Locker Inc. , the largest retailer of athletic shoes and apparel, said on Friday it offered to buy rival Genesco Inc. for $1.2 billion, in a deal that will bolster its position in the specialty footwear and hat market.

Reuters - McDonald's Corp. said on Friday it would sell about 1,600 restaurants in Latin America and the Caribbean for $700 million to a franchisee organization led by the man who brought the Golden Arches to Argentina 20 years ago.

Reuters - The House of Representatives approved a bill on Friday to give shareholders the right to cast nonbinding votes on the pay of top company executives, handing investor advocates a win over the business community and defying the Bush administration.

Reuters - U.S. broadcaster Clear Channel Communications Inc. said on Friday it will sell its television group to private equity firm Providence Equity Partners Inc. for about $1.2 billion.

Indian firms, including Wipro, see profits surge as US and European firms outsource operations to cut costs.

Auction website eBay has apologised for not giving sellers enough notice about a change to the way it lists items.

Oil prices are sent higher ahead of elections in Nigeria, with fears that a weak government could threaten oil supplies.

Reuters - The fate of World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz will be determined next week when a bank committee reports on whether a promotion he approved for his girlfriend was properly handled, sources said on Friday.

Reuters - McDonald's Corp. said on Friday it will sell about 1,600 restaurants in Latin America and the Caribbean for $700 million to a franchisee organization led by the man who brought the Golden Arches to Argentina 20 years ago.

Reuters - The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill on Friday to give shareholders the right to cast nonbinding votes on the pay of top company executives, handing investor advocates a win over the business community and defying the Bush administration.

Executives, job seekers, college applicants and others are seeking help with anything from basic blogs to podcasts.

A recession would result if Canada were to meet its Kyoto target for reducing emissions, warns Canada's environment minister.

Reuters - Nasdaq Stock Market Chief Executive Robert Greifeld received an $18.4 million compensation package for 2006, and had a $3.7 million gain from the exercise of options and vesting of stock awards, as profit for the largest U.S. electronic stock market more than doubled but share prices fell in 2006.

Canada could see a recession if it were to meet its Kyoto target for reducing emissions, Canada's environment minister has warned.

Reuters - AnywhereCD, a two-week-old online music retailer, filed a lawsuit against Warner Music Group on Friday, alleging breach of contract, business defamation and trade libel.

Reuters - Teen retailer American Eagle Outfitters Inc. said on Friday it sued Payless ShoeSource Inc. claiming the shoe retailer is falsely creating the impression it is selling genuine American Eagle Outfitters footwear.

Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said on Friday that it has found no evidence that a fired systems technician secretly listened to its board or that the retailer conducted surveillance on shareholders who submitted proposals for its upcoming shareholders meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sets yet another closing high, its third consecutive record close.

The US says China is not moving quickly enough to reform its currency, and this could lead to wider economic risks.

Reuters - Pet food tainted with the chemical melamine was found in feed rations on a California hog farm and may show up on other U.S. farms, state and federal officials said on Friday.

Reuters - Ticketmaster is suing eBay Inc. in Los Angeles, accusing the Internet auction company's subsidiary StubHub of fraudulently obtaining premium tickets to sell online.

Increasing violence has rippled across energy markets, contributing to higher prices and tighter supplies.

Country Garden?s public offering is just the latest symbol of China?s meteoric rise, and the country?s continuing stock market fever.

David Hayden, a dot-com entrepreneur, put his faith in investment bankers who have now gone after him for all he?s worth ? and more.

Wal-Mart?s chief took the unusual step of releasing portions of a former employee?s sworn testimony that denied surveillance on shareholders and employees.

Sallie Mae was once an institution where profits took a back seat to performing a public good. That, alas, is no longer the case.

The move comes even as the company has begun building Camry sedans at a Subaru plant here to replace those built in Japan.

Several pending trade pacts have dissolved in a burst of charges and countercharges over the issue of labor rights.

Xerox has been sharply cutting prices for its machines to focus on the sales of toners, inks and services.

A private equity firm and a medical charity raised their joint bids for Alliance Boots, hours after the board had accepted a rival offer.

Reuters - Consumer privacy groups on Friday sought to derail Google Inc.'s $3.1 billion deal to buy online ad supplier DoubleClick Inc., filing a complaint with U.S. regulators to block the merger on privacy grounds.

Reuters - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Friday he is "a big believer in a strong dollar" but reiterated that China's yuan currency needs to appreciate more against the greenback.