ABN Amro came under fire from shareholders for not considering a rival bid, and said it was soliciting higher bids for its American unit.

The drug maker said it would go with the interim chief, James M. Cornelius, extending his contract for two years until he turns 65.

With a bribery scandal widening and its two top executives leaving, the company struggled to maintain an air of normal operations.

He may be known as a deal maker but Joseph R. Perella is also one of the financial industry?s sharpest recruiters.

The large oil services company pleaded guilty to violating the foreign corrupt practices act by bribing foreign officials.

Members of the World Bank?s anticorruption team said the controversy over Paul D. Wolfowitz?s conduct was undermining their work.

The Lifetime Channel announced the appointment of a longtime ABC network executive, Andrea Wong.

EMI Group hired the longtime industry executive Roger Ames, a former chairman of Warner Music Group, to revive its North American operation.

Canadian industries must cut the rate at which they produce gases linked to global warming by 18 percent over the next three years.

Profit edged up 2 percent in the first quarter on modest revenue growth and the company repeated its forecast for a profitable year.

Industrial output showed a surprise fall, raising the hurdle for the central bank to raise interest rates.

A modest advance gave the Dow Jones industrial average another record close.

Ken Kutaragi will retire in June as Sony struggles for dominance in the video-game industry.

The company postponed its midterm targets by a year after sales collapsed in the United States and Japan.

Despite the strong results, the company, which is considered a bellwether for the economy, did not raise its full-year outlook.

Despite the drop, earnings beat expectations, helped by the introduction of Coke Zero in Europe and raw material costs that rose less than expected.

The biotechnology developer said that profit fell 87 percent because the company received less money from a marketing partner.

First-quarter profit increased 80 percent, in part helped by a one-time gain from the dissolution of a joint venture with Time Warner Cable.

The health insurer reported an 8 percent increase in first-quarter profits pointing to membership growth as proof that consumer marketing applied to health insurance is working.

The publisher of The Dallas Morning News reported a drop in quarterly profit and revenue because of decreasing sales of classified and other advertising.

First-quarter profit for Dow Chemical fell 20 percent while Eastman Chemical said profit fell 27 percent.

Shares in the China Citic Bank rose 21 percent in their Hong Kong debut and surged more than 59 percent in Shanghai.

The number of laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week by the most in nearly two months.

Citigroup said its takeover bid for Nikko Cordial succeeded after Nikko shareholders tendered a majority of the brokerage firm?s stock.

Jim Moran became a billionaire by selling cars and building one of the largest closely held companies in the United States.

Fox is seeking to patent a way to replace ?old? commercials with ?new? ones when viewers replay Fox shows they have taped on digital video recorders.

World Bank staff express concern that a row about boss Paul Wolfowitz undermines the institution.

Reuters - Inflationary pressures in the U.S. economy are likely to ebb but there is not enough proof in the data so far to feel reassured, Federal Reserve officials said on Thursday.

Reuters - BP Chief Executive John Browne on Thursday called for the formation of an international climate agency to tackle global warming.

AP - Japanese consumer prices declined for a second straight month in March, the government said Friday, fueling concerns that deflation still remains a threat to the world's second-largest economy.

RBS confirms that it intends to bid for the whole of ABN Amro and go up against a £45bn offer from Barclays.

Japan keeps its benchmark interest rate on hold at 0.5% amid fresh concerns about deflationary pressures.

Citigroup buys a majority stake in Nikko Cordial for $7.7bn, the largest foreign takoever in Japanese history.

Inflation in Zimbabwe hit a record 2,200% in March amid a deepening economic and political crisis in the country.

The US issued a formal diplomatic protest against the ending of the SFO inquiry into BAE, the FT reports.

Reuters - Three banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland said on Friday they were ready to make an unsolicited offer for ABN AMRO, stepping up pressure on the Dutch bank to give full access to its books.

Reuters - General Motors suspended development work at two U.S. plants after talks between the union and management on cost cutting ended, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Friday.

The man behind the all three generations of Sony PlayStation consoles announces his retirement.

Chinese internet firm Baidu reports a hefty rise in profits as more companies pay to use its popular search engine.

Ecuador's president orders the World Bank's representative in the country to pack his bags, sources say.

The US issued a formal diplomatic protest against the ending of the SFO inquiry into BAE.

Colt Telecom says tough market conditions will keep earnings flat during 2007, sending its shares down 8%.

Reuters - Citigroup cemented its biggest-ever Asian acquisition for $7.7 billion after a majority of shareholders in Japanese brokerage Nikko Cordial Corp. accepted a buyout offer.

Reuters - Three banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland said on Friday they were ready to make an unsolicited offer for ABN AMRO, increasing pressure on the Dutch bank to consider an alternative to an agreed deal with Barclays.

Theme park-operator Eurodisney has cut its losses thanks to an upturn in visitors to its Disneyland Paris site.

British Airways says the rising cost of oil has forced it to increase its fuel surcharge for long-haul flights.

Reuters - U.S. stock futures edged lower on Friday but would likely not stray far from the broader market's six-year highs after Microsoft Corp reported strong earnings after the bell on Thursday.

Reuters - Three banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland on Friday prepared the way for a hostile bid for ABN AMRO, increasing pressure on the Dutch bank to look beyond an agreed deal with Britain's Barclays.

Reuters - The U.S. securities regulator is considering legal action against Barclays Plc over trading done while the bank's employees were serving on bankruptcy committees, according to a regulatory filing.

The gross domestic product grew at a sluggish rate of 1.3 percent largely because of weakness in housing.

The proposed buyout of Harman has an unusual feature, known as a stub, that lets shareholders keep a stake in newly private company.

The US economy grew at 1.3% in the first three months of 2007 - its slowest rate for four years, figures show.

Shares in UK brewer Scottish & Newcastle rise on rumours it may be a bid target for Danish rival Carlsberg.

A judge orders Lloyds TSB to pay the costs of a customer who sued over overdraft fees, saying the bank dragged its feet.

Reuters - Weaker exports and a steady slide in spending on homebuilding helped slow U.S. economic growth to its softest pace in four years during the first quarter, the Commerce Department reported on Friday.

Reuters - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower market open on Friday after data showed economic growth in the first quarter was the weakest in four years, undermining optimism from stronger-than-expected

Reuters - Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. posted a quarterly net loss on Friday pressured by several one-time charges. The largest U.S. tire maker also plans to step up its cost-cutting.

The dollar hits a new low against the euro on news that the US economy is growing at its slowest rate for four years.

More firms join the ranks of potential bidders for the Spanish flag carrier, Iberia.

India is now the second-largest source of foreign direct investment in London behind the US, a survey says.

The OFT recommends that BSkyB's purchase of a 17.9% stake in ITV is referred to the Competition Commission.

Reuters - Weaker exports and a steady slide in spending on homebuilding helped slow U.S. economic growth to its softest pace in four years during the first quarter, the Commerce Department reported on Friday.

Reuters - U.S. stocks pared their declines on Friday after data showed consumer sentiment slipped less than forecast.

Edward E. Whitacre began as a facilities engineer with Southwestern Bell in 1963, ascending the corporate ladder of what would eventually become AT&T as it grew into the world?s largest telephone company.

A consortium of three banks notified ABN Amro?s board that it would make a bid worth more than the Barclays offer of $87 billion.

Indian regulators approve Vodafone's $11.1bn purchase of a majority stake in Hutchison Essar.

Reuters - Economic growth during the first quarter was the weakest in four years, hurt by a slumping housing market and deteriorating international trade, the Commerce Department reported on Friday.

Reuters - AT&T Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Ed Whitacre said on Friday he will retire in June, after spending more than four decades at the company he helped build into the largest U.S. telecommunications service provider.

Reuters - Chrysler Group plans what it described as an "aggressive" reduction in sales to rental agencies and other fleet operators to shore up the residual value of its cars and trucks over three years, executives said on Friday.

Reuters - Three banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland threatened to launch a hostile bid for ABN AMRO in a sign of their growing resolve to elbow aside rival Barclays to secure the world's biggest banking takeover.

Reuters - U.S. auto industry sales have dropped far below expectations for April, a Ford Motor Co. executive said on Friday as rival General Motors Corp. rolled out an incentive program intended to boost crucial month-end sales.

Reuters - AT&T Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Ed Whitacre said on Friday he will retire in June, after more than four decades at the company he built into the largest U.S. telecommunications service provider.

Reuters - U.S. airports planning to accommodate the Airbus A380 expect restrictions for other aircraft operating near the superjumbo that could increase ground delays for some flights, congressional researchers said on Friday.

Reuters - General Motors Corp Chief Executive Rick Wagoner has voluntarily cut a quarter of his base salary to support the automaker's turnaround plans, GM said in a filing on Friday.

Reuters - Aluminum makers see an automotive business opportunity in the push to cut carbon emissions, an Alcoa executive said this week.

Reuters - The U.S. government has arbitrarily and capriciously sought to ease rules for foreign fisherman on "dolphin-safe" tuna, a U.S. federal appeals court ruled on Friday in upholding current standards.

Consumer companies and advertising executives are focusing on ways to use the cultural aspects of the Muslim religion to help sell their products.

A consortium of three banks notified ABN Amro?s board that it would make a bid worth more than the Barclays offer of $87 billion.

Chevron's crude oil refinery business helps the company record better-than-expected profits for the first quarter.

The chairman and chief executive of AT&T, Ed Whitacre, is to retire after four decades at the company

Reuters - Merck & Co. said on Friday that U.S. regulators have rejected its arthritis drug Arcoxia, the drugmaker's follow-up to Vioxx, informing the company it cannot be approved without new supportive data.

Reuters - U.S. auto sales have dropped far below expectations for April, a Ford Motor Co. executive said on Friday, characterizing industry-wide results as "terrible" as rival General Motors Corp. rolled out an incentive program to boost crucial month-end deals.

Reuters - Countrywide Financial Corp. said on Friday in a regulatory filing that Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo in 2006 received a $42.98 million of compensation and had a $78.87 million gain from the exercise of options and vesting of stock awards, as shares of the largest U.S. mortgage lender rose 24 percent.

The dollar hits a new low against the euro on news that the US economy is growing at its slowest rate for four years.

Reuters - Dell Inc.'s direct sales model that turned the company into one of the world's top computer makers is "not a religion," and it is exploring other ways to reach customers, CEO Michael Dell said.

The fees tacked onto clothing as it enters the U.S. may be the last legal form of sex discrimination in the country.

The slowdown underscores how the persistent housing slump continues to drag on the American economy.

Reuters - Should earnings keep beating analysts' forecasts next week, they are likely to be the big prop for stocks even if economic data such as Friday's April payrolls data turns out to be a disappointment.

AP - Amazon.com Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Jeff Bezos received compensation the company valued at $1.28 million in 2006, according to an analysis of a regulatory filing made by the online retailer Friday.