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PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – Kraft Foods (KFT.N) may raise its offer for Cadbury Plc (CBRY.L) or offer more cash in its bid if rival takeover offers emerge, a source familiar with the situation said on Sunday.
"The Kraft team is figuring out the next move," the source said.
Kraft made a $16.8 billion hostile offer to […]

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BEIJING, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) — China should keep home prices from long time “abnormal increases” and divert profits made from home price hikes to the public through taxation, a senior property official said here Friday.
Dong Zuoji, director of land planning department of the Ministry of Land and Resources, said home prices would continue to […]

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HONG KONG — Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., the largest contract chip maker in China, said Tuesday that its long-serving chief executive had been replaced by another industry veteran, which could pave the way for consolidation in the Chinese chip sector.
David Wang has replaced S.M.I.C.’s founder, Richard Chang, as C.E.O., the company said in a statement […]

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose on Friday as investors took heart after the government said monthly payroll losses slowed, even as unemployment rose above 10 percent.
General Electric Co (GE.N) shares jumped more than 5 percent after a brokerage upgrade, and helped lead the industrial sector higher. The S&P industrials (.GSPI) gained 1.1 […]

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BEIJING — It could almost be a snippet from a World of Warcraft game session — two competing titans, plotting against each other, swapping punches, embarked on a quest for a single prize that only the stronger of them will claim.
But this is not virtual reality. The titans are two agencies of the Chinese government. […]

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NEW YORK – The following stocks were among those that moved substantially or traded heavily Friday on the New York Stock Exchange:
NYSE:
Alcatel-Lucent, down 48 cents at $3.69
The telecommunications equipment maker saw its net loss widen in the third quarter as European phone companies cut back on spending.
Harman International Industries Inc., up $4.61 at $37.61
The company […]

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A U.N. report forecasts a return to growth in Asian economies and trade in 2010. But U.N. economists recommend Asian governments increase trade within the region and become less dependent on markets such as the United States and Europe. The report by the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific says Asia’s […]

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Norway on Wednesday became the first European country to raise interest rates since the onset of the financial crisis, citing a nascent rebound in the global economy and inflationary pressures in its petroleum-exporting economy.
Inflation has been higher than expected and unemployment is “considerably lower than previously projected,” the Norges Bank governor, Svein Gjedrem, said […]

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WARREN, Ohio — Bruce Gump and his neighbors feared for their retirement checks when the federal government took over the pension plans at Delphi, the big auto parts maker where they once worked.
But four months later, Mr. Gump finds himself in a far more perilous condition than his neighbors.
On his street, he […]

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LOS ANGELES — Hugh Hefner leaned back on a red loveseat, the saggy one in the study of his infamous mansion here, and interlocked his fingers behind his head. A visitor had asked — more like shouted, since he has trouble hearing — a question about mortality.
At 83, does he think about it?
In a word, […]

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NEW YORK, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc reported higher third-quarter profit as aggressive cost-cutting helped offset unfavorable foreign currency exchange rates and declining sales of drugs, including those facing competition from cheaper generics.
The world’s biggest drugmaker, which completed its $67.3 billion acquisition of Wyeth last week, posted a net profit of $2.88 billion, or […]

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(Reuters) – Blackstone Group (BX.N) is finding it difficult to raise money for a new leveraged buyout fund, the New York Post said, citing people familiar with the matter.
The private equity firm, which hoped to raise a fund as large as $20 billion, has raised $9 billion at most since fundraising began in early […]

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SAN FRANCISCO – In an Oct. 14 story about Clorox Co.’s executive compensation, The Associated Press reported erroneously that CEO Don Knauss received more than $1 million under the company’s mortgage subsidy program over three fiscal years. The amount was slightly less than $1 million and reflected total relocation-related benefits, which included the mortgage subsidy […]

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PARIS — Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest beverage company, said Thursday that it would sell its operations in Eastern and Central Europe to a private equity firm in a deal that may be worth more than $3 billion.
The sale is the latest in a series of divestments that the company, based in Leuven, Belgium, set […]

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(Reuters) – Major U.S. banks and securities firms are on track to pay employees about $140 billion in total compensation and benefits this year, the Wall Street Journal said, citing an analysis of securities filings for the first half of 2009 and revenue estimates through the end of the year.
The paper said employees at […]

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WASHINGTON — Fissures are developing among policy makers at the Federal Reserve as they debate how and when to start raising the benchmark interest rate from its current level just above zero.
With Fed officials forecasting that unemployment will average 9.8 percent in 2010, nobody appears to be arguing that monetary policy should be tightened anytime […]

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BERLIN — As recently as last year, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development seemed like a relic of the post-cold war era. One of the nations providing the bank’s financial backing, Australia, asked for its money back, while one of the new European Union members, the Czech Republic, became the first country to leave […]

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The nation’s drive toward computerized medical records is getting a push from big hospitals, which hope not only to improve patient care but to gain an edge on competitors.
And an effort to be announced on Monday by a big New York regional hospital group may be the most ambitious effort of this type yet […]

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as strong commodity prices and a weak dollar before a Federal Reserve meeting gave a boost to Wall Street.
Financials also contributed to gains as Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) shares rose after an analyst upgrade while Citigroup Inc (C.N) gained 5.0 percent.
Crude oil futures […]

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures fell on Monday as a decision by the United States to impose special duties on Chinese tires sparked investor concerns about a possible trade dispute.
* The decision by U.S. President Barack Obama could open the door to a host of trade complaints against Chinese products, creating […]

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