UNITED STATES

UBS AG Chief Executive Oswald Grubel sent a memorandum to the bank's top executives on Thursday saying the bank could not comply with a U.S. government request to disclose the identity of 52,000 secret account holders, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.

General Motors on Friday prepared to exit bankruptcy with the message that a leaner and meaner automaker ready to win back American consumers and pay back taxpayers has emerged from its failure.

Media executives were unusually somber at their annual retreat in Sun Valley, Idaho this week, with News Corp Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch surprised at what he described as the very bearish mood.

American International Group is preparing to pay next week millions of dollars more in bonuses to dozens of corporate executives, a source familiar with the development said.

American International Group is preparing to pay millions of dollars more in bonuses to several dozen top corporate executives, after an earlier round of payments set off a national furor, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.

The Federal Reserve on Thursday launched a robust defense of its independence and warned that efforts in Congress to put monetary policy under political sway would hurt the economy.

The United States spends more on healthcare than any other country in the world but has higher rates of infant mortality, diabetes and other ills than many other developed countries.

Lobbyists for drugmakers, insurance companies, hospital chains and others are trying to protect lucrative businesses threatened by U.S. healthcare reforms.

Real estate agent Lisa DeWaal serves coffee at a Starbucks outlet for four hours every morning before she goes to the office to start her

At least six potential suitors including TRW Automotive Holdings have considered bidding for Delphi Corp, as the deadline for offers on the assets of the bankrupt auto parts maker approached, sources briefed on the matter said on Thursday.

More than 15,400 former clients have filed claims against Bernard L. Madoff's estate seeking compensation for their losses according to an update released Thursday from the Federal Bankruptcy court in New York, the New York Times reported.

Chevron Corp warned that second-quarter earnings would be hit by a sharp decline in U.S. refining margins and that any benefits from higher oil prices were largely offset by a weaker dollar, sending its shares down 1.8 percent.

Sprint Nextel Corp said it would pay Ericsson $4.5 billion to $5 billion to manage its network under a 7-year deal in which 6,000 Sprint workers will move to Ericsson. Sprint shares rose 4 percent.

General Motors Corp prepared to announce its exit from bankruptcy on Friday after a 40-day reorganization under U.S. government backing that wiped away most of the debt and recurring costs that drove the 100-year-old automaker to crisis.

A Chinese firm started work on a copper deposit in Afghanistan on Thursday, part of a multi-billion dollar project and the first major foreign investment of its kind in Afghan history, an official said.

The U.S. Senate has delayed finishing writing its version of the climate bill until September. The Energy Information Administration said on its weekly report that U.S. inventories of natural gas rose 75 billion cubic feet. China will spend $5.6 billion (38 billion yuan) from the central state budget for energy efficiency projects for 2009.

Chevron Corp said on Thursday it expected second-quarter earnings to be hit by a sharp decline in U.S. refining margins, while better prices on the production side would be largely offset by foreign currency effects.

Stocks edged higher on Thursday as investors bought beaten-down technology and commodity shares, while a positive broker comment on Goldman Sachs boosted the financial sector.

Fourteen Britons who had contracted H1N1 flu have died and the rapid spread of infection in two areas of the country is close to epidemic level, health officials said on Thursday.

The United States is planning for a vaccination campaign against the new H1N1 flu that could move into schools and community centers, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Thursday.

Oil prices rose slightly on Thursday as talk of refinery shutdowns spurred stirred gasoline supply concerns, ending a six-day slide.