UNITED STATES

General Electric Co opposes any regulation that would force it to split off its hefty finance business, the conglomerate's chief executive said in a memo to staff on Monday.

U.S. stocks slid on Monday as investors fretted about the strength of an economic recovery, and falling commodity prices hit shares of energy and other natural resource companies.

Apple Inc said it had sold more than 1 million of its newest iPhone in the first three days of launch, beating analysts' expectations for the 3GS smartphone's debut.

Russian oil company Tatneft said its net profit rose 25 percent year-on-year in the first quarter as lower costs and taxes helped offset a 32.6 percent fall in revenues.

Apple Inc said it had sold more than 1 million of its newest iPhone in the first three days of launch, beating analysts' expectations for the 3GS smartphone's debut.

About 40,000 Pakistanis are on the move even before a military offensive begins in the Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan, U.N. officials said on Monday, and are headed for communities already stretched to the limit.

Battery maker EnerDel, Inc. will invest $3.3 million in a research project to develop a technology to eliminate overcharging in lithium-ion cells.

About 40,000 Pakistanis are on the move even before a military offensive begins in the Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan, U.N. officials said on Monday, and are headed for communities already stretched to the limit.

The United States military is prepared for the possibility that North Korea may attempt to launch a missile toward Hawaii, President Barack Obama said in remarks released on Sunday.

The children of baby boomers will eventually resuscitate the pummeled U.S. housing market, Harvard University said on Monday, but in the meantime, limits on income and credit are sustaining the three-year bust.

The U.S. recession is taking a bite out of national brand loyalty in products ranging from Advil pain reliever and Green Giant frozen vegetables to Jif peanut butter, according to a study released on Monday.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development added to a grim outlook from the World Bank on Monday, saying major economies will contract throughout 2009 and the problem of unemployment will linger.

Walgreen Co posted a slightly lower quarterly profit as shoppers remained focused on buying only necessities.

Oil dropped below $69 a barrel on Monday pressured by a stronger dollar and weaker European equities, but attacks on the oil industry in top African exporter Nigeria limited losses.

Oil fell toward $69 a barrel on Monday, extending the previous session's drop of more than 2 percent, as bearish sentiment over gasoline markets in the United States continued to dominate investors' concerns.

World stocks slipped on Monday while government bonds and the dollar rose as a decline in oil prices below $70 a barrel and caution ahead of this week's data and Federal Reserve meeting weighed on risky assets.

Chinese Internet users are calling on fellow web surfers to stay offline on July 1, the debut of a controversial software filter that critics say the Chinese government is using to tighten censorship.

The Federal Reserve is considering creating a utility to replace the Wall Street banks that handle U.S. repo market transactions, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

A quarter of U.S. employers have eliminated matching contributions to employee 401 retirement plans since September to save money amid the economy's downturn, according to research released on Monday.

Asian stocks rose on Monday, with Chinese bank stocks getting a boost on hopes lending will stay strong, while U.S. Treasury yields were flat before a weekly record of $104 billion in new debt hits the market.

U.S. billionaire Len Blavatnik is planning to file a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase on Monday, accusing the bank of mismanaging an investment account that held $1 billion in assets owned by Blavatnik's industrial holding company, Access Industries, the New York Times said.