IBT Staff Reporter

The chief executive of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide said oil prices would have to rise pretty significantly from current levels to put a dent in hotel demand.

The owners of the New York Mets agreed to pay $162 million to settle a lawsuit by the trustee seeking money for the victims of Bernard Madoff's fraud, a deal that eases pressure on the owners of the cash-strapped baseball team.

Berkshire Hathaway won dismissal on Monday of a shareholder lawsuit that stemmed from allegations former executive David Sokol profited by violating the company's insider trading policy.

Washington Mutual Inc , one of the biggest corporate casualties of the 2008 financial crisis, on Monday emerged from bankruptcy protection, just two weeks after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc also emerged from Chapter 11.

Facebook will pay just a 1.1 percent fee to underwriters of its initial public offering, according to a source with knowledge of the company's plans, doling out a much slimmer than typical payout.

Victims of Allen Stanford's estimated $7 billion Ponzi scheme won a victory when a federal appeals court said they may pursue class-action litigation against third parties they believe aided in the now-convicted swindler's fraud.

Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook, moving swiftly after taking over from late Silicon Valley icon Steve Jobs, fulfilled a longstanding desire of investors by initiating a quarterly dividend and share buyback that will pay out $45 billion over three years.

Hamburger chain Wendy's Co knocked Burger King Corp from its spot as the second-largest U.S. hamburger chain in 2011, but sales of both companies continued to lag McDonald's Corp , the country's No. 1 restaurant chain.

The Treasury Department said on Monday it made a $25 billion profit on sales of mortgage-backed securities acquired during the financial crisis, part of its ongoing efforts to wind down taxpayer-financed bailout programs.

Investors showed scant faith in Greece's ability to cut its colossal debt after an auction on Monday which handed insured holders of defaulted bonds a large payout.

Shares in Sprint Nextel fell 4.5 percent on Monday after an analyst report said there is an increasing risk that the No. 3 U.S. mobile provider could end up filing for bankruptcy as the debt-laden company faces tough competition and steep costs due to factors such as its iPhone deal with Apple Inc.

The S&P 500 extended its rally on Monday to climb within 10 percent of its historic closing high, after Apple said it would pay a $10 billion annual dividend and buy back stock.

A federal appeals court will wait until late September to review U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff's rejection of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission fraud settlement with Citigroup Inc over mortgage investments.

With just five days to go for nations to put forward nominees to lead the World Bank, there are few signs the United States has finalized its choice to lead the global development lender.

Valero Energy Corp said on Monday it will halt operations at its 235,000 barrel-per-day Aruba refinery by the end of March, the second time since 2009 that the plant has been forced to shut due to low margins that have battered Atlantic Basin refiners.

Car maker Mitsubishi Motors Corp <7211.T> plans to double production at its automobile plant in Illinois to 70,000 vehicles per year, Japanese business daily Nikkei reported.

The Federal Reserve has not yet decided whether to embark on a third round of quantitative easing, or QE3, though it remains an option, an influential Fed official said on Monday.

Foxconn Technology Group, the top maker of Apple Inc's iPhones and iPads, is not off the hook after a U.S. radio show retracted a program critical of working conditions at one of its Chinese factories.

A Brazilian prosecutor plans to allege this week that Chevron and Transocean should not have drilled a deep-water well that leaked in November, legal documents showed, giving a glimpse into expected criminal charges that could slow the rush to develop Brazil's vast offshore oil wealth.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has not yet decided whether to embark on a third round of quantitative easing, or QE3, though it remains an option, an influential Fed official said on Monday.

Shares in Sprint Nextel fell more than 4 percent after an analyst report said there is an increasing risk that the No. 3 U.S. mobile provider could end up filing for bankruptcy as the debt-laden company faces steep costs due to factors such as its iPhone deal with Apple Inc .

U.S. stocks rose on Monday with the S&P 500 now less than 10 percent away from its historic closing high of October 2007, buoyed by Apple after the company said it will pay a dividend and buy back stock.

Viterra said on Monday it was in exclusive talks with one prospective buyer, pushing its shares lower as the prospect of a bidding war for Canada's biggest grain handler diminished.

The S&P 500 rose on Monday to trade less than 10 percent below its historic closing high set in October 2007, as news that Apple will start paying a dividend again added to optimism spurred by weeks of strong economic data in the United States to continue to lure investors into U.S. stocks.

Stocks were little changed on Monday, hovering near 4-year highs, while shares of Apple rose after it said it will begin paying a dividend and buy back stock.

Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook, moving swiftly after taking over from the late Silicon Valley icon Steve Jobs, fulfilled a longstanding desire of investors by initiating a quarterly dividend and share buyback that will pay out $45 billion over three years.

Apple Inc will start paying a regular quarterly dividend of $2.65 a share in July and buy back up to $10 billion of its stock beginning in the next fiscal year, the world's most valuable company said on Monday.

Chip maker Broadcom Corp said on Monday that it won a permanent injunction against rival Emulex Corp , but Emulex would be able to sell some products using Broadcom patents for a limited period.

Owners of the New York Mets baseball team have agreed to pay $162 million to settle a lawsuit by the trustee seeking money for victims of Bernard Madoff's fraud, just before a trial was scheduled to begin.