IBT Staff Reporter

Big pharmaceutical companies could face increased competition from generic drugmakers under two proposals put forth by the Obama administration on Monday.

Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext have an agreement in principle on broad outlines of a merger, but the exchanges are set to side-step thorny political issues when their boards vote on Tuesday, three sources familiar with the plan said.

American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer Billy Joel’s third ex-wife, Katie Lee, has sold her luxurious New York townhouse for $11.65 million she received as part of her generous divorce settlement.

The trial of Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., a former Pennsylvania judge who has been charged with honest services fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion in connection with receiving $2.6 million in kickbacks from a private juvenile jail facility, resumes today and is grabbing national attention as the case highlights the dangerous gap in the juvenile justice systems of many states - children appearing in court without lawyers.

U.S. stocks ended little changed on Monday in the lowest volume so far this year, indicating the equity rally may be near a top.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc named Cindy Davis as executive vice president of a new team that will study customer trends, an appointment that comes as the world's largest retailer tries to reinvigorate U.S. sales and continue its worldwide expansion.

Mutual fund manager Bruce Berkowitz resigned from the board of St. Joe Co on Monday, shortly after joining it, citing disagreements with other board members at the company where he is the largest shareholder.

There's bee a lot of commentary on Sunday's show. Let's take a look at which performances sizzled, and which fizzled.

Some banks' credit ratings will be cut as governments make it easier to wind up failing lenders and force debtholders to pay for rescues, rating agency Moody's said on Monday.

The White House assumes the U.S. economy will fully recoup losses incurred in the latest recession by 2017, putting it at odds with many private economists who believe the downturn left permanent scars.

Energy and commodity shares buoyed Wall Street on Monday after Chinese trade data suggested strong demand for basic materials, but the lowest volume so far this year indicated the equities rally may be near a top.

Ronaldo ended his 18-year career in professional football in a tearful press conference on Monday. Here's a video link to some of the top goals he has scored.

Online gaming group Zynga Inc is holding talks with potential investors which could lead to it raising $250 million in new funding, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

Mutual fund manager Bruce Berkowitz resigned from the board of St. Joe Co on Monday, shortly after joining it, citing disagreements with other board members at the company where he is the largest shareholder.

The shotgun marriage of Nokia and Microsoft's smartphone platforms puts software developers at center stage at the annual Mobile World Congress starting on Monday in Barcelona.

Bookstore chain Barnes & Noble Inc has invited independent Web operators that are affiliates of online retailer Amazon.com to switch to its network.

Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer promised a Windows Phone update soon with more powerful Web graphics, and said new partner Nokia would supply absolutely phenomenal handsets.

President Barack Obama's budget proposal for 2012 is not a permanent fix for finances and chances are it will be watered down in Congress, Standard & Poor's chief economist said on Monday.

A video from Microsoft shows of the potential for gameplay interactions between Kinect and Windows Phone 7.

Taiwan's Acer Inc, the world's second-largest PC vendor, expects the market for mobile PCs to grow 10-12 percent in 2011, driven by emerging markets, its chief Gianfranco Lanci said on Monday.

President Barack Obama unveiled the fiscal year 2012 budget on February 12, 2011. The total budget is $3.73 billion in spending. The budget deficit which accompanies the budget is $1.65 trillion.

Private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice said it would buy healthcare and physician services company Emergency Medical Services Corp for a discount price of about $3 billion.

Frustrated with slow mobile Internet speeds and stalling videos, consumers are willing to dole out extra cash for better telecommunicaitons services, allowing more pricing room for operators, a global report showed on Monday.

President Barack Obama proposed a budget on Monday that would cut the U.S. deficit by $1.1 trillion over the next 10 years, but Republicans said it did not curb spending deeply enough to meet their demands.

Nokia's already battered shares fell further on Monday as analysts slammed its all-or-nothing deal with Microsoft for failing to answer key questions about smartphone development and heralding a turbulent transition.

Deutsche Boerse risks ceding control to NYSE Euronext , a supervisory board member at the German exchange said on Monday.

Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext have an agreement in principle on the broad outlines of a merger, but are side-stepping thorny political issues, two sources familiar with the plan said.

Top House Republicans reacted to President Barack Obama's 2012 budget proposal on Monday, saying that it would destroy jobs and that the President missed a unique opportunity to reduce the federal government's budget deficit, which would rise to $1.65 trillion under the plan.

Paying for your morning coffee and newspaper by swiping your mobile phone instead of fumbling for cash or debit card could be just around the corner.