IBT Staff Reporter

China's prime minister will visit reclusive North Korea early next week for a trip that could help revive talks with global powers stalled for nearly a year on ending Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

Independent energy company RAM Energy Resources Inc on Monday said its commercial lenders reaffirmed its existing borrowing base of $175 million, following a scheduled semi-annual redetermination.

An experimental AIDS vaccine that appears to be the first to protect people was mired for years in controversy, and credit for its success must go to Thailand where the trial was conducted, experts said.

Ferrellgas Partners LP posted a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss on lower propane sales.For the fourth quarter ended July 31, the company posted a net loss of $34.7 million, or 51 cents a unit, compared with a loss of $38.4 million, or 61 cents a unit, a year ago.

Dominion Resources Inc's 556-megawatt Kewaunee nuclear power unit in Wisconsin was shut by early Monday, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in its power reactor status report.

Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has requested a meeting with Western diplomats to discuss sanctions imposed on the country, her party said on Monday.

The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan planned to offer options for policymakers to try to stem Taliban gains, including sending up to 30,000 to 40,000 additional combat troops and trainers, according to defense and congressional officials.

Honduras' de facto government on Monday resisted pressure from opponents and the international community over ousted President Manuel Zelaya, who for a week has been holed up inside the Brazilian embassy seeking a return to power.

Skate and snow-boarding inspired retailer Zumiez Inc lifted its third-quarter earnings outlook, citing better-than-planned sales and product margins.

Iran test-fired missiles on Monday which a commander said could reach any regional target, flexing its military muscle ahead of this week's crucial talks with major powers worried about Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Medical products maker Covidien said it agreed to buy Aspect Medical Systems Inc in a deal valued at about $210 million to boost its product offerings and add Aspect's brain monitoring technology to its portfolio.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives vowed Monday to seal a coalition deal, including tax cuts, with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) within a month after winning Germany's election.

Xerox Corp plans to buy Affiliated Computer Services Inc in a $6.4 billion cash-and-stock deal that expands the copier company into outsourcing and data center management.

Oil traded around $66 a barrel on Monday, steadying after an earlier decline which extended last week's 8.4 percent slide, as the U.S. dollar lost ground and stock markets moved higher.

Xerox Corp. agreed to the acquisition of Affiliated Computer Services Inc. for $6.4 billion marking its biggest purchase to date.

Apple Inc said on Monday that downloads from its iTunes applications store had passed 2 billion and that it now has more than 85,000 apps available for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

U.S. healthcare companies Abbott Laboratories and Johnson & Johnson announced deals worth almost 5 billion euros ($7.3 billion) with European rivals on Monday aimed at securing vaccines and other products key to future growth.

Drugmaker Merck & Co has gained rights to sell and distribute CSL Ltd's seasonal flu vaccine in the United States under an agreement announced by the companies on Monday.

Film director Roman Polanski, arrested in Switzerland over a U.S. charge of having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977, will fight extradition to the United States, his lawyer said on Monday.

The mobile music landscape is very much a study in good news, bad news.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent star Vincent D'Onofrio will leave the series at the beginning of the show's upcoming ninth season, USA Network said.

Just like the government's cash for clunkers program, investors are ready to cash in junk stock holdings for sounder equities, analysts say.

Amid the din of all the other music-based games being released this fall comes a unique twist on the convergence between music and video games: Brutal Legend.

Hoping to catch lightning in a bottle (or the ghost in the machine), Paramount Pictures has been treading carefully with its release of Paranormal Activity, which opened in 12 theaters on Friday.

The family cartoon Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs led the North American box office for a second weekend on Sunday while another slew of newcomers bombed amid crippling reviews and moviegoer apathy.

U.S. stocks were set for a higher open on Monday as more merger and acquisition activity and the last days of the third quarter encouraged investors following three sessions of losses.

Joe Dante returns to coming-of-age horror with the 3D film The Hole, which is essentially a psychological thriller imparting a lesson.

The yen retreated from an eight-month high hit against the dollar on Monday after Japan's finance minister appeared to tone down comments suggesting he was comfortable with the currency's appreciation.

U.S. diversified health care company Johnson & Johnson has bought an 18 percent stake in biotech firm Crucell for 302 million euros ($444 million) as part of a flu vaccine development deal, the Dutch company said on Monday.