IBT Staff Reporter

In the dungeons of Zul'Gurub frequented by online game enthusiasts, a giant winged serpent called Hakkar the Soulflayer may offer important clues to epidemiologists trying to predict the impact of a pandemic.

Conde Nast is closing its Portfolio business magazine two years after it launched, making it the latest casualty of a dearth of ad spending afflicting the entire publishing business.

Verizon Communications Inc posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit due to growth in cellphone customers, solidifying its market leadership following the acquisition of smaller rival Alltel.

Companies that track consumer behavior on the Web for targeted advertising without proper consent are near their last chance to self-regulate, the head of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Monday.

Oil prices fell 1.5 percent on Monday on worries a flu outbreak in Mexico could become a pandemic, hurting the global economy and hindering air travel.

General Motors Corp. unveiled its restructuring plan on Monday, which may help it avoid filing for bankruptcy protection, focusing on new product developments including a confirmation of current development plans for its highly anticipated electric vehicle, the Chevy Volt.

Stocks edged up on Monday as a cost-cutting plan from General Motors Corp and a rebound in technology stocks offset fears that a possible global flu outbreak could delay an economic recovery.

By being long of GS and short an equal amount of MS, you eliminate the broad market and focus on the difference between the firms. Following this strategy in my weekly newsletter EPIC Insights, I recommend a long position in GS and a short position in MS as this week’s fundamental trade.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed on Sunday that the United States would never sell out Lebanon in any deal with Syria and she urged the Lebanese to hold an open and fair election in June.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq briefly turned lower on Monday, and the Dow Jones industrial average pared gains, after the World Health Organization commented on the swine flu outbreak.

As the world grapples with the worst economic downturn in decades and the possibility of a flu pandemic, a growing body of research suggests the complexity of the modern global economy may make us more vulnerable than ever to catastrophe.

Cell phone chip supplier Qualcomm Inc raised its full-year revenue target after quarterly revenue beat expectations, saying global demand for advanced phones was strong, especially in Europe and China.

HSBC Private Equity and Actis Capital LLP are preparing rival bids for a stake in Franklin Offshore International, sources said on Monday, as struggling private equity firm 3i Group Plc seeks to sell its majority stake in the oil services company.

The chairman of Fortis is optimistic investors will back a deal to sell assets to France's BNP Paribas, even without the support of Fortis's largest shareholder, he said on Monday.

Specialty glass maker Corning Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly profit, boosted by cost cutting and improving demand for glass for flat screen televisions and computer monitors.

General Motors Corp. said Monday it would cut its factory workforce by 21,000 by end of 2010 and seek to do a debt for equity swap with government for more than half of its government debt as part of its restructuring plan.

Stocks recovered ground to turn positive on Monday as investors scooped up shares of defensive stocks in the wake of anxiety that a possible global flu outbreak could further hamper the world economy.

A continent that has battled deadly viruses such as the H5N1 bird flu and SARS in recent years, has been taking steps to ward off the new swine flu virus.

MILAN - Fiat SpA's chief executive might swear that he is not trying to build an empire, but he is certainly looking for scale -- on the cheap.

Britain has ruled out a controversial proposal to set up a government database to store Internet and telephone traffic, saying it prefers to have such information held by private companies.

General Motors Corp on Monday said it would cut debt, close plants, slash jobs and drop the Pontiac brand as part of a sweeping restructuring that would see the automaker emerge under the ownership control of the U.S. government and its major union.

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari said on Monday that the whereabouts of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden remained a mystery and there was a suspicion that he could be dead.

An outbreak of swine flu dampened tentative hopes for the global economy, sending markets lower on Monday and analysts fear a possible pandemic could force countries further into recession.

Chrysler LLC Chief Executive Bob Nardelli said on Monday that German automaker Daimler AG is working with Cerberus Capital Management to divest its 19.9 percent stake in struggling U.S. automaker.

Spanish engineering company Abengoa has begun operating a 20 megawatt solar power plant that is the world's biggest, using a tower to turn the sun's rays into electricity and can supply 10,000 homes, it said on Monday.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog has failed to use all its powers or to beef them up if inspectors are obstructed, leaving the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in tatters, a former top agency official says.

Sri Lanka on Monday ordered troops to stop using heavy weapons against the Tamil Tiger rebels, and instead focus on protecting and rescuing tens of thousands of people still trapped in the last rebel pocket.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown flew to Afghanistan and Pakistan on Monday touting a new security strategy for the region as international alarm spreads over Taliban advances.

The flu virus spreading around the world should not be called swine flu as it also contains avian and human components and no pig was found ill with the disease so far, the World Animal Health body said on Monday.