IBT Staff Reporter

Humana Inc posted a huge gain in first-quarter profit on Monday on improvement in its Medicare health plans for seniors, and the insurer raised its full-year earnings forecast.

Iraq considers a U.S. military raid that killed two people a crime and wants U.S. forces to hand over those responsible to the courts, an Iraqi official said on Sunday.

A U.S. business group said on Monday it was worried that protectionist sentiment could rise in both China and the United States as the global economy shrinks.

Apple and Verizon have reportedly been engaged in high-level talks to bring the iPhone onto the network as early as next year when Apple's exclusivity deal with AT&T expires.

Releasing classified memos showing whether harsh Bush-era interrogation methods yielded useful information from terrorism suspects is not necessary, Republican Senator John McCain said on Sunday in a public disagreement with former Vice President Dick Cheney.

The prompt resolution of a 15-year old dispute over access to U.S. roads by Mexican trucks could be another casualty of the deadly swine flu outbreak, international trade experts said on Monday.

Stocks fell on Monday on anxiety that a possible global flu outbreak could derail the economy's efforts to climb out of a recession.

Apple Inc said a shareholder proposal for more say over executive pay was approved at its annual meeting on February 25.

Governments around the world acted to stem a possible flu pandemic on Monday, as a virus that has killed 103 people in Mexico and spread to North America was confirmed to have reached Europe.

Stocks fell on Monday, sending benchmark indexes down more than 1 percent, as investors worried that a possible global flu outbreak could complicate efforts to revive the economy.

General Motors Corp on Monday announced plans to close plants, cut hourly workers and dealers and to eliminate its Pontiac brand in an effort to meet government demands for a quicker and deeper restructuring.

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 on Monday announced plans to close plants, cut hourly workers and dealers and to eliminate its Pontiac brand in an effort to meet government demands for a quicker and deeper restructuring.

Whirlpool Corp on Monday reported a surprising quarterly profit after cost-cutting efforts helped the world's biggest appliance maker offset a slump in global sales.

Energy services provider Duncan Energy Partners LP's (DEP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) first-quarter profit jumped 50 percent, helped by higher natural gas volumes and lower operating costs.

Canadian oil and natural gas trust Daylight Resources Trust said it agreed to buy a private oil and gas company for about C$109 million ($89.64 million) in a cash and stock deal, which will boost its total production by about 13 percent.

A Swiss insurance worker lost her job after surfing popular social network site Facebook while off sick, her employer said on Friday.

Oil prices fell nearly 6 percent to below $49 a barrel on Monday, pressured partly by expectations the world economy could suffer another blow if a flu outbreak in Mexico turns out to be the start of a pandemic.

A malicious software program known as Conficker that many feared would wreak havoc on April 1 is slowly being activated, weeks after being dismissed as a false alarm, security experts said.

A proposal to ban sales of new gasoline-powered cars in Norway from 2015 could help spur struggling carmakers to shift to greener models, Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen said Saturday.

Countries such as the United States can come up with ideas for a U.N. climate pact beyond an April 24 deadline, the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat said on Friday.

California's new low-carbon fuel rules may be a violation of NAFTA and World Trade Organization provisions because they would unfairly limit exports of crude from Canada's oil sands to the state, a prominent Canadian trade lawyer said Friday.

Cell phone chip supplier Qualcomm Inc flipped to a loss for its fiscal second quarter, hurt by investment losses and hefty costs related to its legal settlement with archrival Broadcom Corp .

Wall Street looked set for a drop of more than 1 percent at the open on Monday as investors worried that a possible global flu outbreak could throw a wrench into the economy's ability to climb out of a recession.

Humana Inc posted a huge gain in first-quarter profit on improvement in its Medicare health plans for seniors, and the insurer raised its full-year earnings forecast.

Anheuser-Busch InBev has picked private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co as preferred buyer for Oriental Brewery, South Korea's second-biggest beer maker, an OB official said on Monday.

Wireless chip supplier Qualcomm Inc agreed to pay smaller rival Broadcom Corp $891 million over four years to settle long-standing and increasingly bitter legal battles over technology patents.

Verizon Communications Inc posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit after a 12 percent increase in revenue, helped by its purchase of smaller rival Alltel and growth in cell phone customers.

Cell phone chip supplier Qualcomm Inc flipped to a loss for its fiscal second quarter, hurt by investment losses and hefty costs related to its legal settlement with arch-rival Broadcom Corp .