IBT Staff Reporter

Crude prices jumped on Monday as the U.S. dollar declined and supply disruptions in a U.S. pipeline rose demand concerns.

Wheat gained on Monday amid concerns that warm and dry weather in the Great Plains may slow development of wheat crops in the U.S.

Wachovia Corp., the fourth largest U.S. bank, reported a first quarter loss on Monday and said it would strengthen its balance sheet by cutting the shareholder dividend and raising $7 billion in capital.

AOL, the Time Warner Inc. Web unit will start selling and managing Internet ads for Verizon Communications Inc., as it continues to diversify its business and put much focus to advertising.

Japan stocks dropped Monday because of growing fears of U.S. economic slowdown and lagging Asian markets.

An experimental vaccine to spur the immune system to fight breast cancer seemed to reduce the risk of death in a significant number of women, according to a clinical trial monitored by the U.S. military.

Blockbuster Inc., the largest movie-rental chain, made an unsolicited $1.35 billion offer to buy Circuit City Stores Inc. to acquire all of its outstanding shares for at least $6 a share in cash.

U.S. stocks fell on Monday for a second day after Wachovia Corp. reported an unexpected first quarter loss, adding to investors tension about earning reports after bellwether General Electric Corp. disappointed last week with its earnings loss.

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. offered the United Auto Workers union a new labor proposal on Friday as workers continue a six week strike.

Investment Bank Bear Stearns Cos. released some details of the heavy losses it suffered in the months before it nearly went bankrupt and agreed to sell itself to rival JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Chevron Corp. and Total confirmed that they are in talks with the Iraqi government to expand production at a major oil field in Basra, southern Iraq.

Tyco International reached a preliminary agreement on Friday to pay $250 million to settle lawsuits brought by holders of $3.7 billion of its debt.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday that China's oil consumption this year may be lower than expected due to the first quarter' snowstorm and shortage of diesel supply.

Deutsche Bank AG announced on Friday the appointment of two executives as Global Co-Heads of its Mergers and Acqusitions division.

The dollar fell on Friday ahead of a meeting of the Group of Seven and disappointing results from U.S. industrial conglomerate General Electric Co.

Rich nations which make up the 'Group of Seven' endorsed a report by a group finance officials and regulators to commit to stricter supervision of the world's troubled financial system.

India's top IT services provider, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), said it has bagged a multi-year contract from US-based automaker Chrysler LLC to provide maintenance on mainframes and servers and support computer applications.

Fiat India Automobiles (FIA), the equal joint venture between India's Tata Motors and Italy's Fiat, will invest Rs.2341 crore ($585 million) on its Ranjangaon facility in western Maharashtra to double output to 200,000 cars in four years as well as expand engines and transmissions output to 300,000 units from 200,000 and also boost parts and accessories during the same period.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex shrugged off early inflation jitters to end up 0.72 percent, Friday, on news of stronger-than-expected growth in industrial output, which buoyed market sentiments.

AMR Corp., parent of delay-riddled American Airlines, joined other major U.S. carriers on Friday in a move to increase its ticket prices.

Copper futures jumped $2 on Friday as the dollar was weak and prompted investments into commodities to compensate for inflation.

Credit Suisse upgraded Delta Air Lines Inc and Northwest Airlines Corp to outperform from neutral, and said the merger between the companies is near certainty.

The FTSE 100 share index fell 69.6 points to 5,895.5 on Friday (down 1.2 per cent) after earlier gains nearly took the index above the 6000 point mark.

Steve Crawshaw, chairman of the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has said that without extra funding from the Bank of England, mortgage lending could fall by half in 2008.

British Airways gave a joint statement with airport operator BAA on Friday saying that it would be delaying the introduction of long haul flights to Heathrow Terminal 5 until June.

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) has announced a new scheme which it says could lift 100,000 households out of fuel poverty. The BERR said that it would be providing an extra £225 million to help meet the cost of rising fuel bills.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. said today, a court in Washington approved its request to have the exclusivity of selling a generic version of the drug Risperdal produced by Johnson & Johnson for 180 days.

A Texas state court denied a request by six banks to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Clear Channel Communications Inc and its two buyout firms who are trying to acquire the company.

Recovery for the worldwide credit crunch and recovery in the securities market may not begin until next year, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Chief