IBT Staff Reporter

Gaza hospitals will run out of drugs and fuel for generators within a few days unless Israel eases the border blockade it imposed to curb Palestinian rocket attacks, international organizations said on Monday.

Serbia faces a showdown next month between a nationalist who leans towards Russia and a liberal favoring the West in a presidential election run-off.

World stocks took a beating on Monday and demand for safe-haven bonds and currencies rose as fears gripped investors that a troubled U.S. economy would drag others down with it. MSCI's main world stock index was down 1.9 percent, nearing its 2007 low. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 was down 2.4 percent, taking its 2008 year-to-date losses to 12 percent.

Lachlan Murdoch, son of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, and Australian gaming magnate James Packer launched a joint A$3.3 billion ($2.9 billion) offer on Monday to buy out the Packer-backed publishing company Consolidated Media Holdings CMJ.AX.

Venture capitalists invested the most startup funds in the U.S. in six years, despite a slowdown in the nation's economy, according to a new report.

Chinese information technology company Zhongyi Electronic Ltd. said on Friday it is suing software giant Microsoft, claiming it stole its Chinese character technology, a charge Microsoft disputes.

NASA has released new images from a spacecraft showing a side of Mercury which has never been seen before.NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

China now has 210 million Internet users, up 53 percent from the period a year ago and is likely to surpass the U.S this year, according to a Chinese survey.

Ambac Financial Group Inc, a top insurer of bonds, lost its top level AAA financial strength rating on Friday, dealing a blow to its business which relies on the confidence of clients to gain new business.

Food distributor Performance Food Group Co. agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of the Blackstone Group and Wellspring Capital Management in a $1.3 billion deal, the companies said on Friday.

European banking giant UBS, hit hard by the U.S. subprime crisis, will reduce its investment banking business with staff cuts mainly in the U.S., according to an internal memo to employees on Friday.

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. rose more than 11 percent on Friday after the chip maker reported quarterly earnings which exceeded expectations.

Copper futures gained on Friday after inventories dropped and President Bush presented a proposal to stimulate the slowing U.S. economy.

U.S. gold futures ended a volatile week on a slightly higher note, after an emergency tax-relief plan announced by President Bush did not ease investor recession concerns, raising the appeal of the precious metal.

U.S. stocks fell a fourth consecutive day on Friday, causing the Standard & Poor's 500 to drop the most in five years on concerns that the White House effort to boost the economy may not prevent a recession.

President Bush on Friday proposed a shot in the arm for a slowing but fundamentally strong U.S. economy in the form of a broad-based, temporary economic stimulus package worth up to $150 billion that would provide tax incentives for businesses and tax rebates for individuals.

Natural gas futures increased on Friday amid expectations of low temperatures as low as 8 degrees Fahrenheight towards the end of January, increasing demand for furnace fuel.

Cotton futures on Friday declined after China cut imports as U.S. shares and agricultural products dropped.

What better way to start the new year than winding down at a spa

Some U.S. meat and dairy producers are finding new reasons to be nervous

An economic stimulus package helped boost retail stocks but buyers beware.

Sprint Nextel Corp. on Friday revealed its intension to close eight percent of its retail stores due to high competition and the loss of about 683,000 postpaid customers to its rivals.

Wireless phone company Sprint Nextel Corp. on Friday fell the most in 25 years in trading after announcing plans to cut 4,000 jobs and close 125 retail locations in a bid to manage slowing subscriber growth, profit and sales.

Asia's private equity industry largely shrugged off last year's global credit crunch, with assets under management, fundraising and investment rising at double-digit levels, an industry publication said on Friday.

China's banking regulator on Friday laid out its priorities for 2008, saying that it would focus on helping commercial banks sharpen their operations by improving their strategic planning, innovation and services.

UBS, the biggest European casualty of the U.S. subprime crisis, said it was shrinking its investment banking business, cutting staff and drastically scaling down its exposure to risky investments.

Shares of media and entertainment companies were slighter higher on Friday after the Hollywood directors' union reached a contract deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

Crude oil rose on Friday ahead of President's George W. Bush's economic stimulus package speech at the White House.

Ambac Financial Group, Inc, the bond insurer whose portfolio includes investments linked to the floundering mortgage market, will put off plans to raise equity capital to strengthen its finances as it faces losing its top level credit rating.