IBT Staff Reporter

The weak U.S. housing sector warrants close attention to assess the economic outlook as well as its recent disruptive effects on financial markets, Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Plosser said on Saturday.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. is close to making a concession to the banks financing its $26 billion leveraged buyout of payment processor First Data Corp, a source said on Monday.

Blackstone Group has agreed to buy 20 percent of chemical maker China National BlueStar (Group) Corp for up to $600 million, the private equity groups said on Monday, marking its first major investment in the fast-growing market.

Joseph C. Lewis, who became a billionaire trading currencies, has taken a 7 percent stake in Bear Stearns Cos Inc, snapping up about $860 million worth of the investment bank's stock over the past two months. He became one of the company's biggest shareholders, if not the largest. Shares shot up more than 3 percent.

Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, is due to assess on Monday whether President Bush's move to add 30,000 troops in Iraq this year has succeeded - and what troop levels are needed going forward.

Walt Disney Co. has announced that it will start its own testing of toys featuring Disney characters in the wake of recalls of millions of Mattel Inc. toys that were found to have unsafe levels of lead paint.

The dollar slid to a 15-year low against a basket of currencies on Monday after data showing U.S. employers cut jobs for the first time in four years stoked expectations for a hefty Federal Reserve rate cut this month.

A major overhaul at Yahoo Inc appears unlikely as a result of a strategic review being undertaken by the company. New Chief Executive Jerry Yang said in July he would deliver a new strategic plan for the company within 100 days to help the company respond to rapid changes in consumer behavior on the Web and competition from rival Google Inc.

In the apparently pure Arctic air, a research station on a Norwegian island mountain ridge finds tiny chemical traces from factories in Russia, pesticides in Israel or China's coal-fired power plants.

To the chagrin of green groups, APEC members signed a voluntary non-binding agreement to cut greenhouse gases.

President George W. Bush's homeland security adviser said on Sunday al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is virtually impotent and can do little more than send videotaped messages.

A second spell of floods in less than a month has spread across parts of Bangladesh, killing seven people and leaving thousands stranded, officials said on Monday.

In a report considered crucial to U.S. strategy in the highly unpopular war in Iraq, the top U.S. commander there is expected to tell Congress on Monday that U.S. troop levels should not be cut deeply.

Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif was arrested and deported to Saudi Arabia on Monday within hours of arriving home from exile, vowing to end the rule of President Pervez Musharraf.

With a dash of charity and some posthumous help from Elvis Presley, smash hit American Idol clinched its first Emmy in six years on Saturday to avoid becoming the biggest loser in the history of U.S. television's highest honors.

The designer who helped create a classic American style celebrated with a collection of his trademark looks.

One of India's premier fashion events may be bigger and better than ever before but the decision to conduct it the same week as the prestigious New York Fashion Week seemed to have ruffled a few feathers.

In the dim confines of the time-worn Wing Woo grocery, a short hop from Hong Kong's gleaming financial towers, Kwan Moon-chiu, 73, quietly arranges supplies of salted-fish and eggs, knowing his store's days are numbered.

Most OPEC oil ministers held the line on Sunday that current output is sufficient to meet demand, but the world's biggest exporter Saudi Arabia was silent ahead of a September 11 meeting to chart production policy. The group that supplies more than a third of the world's oil will consider conflicting economic signals at Tuesday's talks when it sets production levels for peak winter demand.

Asia-Pacific leaders said on Sunday they saw real progress in world trade talks now underway in Geneva and pledged flexibility and the political will to forge a deal by the end of 2007.

Friday's news of a buckling U.S. job market sent stock investors running for the exits, and this week promises to be no less stressful as investors grapple with the increasing possibility of an economic recession.

A drop in July payrolls may lead to aggressive interest-rate cutting.

Technology stocks have emerged as a safe haven for investors amid turmoil.

Lower hemlines could spell bad news for the U.S. stock market.

Starbucks Corp. Chairman Howard Schultz on Friday predicted a shortage of gourmet coffee beans as coffee drinkers across the globe develop more sophisticated tastes.

Gold hit a 16-month high above $700 per ounce on Friday, boosted by a falling dollar after U.S. data showing a surprise contraction in U.S. non-farm payrolls for the first time in four years.

Oil prices rose on Friday as tight supplies in the United States countered worries about a possible economic recession in the world's top energy consumer.

The dollar slid to a 15-year low against major currencies on Friday as data showed U.S. payrolls fell last month for the first time in four years, raising recession fears and pressure for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.

Payrolls shrank in August for the first time in four years, the government reported on Friday, prompting calls for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates before credit market turmoil drags the economy into recession.