IBT Staff Reporter

Bear Stearns Cos., whose shares slumped on Friday, is preparing to oust Warren Spector, one of its two presidents and its co-chief operating officer, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

International Bank of Qatar said on Sunday talks to buy a stake in Bahrain's Ahli United Bank had stalled, spelling a possible end to what would be the biggest cross border takeover of a Gulf Arab firm.

Global cooperation is the only way to improve food safety, Chinese official media said on Sunday after yet another week of global anxiety about the quality of goods from China.

Private equity firm CVC said on Sunday that Hong Kong financier Francis Leung has joined the company as senior adviser focusing on developing investment opportunities in Greater China.

A Delaware court will wait for a U.S. regulatory review to be completed before it decides what economic rights Chicago Board of Trade exercise right holders have in the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the parties involved in the case said on Saturday.

Italy's Edison plans to invest more than 4.5 billion euros ($6.17 billion) by 2013 mostly in gas, foreign activities and renewable energies, the utility's Chief Executive told a newspaper on Sunday.

Barclays' offer period for Dutch bank ABN AMRO will run until October 4 and the British bank's bid will be declared unconditional if at least 80 percent of ABN shares have been tendered, a filing showed.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday passed a Democratic rewrite of U.S. energy policy that strips $16 billion in tax incentives away from Big Oil and puts it toward renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.

Dubai-based private equity firm Istithmar raised its offer to acquire Barneys New York Inc. from Jones Apparel Group Inc. to $900 million on Sunday, matching a bid by Japan's Fast Retailing Co. Ltd.

DaimlerChrysler AG said on Friday it had completed the sale of an 80 percent stake in its U.S. unit, Chrysler Group, to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management.

Beer-breaths beware. A new concept car with breathalyzer-like detection systems may provide even greater traction for Japanese efforts to keep impaired drivers off the road.

The search leader says it is staying away from behavioral targeting for online ads. Privacy issues loom.

It will likely avoid the downturn after the Games seen in Seoul in '88, Barcelona in '92 and Athens in '04.

Is this the start of the latte recession? The company implies that customers may be cutting back on that extra Frappucino.

India and China are the new drivers of global economic growth, replacing the United States and other developed countries, according to Rodrigo Rato, managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

Image problems will force out weaker firms and prepare savvy ones for the global marketplace, experts say.

Buyout firms will start to use a higher percentage of equity and seek smaller deals at lower prices as they face an end to the easy money which fuelled an unprecedented wave of takeovers.

Grammy-winning pop star Stevie Wonder will launch his first U.S. tour in more than 20 years on August 23 in San Diego, the Motown icon said on Thursday.

Employers expanded their payrolls in July at the slowest pace since February and the jobless rate ticked up to its highest since the start of the year, a government report showed on Friday. In another sign of slowing growth, the Institute for Supply Management reported signs of a weakening service sector as its index of July activity fell to 55.8 from 60.7 in June. Any reading over 50 indicates growth.

Libya is set to buy anti-tank missiles and radio systems from European aerospace and defense group EADS, days after a visit to Tripoli by President Nicolas Sarkozy, the French government said on Friday.

The high-level meeting would bring together the world's biggest polluters to find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The United States is working on deals with China to bolster safety controls on Chinese-made foods and medical products, the U.S. said on Friday as international consumer alarm continued to pummel Beijing.

A group of artists sued Carnegie Hall and the City of New York on Thursday to halt a plan to evict them from areas above the performance institution where they live and work.

A painting long thought to be the work of Dutch master Vincent van Gogh has been proven a fake after a series of tests by art experts in Amsterdam, Australian gallery officials said on Friday.

Stocks slid sharply on Friday after Bear Stearns said credit markets were in their worst shape in two decades, while jobs data aroused further concerns about weakness in the economy.

How do people get ahead in the workplace? One way seems to be by making their subordinates miserable, according to a study released on Friday.

After years of socializing, Facebook and MySpace mean business. The sites, which started as a way to help people stay connected with friends, in the past year have begun catering to professionals, offering networking and advertising opportunities.

Just over two-thirds of Americans believe the country is either already in recession or headed for one over the coming year, according to a new poll conducted jointly by The Wall Street Journal and NBC.

Citigroup Chief Executive Charles Prince said the recent market pullback feels sharp, but he is bullish on the bank's growth, the New York Times reported on its Web site on Friday.