IBT Staff Reporter

Spending by Japan's largest companies increased to a record first quarter, indicating that corporate sector strength is helping the world's second largest economy grow.

News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) is trying to persuade skeptics among the Bancroft family that it is sincere in its promise for editorial independence as part of the condition for buying Dow Jones & Co. Inc. (NYSE: DJ) according to published reports.

Private equity firm Blackstone Group L.P. agreed to buy privately held insurance brokerage Alliant Insurance Services, Inc., it said late Sunday.

Insurance Australia Group Ltd., Australia's largest auto and home insurer, ended three year talks to buy a stake in China Pacific Property Insurance Co., saying the company's parent resisted the move.

Korean Air Co. said on Monday that it would launch a low-cost carrier within three years, making it the largest Asian airline to target the budget aviation market.

Federal authorities said a plot by a suspected Muslim terrorist cell to blow up John F. Kennedy International Airport, its fuel tanks and a jet fuel artery could have caused unthinkable devastation.

Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) saw profits rise 20 percent in its fiscal first quarter, pushed by special gains, but sales declined at its major retail outlets.

Payless ShoeSource Inc.(NYSE: PSS), the largest U.S. shoe-store chain, said first-quarter profit rose 8 percent to beat analysts estimates, citing higher sales of women's footwear.

CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CNS), reported on Tuesday a 6.2 percent rise in May sales for its stores open for more than one year.

Shares of Cienea Corp. (CIEN)jumped more than 15 percent after the communications equipment maker posted profit and sales for the quarter that beat analysts’ estimates, and raised its outlook for the next quarter.

Shares of Novell Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) rose Thursday, a day after the network software maker reported a loss for its second quarter, in line with Wall Street estimates.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Japan fell to 3.8 percent from 4 percent, compared to the previous month, the government said Tuesday.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) reported fiscal first quarter earnings that were better than analysts had expected, but the upscale cookware retailer also cut its second quarter outlook.

Clothing designer Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) posted a better than expected profit for its fiscal fourth quarter on Wednesday, citing strong sales in Europe and the United States.

Shares of online computer retailer CDW Corp. (NASDAQ: CDWC) rose on Wednesday, a day after it agreed to be acquired by private equity group Madison Dearborn Partners LLC for $7.3 billion in cash.

The Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) said Wednesday that it has entered into an agreement that may improve its bid to acquire with CBOT Holdings, the parent company of the Chicago Board of Trade.

Biotechnology company Biogen Idec Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB) said its board authorized a $3 billion buyback of about 57 million shares on Wednesday, sending shares more than 5 percent.

Shares of Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) fell more than 3 percent on Wednesday, a day after the bookseller posted another quarterly loss, seeing its deficit in the first quarter nearly doubled from the loss seen last year.

Toyota Motor Corp. on Monday started production at its new plant in Tianjin, China, putting it in the lead of all Japanese automakers in terms of production capacity in China.

Mobile phone giant Vodafone Group Plc, reported a narrower loss for its 2007 fiscal year on Tuesday, giving an optimistic outlook driven by emerging markets.

Real Estate investment trust Archstone-Smith said on Tuesday that it agreed to be acquired by a partnership between Tishman Speyer Properties LP and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. for about $22.2 billion, including debt and transaction costs.

Corporate phone system maker Avaya Inc. (NYSE: AV) is reportedly in talks about selling all, or part of the company to a private equity firm and other bidders.

Shares of Advanced Medical Optics (NYSE: EYE)fell more than 12 percent on Tuesday after the company said it would recall one of its contact-lens solutions following a report linking the product to a rare but serious cornea infection.

Shares of Canadian train and jet maker Bombardier Inc. jumped sharply after it said on Tuesday that its profit more than tripled in its fiscal first quarter on strong U.S private jet orders, beating Wall Street estimates.

Internet advertising sales soared 35 percent to $16.9 billion in the U.S. last year according to a study conducted by the Interactive Advertising Bureau noting figures from accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

Struggling apparel retailer Gap Inc. will now align its Gap brand efforts to target consumers in their late 20s and early 30s, distinguishing itself from teen and college age focused stores, such as Abercrombie and Fitch, the company’s chief executive said in a conference call with analysts Thursday.

Sports trading cards company Topps Co., Inc. (NASDAQ: TOPP) has received an unsolicited offer from rival Upper Deck Co. on Thursday that exceeds the $385 million deal struck with a private equity firm led by former Walt Disney CEO Michael Eisner.

Advanced Medical Optics Inc. (NYSE: EYE) said it is considering an offer for Bausch & Lomb Inc. (NYSE: BOL), setting up what could become bidding war with the private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC.

Dell Inc.(NASDAQ: DELL) said yesterday it plans to start selling its personal computers through Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(NYSE: WMT) in North America next month, departing from the direct-to-consumer business model it was founded on.