IBT Staff Reporter

BP Plc is shutting down its giant Alaska Prudhoe Bay oil field due to a damaged pipeline and fears of wider corrosion, slashing West Coast supplies and prompting the U.S. government to consider releasing emergency stockpiles as prices jump.

South Korean car manufacturer Kia released its earnings report for the second quarter on Monday, announcing a plunge in net profit as it heads into union negotiations.

Telstra, Australia's largest telecommunication company, announced its intention to withdraw from building a A$4 billion (US$3.1 billion) high-speed broadband network.

British Petroleum PLC, announced late Sunday that it would shut off its biggest U.S. oil field due to corrosive oil pipes.

Forbes Media LLC announced on Thusday that it had sold a minority stake in the company to a private equity group.

Martha Stewart, the high profile founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, settled civil charges with the SEC on Monday regarding charges of insider trading brought against her several years ago.

Indonesia is open for foreign investment and anticipates a swift implementation of the Special Economic Zone in June, said Indonesia's president.

Zimbabwe is preparing to implement strong trade measures in efforts to liberalize its common trade market by 2008, said its Minister of Finance, Dr. Herbert Murerwa on Friday.

News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media on Monday said it selected Google Inc. as MySpace.com's search system in a multiyear search and advertising deal that also covers some of Fox's other properties.

The Internet may soon change the way people watch television. AT&T and Verizon have been spending billions of dollars, to build and reinforce their networks with the hope of turning the Internet into an on-demand, multi-media entertainment machine.

News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media and Google Inc. said on Monday they have signed a multi-year search and advertising deal covering Fox's MySpace.com and other properties.

Time Warner's internet arm, AOL, formerly America Online, released details of Internet searches performed on its systems over a period of three months by hundreds of thousands of its subscribers, but later apologized.

Apple Computer announced a new Intel based server at the World Wide Developers Conference on Monday.

Energy and ambition is what World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz says he felt during a recent eight nation tour of Africa which ended late last month.

Apple Computer Inc. on Monday introduced its new professional desktop computer line called the Mac Pro, which will use the Intel Corp. Xeon chipset, as Chief Executive Steve Jobs took the stage at the iPod and Mac maker's annual conference for software developers.

Several options grants to top executives at Apple Computer Inc. were dated just before sharp increases in its stock between 1997 and 2001, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing a review of regulatory filings.

The Bank of Japan, which last month raised interest rates for the first time in six years, is expected to keep its powder dry this week as it confirms that economic growth is slowing and with inflation yet to materialize.

European shares sank on Monday, pulled lower by BP which began shutting down the biggest oilfield in the United States, with weaker mining and auto stocks adding to the negative tone and trade remaining cautious ahead of Tuesday's Federal Reserve meeting.

Legislation approved by Congress could help undermine the future of traditional pensions if companies balk at tougher rules for maintaining them, financial and other experts say.

Top music companies are suing the makers of the popular Internet file-sharing program Limewire for copyright infringement.

Alien Technology Corp., maker of radio frequency identification (RFID) circuits, said on Friday that it will not proceed with the anticipated initial public offering of common stock.

Central Banks around the world are tightening credit due to economic growth that could spin out of control. Skeptics say they could be going too far, while other say the banks aren't going far enough.

Faced with the possibility of losing India's leading CDMA mobile operator, wireless technology company Qualcomm could soften its negotiating stance and reduce royalty rates it charges even as it hints that fresh negotiations with other providers around the world are in the offing.

A consortium led by AMD launched their Personal Internet Computing (PIC) device on Friday in schools in Uganda in accordance with the group's 50X15 Initiative, which plans to bring Internet access to 50 percent of the world's population by 2015.

Toyota released its fiscal first quarter earnings report for 2006 on Thursday, announcing a rise in net profit due to increased demand for its fuel efficient vehicles in the U.S. market.

Arcelor and Mittal Steel Company named its first CEO, Roland Junck to lead the company.

A recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers showed that investment in African mining exploration in 2005 had amounted to $5.1-billion which is equivalent to around 17 percent of all global exploration.

Nigeria's government must open up talks with community leaders and double the amount of oil revenues the country provides to its 46 states in order to end militant attacks in its delta region, according to a report.

Northwest Airlines applauded the U.S. Congress for its approval of pension reform legislation on Thursday, saying it would save the pension benefits of 73,000 current and former Northwest employees.