IBT Staff Reporter

Time Warner announced on Friday that it has completely acquired the Courtroom Television Network LLC, buying out Liberty Networks 50% stake for $735 million.

Nearly 2,100 employees at R.J. Reynolds, the cigarette company which markets the Camel and Salem brands, voted against union representation for the second time in as many years, a decision seen as a vote of confidence by Reynolds and coercion by union organizers.

Stocks lost ground for a second straight session Friday when the dollar weakened and bonds prices fell after data showing higher import prices stoked the market's inflation worries.

Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said Thursday he has a five-year target to gain a bigger slice of the lucrative online advertising market dominated by Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.

After a disappointing start to 2006, U.S. chemical makers could post improved second-quarter results as customers race to stockpile everything from plastics to chlorine ahead of the summer hurricane season, experts say.

British blue chips swung to a closing loss on Thursday and erased earlier gains, dragged lower by a drop in mobile phone giant Vodafone and losses on Wall Street.

Soyoil, traditionally one of the less-traded products on the 158-year-old Chicago Board of Trade, is scaling new heights as investors bet on green fuels amid soaring crude oil prices.

Cash keeps pouring into commodities, undeterred by record prices, U.S. regulatory changes and an unusual oil market structure, with this year's index-linked inflows on course to top $3.5 billion.

The U.S. dollar may be losing its luster, but stock investors aren't losing much sleep over its weakness. In fact, analysts say, its recent slide would make mega-cap industrial stocks such as Caterpillar Inc. and Boeing Co. more appealing.

Mexico's benchmark 28-day T-bill yield edged lower to 7.02 percent on Tuesday as investors bet the central bank will leave interest rates steady.

Federal Reserve policymakers sit down on Wednesday to decide on what might be the last increase in interest rates for some time, but they will also discuss how to leave their options open in the statement that accompanies the move.

U.S. gold hit new 25-year highs on Tuesday on aggressive buying by investment funds, while oil soared as a letter from Iran's president to U.S. President George W. Bush failed to defuse tensions over Iran's nuclear program.

The online search industry has proven to be a fierce battlefield since it emerged in the mid 90’s. At the time, many companies ventured into the field hoping to capitalize on the fledgling industry. However 10 years later, a burst tech bubble has filtered out the also-rans, leaving behind three major contenders with one announcing its new proposal for a better search solution for advertisers and web surfers.

During Christmas week in 1992, I appeared as a guest on CNBC television. While television appearances can be fun, and I did continue live interviews from the floor of the Montreal Stock Exchange for many years, most of my clients and friends asked me not to do them since it usually entailed making stock recommendations.

China's Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, now pursuing a $2.16 billion expansion, is considering taking on foreign investors to help bankroll its rapid growth while beefing up management and service standards.

UK-based Barclays Bank Plc is looking to develop wealth management in India, where it sees potential in a growing middle class as well as non-residents, two senior executives told Reuters in an interview.

At the biggest video game show of the year, Sony, which has dominated the console market with its PlayStation 2, must show gamers reason to wait six more months for its PS3, even though Microsoft's next-generation Xbox 360 already sits temptingly on stores shelves.

Some investors are viewing Microsoft Corp. as a bargain after uncertainty about its investment strategy and development delays pushed the software giant's share price to three-year lows.

U.S. buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. had little trouble this week finding buyers for shares of a new fund that lets smaller investors participate in private equity.

For Wesley Britton, signing up to have his irises scanned at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport was an easy decision.

Britain's FTSE 100 index closed sharply higher on Friday as fresh bid talk buoyed mortgage bank Alliance & Leicester, while the Midcap 250 index hit a fresh high led by brewer Greene King.

Top European Central Bank policymakers on Friday left open the possibility of a bigger than expected rate rise as the ECB's chief expressed dissatisfaction with inflation running above target.

Congratulations, graduates! You've made it through all the tests, the early morning classes and the professorial diatribes.

EBay Inc. Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman on Thursday promised investors that faster growth and market share gains lay ahead, but left the company's near-term outlook unchanged as international sales growth slows and it steps up investments in new businesses.

Five companies received more than $1 billion in contracts to develop new and better influenza vaccines, and to make them on U.S. territory, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department said on Thursday.

Microsoft Corp.on Thursday said it struck a deal to enable its Windows Mobile operating system to work with Qualcomm Inc.'s mobile phone chips, a move seen helping it gain more headway in the wireless business.

Eye care company Bausch & Lomb Inc. , under pressure after government reports that its lens care products may be linked to a rare eye infection, could face a cash crunch because of a large debt buyback announced late Wednesday, a research analyst said on Thursday.

The world's attention is firmly turned toward Asia when it comes to widening imbalances in global trade and investment, soaring foreign-exchange reserves and the dollar's structural weakness.

Even at their best, derivatives don't guarantee profits. But cutting volatility is a desirable goal.Derivatives seem so mysterious and risky, it's hard to avoid the temptation to believe the rocket scientists who understand them are making a killing.