IBT Staff Reporter

Soaring energy costs helped push U.S. consumer prices up a steep 0.4 percent last month, while rising apparel prices spurred core inflation more than expected, a government report showed on Wednesday.

Plagued by a series of safety lapses, Japan Airlines is putting together an exhibition of wreckage from a 1985 plane crash in what top executives said was a big push to raise awareness about safety among its employees.

A blistering four-year rally in crude oil shows no sign yet of running out of steam and crude could top $80 a barrel this year, boosting fuel costs for consumers and businesses, analysts said on Tuesday.

The property casualty insurance industry lost money on underwriting operations in 2005 but turned a profit for the year because of strong investment results, according to a trade association report.

U.S. stocks climbed on Tuesday as strong corporate earnings and evidence of tame inflation in March countered a rise in the price of oil to a record high.

U.S. automakers and auto parts suppliers face a string of issues created by the changed competitive landscape, Chicago Federal Reserve President Michael Moskow said on Tuesday.

With the next storm season looming, the U.S. energy industry is stretched thin as it struggles to rebuild Gulf of Mexico output from the ravages of hurricanes Katrina and Rita amid surging prices, officials said.

Oil surged to a record high above $72 on Tuesday on concern that Iran's nuclear stand-off with the West could cut oil exports from the world's fourth-largest crude exporter.

China's banking regulators on Tuesday issued rules for commercial banks to invest client funds offshore, an important step toward opening up the country's tightly controlled foreign exchange regime.

China Construction Bank, one of the country's largest state banks, denied on Monday a newspaper report it is in early talks with Bear Stearns that could lead to its taking a minority stake in the Wall Street securities firm.

Charles Schwab Corp.'s quarterly profit surged its highest level in six years as the stock brokerage continued to win over customers with lower prices and an advertising campaign highlighting the Main Street appeal of the company's namesake founder.

HCA Inc., the biggest U.S. hospital company, on Monday said it will report lower-than-expected quarterly results, amid a weak flu season, slowing patient admissions in major markets and more uninsured customers.

Foreign capital flowed heavily into U.S. assets in February, suggesting the trade deficit was well-financed for now, but a six-month low on a gauge of manufacturing activity in New York state sparked concerns about near-term economic strength.

China Construction Bank Corp., one of the country's largest state banks, denied a newspaper report on Monday that it is in early talks with Bear Stearns Cos. that could lead to it taking a minority stake in the Wall Street investment bank.

U.S. crude oil prices hit $70 on Monday, the highest level for nearly eight months, as Iran's pursuit of its nuclear programme heightened fears the U.S. might take military action against the oil-producing nation.

Bausch & Lomb Inc. was sued in federal court on Thursday in a complaint that accuses the company of failing to disclose to consumers that using its ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution may result in a serious eye infection.

Halliburton Co. subsidiary KBR Inc., which generates more than half its revenue from U.S. government Iraq war-related contracts, filed with U.S. regulators on Friday to raise up to $550 million in an initial public offering.

Time Warner Cable is in early discussions to create an auction system for advertising spots on video-on-demand channels, modeled after Google's AdSense system on the Internet, the company's CEO said.

A Merrill Lynch analyst, two Goldman Sachs employees and a worker at a plant that printed Business Week magazine have been charged in an insider trading scheme that netted more than $6.7 million, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Walt Disney Co.'s ABC television network will offer some of its most popular shows, such as Desperate Housewives and Lost, for free on the Internet in a two-month trial, the company said on Monday.

Byow U.S. unemployment reflects a vigorous economy but does not risk fueling inflation at the moment, U.S. Treasury Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Mark Warshawsky said on Monday.

Federal Reserve governors said on Monday it was still unclear how much further interest rates need to rise to achieve appropriate levels of balance between growth and inflation.

The London Stock Exchange and Euronext have held secret talks about a all-shares merger of equals to create a European super exchange valued at about 6 billion pounds ($10.5 billion), the Observer newspaper said on Sunday.

China must do more to stimulate consumption and tweak investment policies if it wants domestic purchases of foreign currencies to trim its swollen foreign exchange reserves, an official paper said on Saturday.

The recent forays by global banking powers Citigroup Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc into U.S. Internet banking don't alarm the chief executive of ING Direct, which has been in that market for five years now.

It would be harder for the Federal Reserve to deal with a spike in inflation than a softening of growth, a key Fed policy-maker said on Friday, suggesting the central bank may want to err on the side of higher interest rates.

U.S. stocks fell on Friday as interest-rate worries outweighed expectations that stronger-than-expected jobs creation and tame wage inflation in March would lead to growing profits.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Monday that he will ask OPEC to set the long term price for a barrel of oil at $50 USD, a price nearly $16 below current levels.

Mercedes Benz, the luxury arm of Daimler-Chrysler AG, plans to introduce a new generation of diesel powered vehicles in Japan this fall. Mercedes hopes that a re-engineered diesel engine can spur sales in a country where diesel technology is seen as dirty and outdated compared to gasoline.