Business News - AFP

NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices rocketed higher Thursday as traders tracked geopolitical tensions between the United States and Russia, a weak dollar and a large drop in US motor fuel reserves.

BERLIN (AFP) - After weeks of hard bargaining, German tyre maker Continental finally said 'Yes' on Thursday to the advances of compatriot Schaeffler to create a new global auto parts giant.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US state of Massachusetts said Thursday it had reached a settlement with Merrill Lynch under which the investment bank agreed to buy back stressed securities from investors.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A forward-looking index of key US economic indicators fell by a more-than-expected 0.7 percent in July as economic headwinds continued to challenge American consumers, the Conference Board said Thursday.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Yahoo is building an Internet-age news service, leveraging its global audience of a half-billion people to win exclusive interviews with world leaders.

CHICAGO (AFP) - General Motors announced plans Thursday to invest more than 500 million dollars to build a new compact car in the United States.

TOKYO (AFP) - Sony will launch a new PlayStation Portable in October with a high-resolution screen and a built-in microphone that enables it to be used as a telephone, the company said Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - World Trade Organization chief Pascal Lamy and top US trade negotiator Susan Schwab were to meet in Washington in an effort to restart the Doha Round of negotiations, a US official said Thursday.

LONDON (AFP) - The dollar fell sharply against the euro Thursday as slightly better-than-expected eurozone Purchasing Managers Index figures contrasted with growing concerns over the US economic outlook.

LONDON (AFP) - British regulators called Wednesday for Spanish-owned group BAA to sell two airports in London and one in Scotland in order to end a dominance which they said hurts both passengers and airlines.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saw their share prices plummet Wednesday amid heightened concerns about their ability to ride out the credit crisis without government help.

DUBAI (AFP) - Dubai's port operator said on Wednesday it has awarded a 745 million dollars contract to British firm Laing O'Rourke and Belgium's Dredging International for the first phase of a project to develop a port and business park in Britain.

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Shares in Scandinavian carrier SAS plunged 6.41 percent on the Stockholm stock exchange on Wednesday after an airplane owned by its Spanish subsidiary Spanair crashed at Madrid's airport.

BRUSSELS (AFP) - The European Commission has written to Irish budget airline Ryanair seeking information on whether it is breaking European law by cancelling bookings made on third-party websites, a spokesman said Wednesday.

NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices rose on Wednesday after a sharp spike the previous day as traders nervously mulled a larger-than-expected decline in US gasoline stocks.

CARACAS (AFP) - Venezuela's oil exports totalled 48.47 billion dollars in the first half of this year, a figure 78 percent higher than for the same period in 2007, central bank figures released Wednesday showed.

MADRID (AFP) - Spain's largest bank, Santander, said Wednesday it has called a shareholders' meeting to vote on a 2.2 percent capital increase to pay for the purchase of British lender Alliance and Leicester.

NEW YORK (AFP) - The dollar firmed Wednesday in the absence of major economic data as the euro was pressured by ongoing worries of tough economic sledding ahead in the European region.

ZURICH (AFP) - Economic ties between the US and Switzerland have grown but the overall bilateral relationship has not improved in the past two years, the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A pair of troubling US economic reports released Tuesday showed a sharp uptick in wholesale prices and a heavy slump in new home construction are continuing to plague the world's largest economy.

CARACAS (AFP) - Venezuela will propose production cuts at the next OPEC meeting in September if oil prices continue to fall, Energy and Petroleum Minister Rafael Ramirez said Tuesday.

MOSCOW (AFP) - Investments in the bonds of struggling US home-loan financers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have earned Russia more than a billion dollars in the past six months, press reports said Tuesday.

CARACAS (AFP) - The Venezuelan government has locked up control of more than 90 percent of the domestic cement industry with its nationalization of one foreign-owned plant and pressured buyout of two others.

ZURICH (AFP) - The United States is likely to slip into recession in the coming months as the cushioning impact of sharp interest rate cuts and tax rebates wears out, UBS bank economists said Tuesday.

BERLIN (AFP) - German investors do not expect a recession in Europe's biggest economy, a key indicator suggested Tuesday, as cheaper oil and a weakening euro ease some of the pressure on firms and consumers.

OTTAWA (AFP) - Canada's Newfoundland province will sign a final deal Wednesday with a consortium led by US giant Chevron to develop its fourth offshore oil field, worth billions of dollars, the government said Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Tuesday welcomed China's progress in allowing its currency to rise and called for more Chinese investment in the United States.

NEW YORK (AFP) - Crude oil prices spiked higher Tuesday after OPEC member Venezuela said it would ask the cartel at its September meeting to cut production if downward price pressure continues.