BOSTON (AP) — A unit of Biovail has agreed to pay nearly $25 million to settle federal criminal charges that it illegally paid doctors so that they would prescribe a blood pressure drug.The Toronto-based pharmaceutical company and the U.S. Attorney's office in Boston sep....

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yahoo Inc. is seeking to conceal large portions of a shareholder lawsuit alleging the Internet company's board improperly thwarted Micrsoft Corp.'s $47.5 billion takeover offer, raising shareholder questions over the motives for the secrecy.In a lett....

Construction of new homes posted the biggest increase in more than two years in April. While it was a rare spot of good news for the housing market, analysts said it's far too soon to declare an end to the prolonged slump.The Commerce Department reported Friday that housin....

For Chief Justice John Roberts, it's Hewlett-Packard. Stephen Breyer has Colgate-Palmolive, Bank of America, IBM, Nestle. Samuel Alito: Bristol-Myers Squibb and Exxon Mobil. Those companies are among 33 that went to the U.S. Supreme Court in hopes of killing a lawsuit agai....

The most powerful earthquake in China since 1950 shows the nation's insurance industry is decades behind those of the world's biggest economies. Just 5 percent of the more than $20 billion of damage from the quake in Sichuan province is covered by insurance, according to e....

Known for being a practical, affordable vehicle, the Subaru Forester is more so for 2009.The five-passenger, new Forester is bigger than its predecessor inside and has new, sport utility-like styling outside and more safety features than ever.The four-door Forester also ....

Big Firm Cogs: Do you have an exit strategy? I'm not talking about a plan to get our troops out of Iraq. I'm talking about something far more likely to occur in our lifetime: your eventual departure from your Big Firm gig, and your plan for handling this event. With all ....

CNN has not only lost its battle to keep from releasing unaired video footage subpoenaed by lawyers in a personal injury suit, but the news network's counsel also have been rapped for not requesting in camera review of the footage until after the judge ruled against them. ....

A legal war involving the University of Georgia and copyrights to questions on a national pharmacist licensing exam has split into two fronts.In the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, a federal judge last month kept alive claims that a current UGA prof....

ATLANTA (AP) — Police have arrested a LaGrange businessman accused of with embezzling at least $8 million from investors.Randy Wesley Banks, president of Banks Financial Services, turned himself in to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Thursday.Banks, charged wit....

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington has declined Georgia's petition to reconsider a recent ruling that restricts the state's authority to tap a huge federal reservoir near Atlanta for more drinking water.A three-judge panel of the court in February ....

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Even as same-sex couples across California begin making plans to tie the knot, opponents are redoubling their efforts to make sure wedding bells never again ring for gay couples in the nation's most populous state.A conservative group said it would a....

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Imaging products company Eastman Kodak Co. said Friday it settled a patent dispute with St. Clair Intellectual Property Consultants Inc.Under the terms of the settlement, Kodak said it assigned its rights in the patents in dispute to St. Clair and ....

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Sharper Image Corp. said Friday a Delaware bankruptcy court authorized the specialty retailer to sell all its assets to an investment group for about $51.3 million at auction on May 28.The investment group is a joint venture of Gordon Brothers Retail....

NEW YORK (AP) — A horse by any other name simply wouldn't have worked for UPS.Capitalizing on the buzz around thoroughbred racing's biggest event, UPS has inked a sponsorship deal with Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown, who was named in honor of the shipping giant known fo....

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — State officials on Thursday sought to take the reins from a private contractor that wanted to use a collections agency to recover as much as $175 million in suspected grant overpayments from hurricane victims, citing a lack of confidence in the company's a....

DENVER (AP) — An attorney for former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio asked the full 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday not to review a decision by a three-judge panel to overturn his insider-trading conviction.Attorney Maureen Mahoney wrote in a court filing that the three-....

CHICAGO (AP) — Jury selection was completed at R. Kelly's child pornography trial Thursday amid contentious exchanges between prosecutors and defense attorneys, who accused each other of trying to stack the panel along racial lines.Of the 12 jurors who will open the case....

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Baton Rouge's Metro Council has unanimously agreed to pay a $1 million settlement to a man who served more than 16 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit.DNA testing cleared Gene Bibbins of the rape in 2003. He subsequently filed a federal la....

HONOLULU (AP) — NCL America Inc. has agreed to pay $485,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit involving seven crew members with Middle East backgrounds who lost their jobs aboard the cruise ship Pride of Aloha.The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced T....

(AP) — With the Beijing Olympics less than three months away, the battle over swimsuits has turned into a lawsuit.In a case sure to rock the swimming world, California-based TYR Sport went to federal court this week alleging that rival Speedo, manufacturer of the record-....

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The nine-week trial of Hollywood private investigator Anthony Pellicano often had seamy plot lines and suspense worthy of a movie: death threats, offers of murder and extramarital affairs.But for those who believe they were targets of Pellicano's ruthl....

There are a few sales classics that all new business developers should read. One is “How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling” by Frank Bettger. Another is “Cold Calling Techniques (That Really Work)” by Stephan Schiffman. The latest is “Making Your Case: The....

WASHINGTON (AP) — Industrial output plunged in April as factories making everything from autos to heavy machinery felt the adverse effects of the weak economy. Analysts held out hope that production will revive in the second half of the year, helped by the government's econo....

Pop a couple of prozacs and sit back for a roundup of the scariest financial books on the market. It's gloom-and-doom season for purveyors of financial books, so pull out a can of beans from your ammo case in the bomb shelter and warm it up. You're going to need some nourish....

First came the booming economies. Then came the rush of investors. Now the so-called BRIC nations—Brazil, Russia, India and China—are talking about forming a political alliance. The four largest emerging economies are sending their foreign ministers to Yekaterinburg, Russi....

It's a banner time for baby boomers on the DVD shelves.“I'm Not There” is a stream-of-consciousness deconstruction on the life, times and legend of Bob Dylan. Director Todd Haynes (“Safe,” “Far From Heaven”) asks us to accept six different versions of the '60s icon—among t....

Lawyers for accused Fulton County Courthouse shooter Brian G. Nichols have failed to force the judge overseeing Nichols' case to recuse.DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Daniel Coursey on Thursday ruled that comments Judge James Bodiford made to a Marietta newspaper in th....