Officials say regulatory changes would attract investment and enhance U.S. competitiveness, but critics say the changes would dilute safeguards.

Merrill Lynch, seeking capital, may sell its 20 percent stake in the financial data company, people involved said.

A private equity and pension fund consortium said it salvaged a record $52 billion deal for Bell Canada on Friday by postponing its closing date and canceling dividend payments.

Examining the rationales for supporting or damning the practice of borrowing against a retirement fund can be a useful exercise.

As the cost of fuel soars and the pressure mounts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, several schemes for a new generation of airship are being considered.

The Swiss bank said it expected to break even or make a small loss in the second quarter, helped by a $2.96 billion tax credit.

The move brings Google into clear compliance with a California law that requires many Internet sites to have a link to their privacy policy on their home page.

One of many Starbucks stores in New York City. The company announced this week that it would close 600 stores in the United States and scaled back plans to open new ones.

Victoria’s Secret at 1328 Broadway, near 34th Street in Manhattan, gave 25 percent off for “select already-reduced swimwear” and other goods Thursday.

The unemployment rate held steady as 62,000 jobs disappeared in June, the Labor Department reported.

The order raised concerns that the online video viewing habits of tens of millions of people could be exposed.

The European Central Bank, spooked by soaring prices for food and fuel, raised its benchmark interest rate a quarter of a percentage point to 4.25 percent.

Samuel Israel III was led out of the Federal courthouse in Springfield, Mass., on Wednesday after being arraigned.

Phillip R. Bennett, center, walks with his lawyers to Manhattan federal court on Thursday. Bennett, the former chief executive of Refco, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for his role in a financial cover-up.

Air France Concorde flight 4590 crashed shortly after take-off on July 25, 2000, killing all 109 people aboard and four others on the ground.

The Russian government sought to make Bank of New York Mellon liable for $22.5 billion in damages for a money-laundering scandal that helped undermine Russia’s economy.

A former private banker at JPMorgan Chase is under investigation, suspected of making illegal money transfers, according to federal authorities and court documents.

Joshua Persky, an unemployed investment banker, stands on Park Avenue in Manhattan, wearing a sign that reads: "Experienced M.I.T. Graduate for Hire."

Another big corporate buyout fell apart as Penn National Gaming announced that it had terminated its $6.1 billion sale to two private equity firms.

Wall Street capped a shortened trading week with a mixed finish after receiving uneven economic data: news of a contraction in the nation’s services sector and a tame reading on employment.

The United States service sector shrank unexpectedly in June, according to a closely watched survey, while inflation pressures soared to a record high for the survey’s 11-year history.

The British economy, like that of the U.S., may be headed for recession, and the reasons are similar: the collapse of a once red-hot housing market and rising inflation.

Hundreds of illegal immigrants were rounded up in May at the kosher meatpacking plant in Iowa, and the two supervisors were arrested on criminal immigration charges.

A former Morgan Stanley vice president and her husband, a former hedge fund analyst at ING Investment Management, agreed to settle federal regulatory claims that they illegally traded stocks using inside information.

Chinese steel mills have reached an iron ore agreement with the mining company BHP Billiton in line with the near-doubling of prices won by BHP’s rival Rio Tinto.

India banned corn exports and curbed shipments of steel, seeking to increase domestic supplies and cool the fastest inflation in 13 years as world commodity prices soar.

The Vodafone Group said it had agreed to acquire a 70 percent stake in Ghana Telecom, the African country’s third-largest mobile phone operator, for $900 million.

Delta Air Lines and ExpressJet Holdings said that they had ended the agreement under which ExpressJet provided Delta with some regional flights.

Britain’s services sector contracted last month by the most since October 2001 and banks said they would curb lending further in the third quarter.

A battle pitting Google employees against their company as it overhauls its state-of-the-art day care program may be representative of greater changes at Google.