BUSINESS NEWS

• NBC Universal agrees to buy The Weather Channel 7/6/2008, 3:19 p.m. EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — NBC Universal says it has reached a deal to buy The Weather Channel from Landmark Communications Inc. for an undisclosed sum.

• R.I. lead paint loss gives industry huge win 7/6/2008, 2:22 p.m. EDT
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Communities and child health advocates around the country had pinned their hopes on Rhode Island prevailing in its landmark lawsuit against the lead paint industry.

• Long wait for satellite radio deal may end soon 7/6/2008, 2:20 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.'s acquisition of rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. may be cleared by federal regulators this month, and it can't happen fast enough for XM.

• Wall Street gets ready for earnings, oil moves 7/6/2008, 2:19 p.m. EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — Investors battered by surging energy prices, disappointing economic data and the ongoing credit crisis will have something else to worry about this week — second-quarter corporate results.

• 'Public' online spaces don't carry speech, rights 7/6/2008, 2:17 p.m. EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — Rant all you want in a public park. A police officer generally won't eject you for your remarks alone, however unpopular or provocative.

• OPEC chief: Strong demand will keep oil prices up 7/6/2008, 1:27 p.m. EDT
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — OPEC chief Chakib Khelil says the world's surging oil prices are not likely to fall.

• China premier: Continue inflation fight 7/6/2008, 12:10 p.m. EDT
BEIJING (AP) — China's premier called for continued vigilance against inflation that has reached 12-year highs, saying the government should ensure that price increases are "acceptable," a state-run news agency reported Sunday.

• Housing market in Welsh town shows wider woes 7/6/2008, 12:08 p.m. EDT
WREXHAM, Wales (AP) — During a bustling lunch hour in this Welsh commuter town, 25-year-old Richard Williams is one of the few who pause to look at properties for sale in a real-estate agent's window — and he isn't buying.

• South Korea to limit public servants' vehicle use 7/6/2008, 1:51 a.m. EDT
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea will limit vehicle operations by public servants as part of an energy-saving campaign.

• Employers use federal law to deny benefits 7/5/2008, 11:31 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dying of cancer, Thomas Amschwand did everything he was told to make sure his wife would collect on the life insurance policy he had through his employer.

• Terra gets Olympic Internet rights 7/5/2008, 11:22 p.m. EDT
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Internet company Terra says it has been awarded Internet and mobile rights to transmit the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in Latin America.

• Companies begin quest for oil, gas off Fla. coast 7/5/2008, 8:56 a.m. EDT
PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Oil companies once viewed drilling in the deep waters off Florida as cost prohibitive. Politicians feared even the slightest sign of support would be career suicide.

• Companies begin quest for oil, gas off Florida 7/5/2008, 6:03 a.m. EDT
PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Oil companies once viewed drilling in the deep waters off Florida as cost prohibitive. Politicians feared even the slightest sign of support would be career suicide.

• 9 convicted in Austria fraud case 7/5/2008, 4:24 a.m. EDT
VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Nine people, including a prominent executive who fled to France in an attempt to elude justice, were convicted Friday of criminal charges in a major Austrian bank fraud case linked to the 2005 collapse of New York-based commodities brokerage Refco Inc.

• Canadian telecom BCE, suitor agree on terms 7/5/2008, 4:22 a.m. EDT
TORONTO (AP) — BCE Inc, Canada's largest telecommunications company, said Friday it has agreed on terms of a $35 billion sale to a group led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan in the biggest leveraged buyout ever. The deal is expected to be completed by mid-December.

• SocGen fined over trading scandal 7/5/2008, 4:18 a.m. EDT
PARIS (AP) — France's central bank announced Friday that it has fined Societe Generale $6.3 million for "serious shortcomings" in its internal controls that led to nearly $7.8 billion in trading losses announced earlier this year.

• Small-cap stock run could herald broader recovery 7/5/2008, 4:17 a.m. EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — Even as Wall Street skids lower almost by the day, and the major indexes have touched the levels of a bear market, some analysts are actually finding some signs in the performance of small-company stocks that might be pointing to the early stages of a much broader recovery.

• Travel experts: US share of foreign tourists slips 7/5/2008, 4:13 a.m. EDT
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Despite the weak U.S. dollar, a boom in international travel around the world hasn't translated into an explosion of foreign tourists to the United States.

• Smooth sailing for yacht builders despite economy 7/5/2008, 12:21 a.m. EDT
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Fuel prices are soaring and credit markets tightening, but the super-rich are still lining up to pay tens of millions of dollars for mega yachts.

• Oil prices fall more than $1 a barrel 7/4/2008, 5:10 p.m. EDT
(AP) — Oil prices fell more than $1 a barrel Friday from record levels set a day earlier on hopes that tensions surrounding Iran's nuclear program could ease and cut the chances of American or Israeli military action against OPEC's second-largest oil producer.

• EU widens Billiton-Rio Tinto probe 7/4/2008, 4:52 p.m. EDT
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — The European Commission on Friday widened its antitrust probe into the proposed acquisition of Rio Tinto Inc. by BHP Billiton Ltd., saying an initial investigation revealed concerns about higher prices and reduced choice for European customers of the mining concerns.

• Canadian telecom BCE, suitor agree on terms 7/4/2008, 2:31 p.m. EDT
TORONTO (AP) — BCE Inc, Canada's largest telecommunications company, said Friday it has agreed on terms of a $35 billion sale to a group led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan in the biggest leveraged buyout ever. The deal is expected to be completed by mid-December.

• 9 convicted in Austria fraud case 7/4/2008, 2:20 p.m. EDT
VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Nine people, including a prominent executive who fled to France in an attempt to elude justice, were convicted Friday of criminal charges in a major Austrian bank fraud case linked to the 2005 collapse of New York-based commodities brokerage Refco Inc.

• TPG pulls out of Bradford & Bingley plan 7/4/2008, 2:18 p.m. EDT
LONDON (AP) — Bradford & Bingley PLC said Friday it is revising its plans to raise new capital after U.S. private equity fund Texas Pacific Group pulled out of its agreement to invest more than $350 million in the mortgage banker.

• Travel experts: US share of foreign tourists slips 7/4/2008, 2:12 p.m. EDT
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Despite the weak U.S. dollar, a boom in international travel around the world hasn't translated into an explosion of foreign tourists to the United States.

• Smooth sailing for yacht builders despite economy 7/4/2008, 2:09 p.m. EDT
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Fuel prices are soaring and credit markets tightening, but the super-rich are still lining up to pay tens of millions of dollars for mega yachts.

• Companies begin quest for oil, gas off Florida 7/4/2008, 2:01 p.m. EDT
PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Oil companies once viewed drilling in the deep waters off Florida as cost prohibitive. Politicians feared even the slightest sign of support would be career suicide.

• UBS may post small loss for 2Q 7/4/2008, 1:48 p.m. EDT
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) — UBS AG, Switzerland's largest bank, said Friday it expects its second-quarter results to be "at or slightly below break-even" due to a tax credit that will at least partly offset investment losses. It also said it won't need to ask for more capital when it reports the results next month.

• European shares fall, Asia markets mixed 7/4/2008, 1:29 p.m. EDT
LONDON (AP) — European markets fell and Asian markets were mixed Friday as investors digested uneven readings on the U.S. economy and oil prices that remained near records. Japan posted its 12th straight day of losses.

• G-8 meets as economy storm clouds thicken 7/4/2008, 1:26 p.m. EDT
SAPPORO, Japan (AP) — Between surging oil prices, food inflation and a credit crunch that's depressed global growth, leaders from the Group of Eight economic powers face the gravest combination of economic woes in at least a decade when they gather next week.