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Management at Allianz SE (ALVG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Commerzbank AG (CBKG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) sought approval from their supervisory boards on Sunday to sell control of the insurer’s Dresdner Bank to Commerzbank.
Taking over Dresdner, which analysts estimate to be worth about 9 billion euros ($13 billion), would create a […]

U.S. restaurant operators reported lower sales and customer traffic last month, according to the National Restaurant Association.
The Washington, D.C.-based association’s monthly composite index, which tracks the health and outlook of the U.S. restaurant industry, stood at 98.3 in July, unchanged from its June level. A score under 100 represents a period of contraction in such […]

The New York attorney general’s office said Wednesday it is investigating whether Fidelity Investments was given incentives by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to sell auction-rate securities to investors.
Investigators are examining if Fidelity pitched auction-rate securities that were underwritten by Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) because it received other services from the investment bank. A […]

AirTran Airways said Friday it will furlough 169 pilots as it moves to cut costs and reduce flight schedules to make up for high fuel prices.
The announcement comes after the Orlando, Fla.-based airline said it would cut flight capacity by 7 percent to 8 percent for the last quarter of the year, including significant cuts […]

In lackluster economic times, not even postal workers enjoy much of a security envelope.
Faced with losses that could near $1.5 billion this year, the U.S. Postal Service is offering early retirement - without incentives or bonuses - to thousands of clerks, mail handlers and supervisors.
The push to cut costs involves retirement offers to workers […]

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's success in repaying $223 billion of bonds due by the end of the quarter may determine whether they can avoid a federal bailout.
Fannie, based in Washington, has about $120 billion of debt maturing through Sept. 30, while McLean, Virginia-based Freddie has $103 billion, according to figures provided by […]

Australia's central bank said it may soon cut interest rates for the first time in seven years to avoid a “deeper and more persistent'' economic slowdown.
“A case could be made for an early reduction in the cash rate,'' members of the Reserve Bank's board said in minutes of their Aug. 5 meeting, released […]

The annual inflation rate surged to 5.6% in July - the highest point in 17 years, the government announced Thursday.
The previous month’s reading on annual inflation was 5%.
The July increase matched the 5.6% level in January 1991, when the Persian Gulf War was raging.
"It’s obviously disturbing - it’s a bad number," said David Wyss, […]

Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. has released details of an enhanced retirement program that will be offered to certain employees as the brewer looks to cut costs.
The nation’s largest brewer announced this summer that it would offer early retirement to salaried employees in the third quarter.
Of the company’s 8,600 employees, there are 1,300 who are 55 […]

U.K. house prices fell in July as the squeeze on credit locked out buyers and brought the property market to a “virtual standstill,'' the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said.
The number of real-estate agents and surveyors saying prices dropped exceeded those reporting gains by 83.9 percentage points, the group said today in London. […]