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Canadian and U.S. judges approved the $4.5 billion (U.S.) sale of Nortel

The head of cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc. told a cancer nurse Wednesday that while cigarettes are harmful and addictive, it is not that hard to quit.
CEO Louis C. Camilleri’s statement was in response to comments at its annual shareholder meeting in New York. Executives from the seller of Marlboro and other brands overseas […]

Stocks are set for a higher opening Friday after another round of positive earnings from major U.S. companies.
Caterpillar Inc. and Merck & Co. each beat earnings forecasts for the first-quarter. Merck said its profit more than tripled because of much lower restructuring and merger costs. The company’s stock rose 1 percent ahead of the opening […]

The International Monetary Fund said Thursday that Japan has the financial means to get through this disaster and get on the road to reconstruction and growth.
The IMF, which helps poorer nations get through similar disasters, is watching the situation closely, spokeswoman Caroline Atkinson said in a briefing Thursday. But she added that, so far, […]

European leaders declined Jean- Claude Trichet’s bid to provide his central bank with an exit from its role as buyer of last resort of bonds from struggling debt-strapped euro nations.
In a deal to reinforce their bailout fund struck at 1:30 a.m. in Brussels on March 12, the leaders of the 17 euro nations agreed […]

A notorious youth leader, under United Nations sanctions for inciting hatred, called Friday on citizens of Ivory Coast to barricade their neighborhoods and chase out foreigners.
Charles Ble Goude, recently named youth minister by sitting president Laurent Gbagbo, said the political crisis was coming to a head, and now was the time for “real” Ivorians to […]

The refusal of Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak to stand down is weighing on market sentiment Friday, sending stocks down around the world and the dollar higher through its perceived status as a safe haven.
On Thursday, stocks had clambered off lows on mounting speculation that Mubarak was ready to meet protesters’ demands and quit. His perceived […]

A Connecticut ambulance service that fired an employee for posting negative Facebook comments about her boss has settled with its former worker, resolving a case that was poised to test new legal ground in labor law.
In October, National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against American Medical Response of Connecticut over the firing […]

Japan’s industrial production expanded for a second straight month in December, as strengthening global demand injected companies with renewed confidence.
Factory output rose 3.1 percent from November, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Monday. Driving the gains were export-reliant industries including transport equipment, electronic devices and steel.
Monday’s figure beat Kyodo news agency’s average market […]

Somalia’s government decided on Thursday to cancel an agreement with a private security company linked to the founder of Blackwater Worldwide to train Somali forces to go after pirates and insurgents, a senior official said.
Deputy Security Minister Ibrahim Mohamed Yarow told The Associated Press that the Cabinet, meeting behind closed doors, ended the agreement with […]