Sponsored by The New York Times

As Merrill Lynch & Co Inc's board deliberates the fate of Chairman and Chief Executive Stan O'Neal, a leading contender for the job on Sunday said he is not aware of being a candidate.

Merrill Lynch & Co. Chief Executive Stan O'Neal broached the idea of merging with Wachovia Corp. without first getting board approval, angering some members so much they considered replacements for O'Neal, the New York Times reported on Friday.

What does Democrat Hillary Clinton's laugh have in common with Republican Rudy Giuliani's cell phone?Both are causing waves on the U.S. presidential campaign trail for the leading candidates in each party.

The New York Times Co said on Monday it will end its paid TimesSelect Web service and make most of its Web site available for free in the hopes of attracting more readers and higher advertising revenue.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan sharply criticizes President George W. Bush's administration and Republican congressional leaders in his memoir for putting political imperatives ahead of sound economic policies, several newspapers reported on Friday.

U.S. and Chinese officials agreed on Tuesday to take immediate steps to stop the use of lead paint in toys made in China following toy recalls that have scared American parents ahead of holiday shopping.

Walt Disney Co. has announced that it will start its own testing of toys featuring Disney characters in the wake of recalls of millions of Mattel Inc. toys that were found to have unsafe levels of lead paint.

The U.S. Congress is looking into Mattel Inc's procedures for alerting federal regulators about hazardous toys, The Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition on Friday.

Online brokerages TD Ameritrade Holding Corp and E*Trade Financial Corp have been in serious merger discussions for weeks but are not close to a deal, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Retailer Toys R Us on Friday said it removed all Hamco Inc.'s vinyl baby bibs, which were made in China, from its shelves as a precaution after an independent tester found two samples of bibs containing excessive amounts of lead.

U.S.-financed China Public Security Technology will provide software that links to at least 20,000 police surveillance cameras being installed along streets in southern China, according to the New York Times on Sunday.

News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch has said he might make the Wall Street Journal's Web site free, a shift that could compel Britain's Pearson to do the same with the online version of its Financial Times.

NBC Universal and News Corp have reached a preliminary deal with a private-equity firm to sell a stake in their online joint venture for $100 million, a source close to the deal said on Friday.

Citigroup Chief Executive Charles Prince said the recent market pullback feels sharp, but he is bullish on the bank's growth, the New York Times reported on its Web site on Friday.

Media mogul and owner of News Corporation Rupert Murdoch has come a step closer to clinching ownership of the Wall Street Journal's publisher, Dow Jones, after key members of the controlling Bancroft family switched sides to back his $5 billion takeover bid.

The public editor at the New York Times on Sunday castigated the newspaper for not writing enough about its owner -- the Ochs-Sulzberger family -- and whether it will succumb to the same pressure that forced The Wall Street Journal into the grasp of Rupert Murdoch.

The New York Times published reviews before the book went on sale, drawing a stinging response from author J.K. Rowling.

Partners of private equity firm Blackstone Group may have devised a way to avoid paying tax on $3.7 billion raised largely in the firm's initial public offering last month, the New York Times reported on Friday.

The New York Times just moved into a new $600 million, 52-story building and all people want to talk about is the mice. Or the leaks. Or the screwy elevators.

A tentative deal between News Corp. and Dow Jones & Co Inc. would give an independent board the power to approve the hiring and firing of top editors at The Wall Street Journal, three sources said on Thursday.

The Wall Street Journal, whose parent Dow Jones & Co. is the target of a $5 billion takeover offer by News Corp., is set to shake up its newsroom by reassigning and replacing several top editors, the New York Times reported on its Web site.

Carl Icahn is planning to increase his stake in Time Warner Inc through a new fund he is developing, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing a letter the billionaire sent to investors.

Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates told a ballroom full of U.S. newspaper editors he's developing onscreen reader software that will make reading news digitally a lot more like flipping through a paper.