UNITED STATES

The LU biscuits division of French food group Danone is due to meet trade union representatives on Tuesday to discuss possible changes at LU, a trade union source said, amid rumors the unit might be sold.

Even if a U.S. jury deliberating the fate of Conrad Black decides to acquit him, the toppled media mogul is likely to spend a lot more time in court.

Global Tower Partners, a U.S. wireless tower operator, is to be bought by a consortium of infrastructure funds managed by members of Australia's Macquarie Group in a deal valued at $1.4 billion.

Trading in the shares of Australian retailer Coles Group Ltd. and conglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd. was halted on Monday for talks on a bid by Wesfarmers for Coles that could be worth up to A$20.7 billion ($17.7 billion).

The United States and South Korea signed a free trade agreement on Saturday that will face tough opposition in the U.S. Congress because of Democratic Party concerns that it will cost auto industry jobs.

England slammed the door on smoking in bars, workplaces and public buildings on Sunday in what campaigners hail as the biggest boost to public health since the creation of the National Health Service in 1948.

Walt Disney Co.'s animated movie 'Ratatouille' opens on Friday against strong competition from better-known franchise films, drawing early industry skepticism that it can match its predecessors' success and posing a challenge for Disney.

U.S. House of Representatives Democratic leaders quashed White House hopes on Friday for quick renewal of fast track trade negotiating authority and said they cannot support trade pacts negotiated with South Korea and Colombia.

The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog has clarified how to monitor the shutdown of North Korea's nuclear facility and it is now up to Pyongyang and its five negotiating partners to decide on a date, an official said on Saturday.

Kuwaiti logistics provider Agility said on Saturday it was part of a group with U.S. firm Dyncorp International which won a $50 billion deal from the U.S. military.

Thousands of U.S. gadget fans flocked to stores on Friday to be the first buyers of Apple's iPhone, a music-playing and Web-browsing device expected to shake up the mobile industry.

More Americans will stream into subway trains and buses when vacationing in U.S. cities this summer, according to an American Public Transportation Association survey released Friday.

U.S. securities regulators on Friday sued a partnership and one of its founders, alleging they made bogus offers to buy such well-known entities as Sony Corp. and Playboy Enterprises Inc. in an effort to manipulate their stock prices.

U.S. telecommunications company AT&T Inc. said on Friday it will buy rural wireless carrier Dobson Communications Corp. for $2.8 billion in cash to expand its reach in rural and suburban markets.

KBR Inc. and its former corporate parent Halliburton Co. have been sued by four women claiming they suffered sexual harassment and, in two cases rape, by co-workers while working for KBR in Iraq, the Houston Chronicle reported on its website Friday.

Investors are hoping the coming week brings some answers to the question of whether an improving U.S. economy unleashes inflationary forces, and one place to look will be in the June payrolls data.

U.S. stocks fell on Friday as banks and brokers retreated on concerns about the impact of tightening credit on takeovers and the subprime mortgage industry.

United Auto Workers union members have approved a deal that gives Delphi Corp. concessions on wages, benefits and plant closings that the auto parts maker has said it must have to exit bankruptcy.

Central bank holdings of U.S. dollars continue to mount, despite talk of diversification into other currencies, but questions remain about the sustainability of the rise in dollar reserves.

Scared by losses at two hedge funds that invested in securities backed by home loans, investors in securities backed by mortgages, junk bonds, and other assets are demanding more protection for the first time in years.

Ford Motor Co. is ahead of where it expected to be in reducing an overhang of excess production capacity at this point in its turnaround effort and has made encouraging progress in stabilizing its U.S. market share, a senior executive said on Friday.