IBT Staff Reporter

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Rep. Barney Frank and other lawmakers are discussing a plan to link executive pay to the long-term performance of companies, the Wall Street Journal said.

Premier Wen Jiabao said on Friday China was open to holding more talks with envoys for the Dalai Lama as long as the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader renounces what Beijing describes as separat

Developing countries miss out on tax receipts worth more than the billions of dollars in foreign aid they receive because their own nationals put cash in offshore tax havens, British charity Oxfam said on Friday.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Taliban militants recovered 24 bodies and were searching for more on Friday, hours after suspected U.S. drones destroyed a camp in Pakistan's northwestern region, militants and officials said.

Britain's main suspect in the London murder of dissident Alexander Litvinenko is likely to run for mayor in the Russian city hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics, according to an announcement by his party on Friday.

Consumer products group Unilever has set the size of a planned five-year bond at 350 million pounds ($485 million), an official at one of the banks managing the sale said on Friday.

Japan said on Friday it could shoot down any threatening object falling toward its territory, after North Korea said a planned rocket launch would send it across Japanese territory.

Fitch Ratings on Friday cut its credit rating and outlook on Roche Holding citing the company's increased debt after a deal was reached for it to buy the 44 percent it did not already own in Genentech.

Oil held above $47 a barrel on Friday ahead of OPEC's Sunday meeting in Vienna, after two volatile days of trade this week.

Japan joined the U.S. push for more government spending to fight the economic crisis on Friday but G20 unity looked seriously compromised after Paris accused Washington of disregarding the urgent need for tough market regulation.

U.S. consumers' mood improved unexpectedly in March as confidence in government economic policy improved, but sentiment remained anemic overall and close to a record low, a survey showed on Friday.

The world needs to act urgently to avoid a global water crisis due to increased population, rising living standards, dietary changes and more biofuels production, the United Nations warned on Thursday.

The U.S. government will soon send states $780 million for the recently enacted stimulus plan's energy efficiency component, Vice President Joe Biden said on Thursday.

China's campaign to bring cleaner, low-emission vehicles to its roads may take a back seat as the government seeks first to stimulate growth and counter dwindling sales in the world's largest car market.

U.S. biofuel producers said the EU's anti-dumping tariffs will kill their exports of the alternative motor fuel into Europe and force them to seek domestic and other global customers.

Toyota Motor Corp plans to develop a new low-price hybrid car aimed at undercutting rival Honda Motor Co's Insight, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday.

Warren Buffett was awarded compensation of $491,000 in 2008 for running Berkshire Hathaway Inc , which just lost its AAA credit rating from Fitch Ratings because of potential losses from derivatives.

Workers at a Sony plant in southwestern France detained the chief executive of the Japanese group's French arm overnight to demand better layoff terms when their factory closes in April.

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc's auditors have said the auto supplier may go out of business because of pressure on its main customers, General Motors and Chrysler , the company said on Friday.

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed 9.7 percent in January to its smallest since October 2002, as both imports and exports tumbled for the sixth consecutive month in the face of shrinking global demand, a U.S. government report showed on Friday.

Citigroup Inc Chairman Richard Parsons said on Thursday that the bank does not need any more capital injections from the government and expressed confidence that Citi would remain in private hands.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp officials advised the largest U.S. banks on March 9 that they may be charged more for the agency's debt guarantees, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Bank of America Corp investor Jerry Finger is calling on other shareholders to vote to replace Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis as chairman of the board, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Oil rose above $48 a barrel on Friday ahead of OPEC's Sunday meeting in Vienna, after two volatile days of trade this week.

Stock index futures pointed to a fourth straight day of gains on Friday after Citigroup said it did not need any more government capital infusions, bolstering investor optimism that banks might be seeing some stabilization.

Oil edged down below $47 a barrel on Friday ahead of OPEC's meeting this weekend which pushed prices up by more than 11 percent in the previous session, helped by better-than-expected economic data.

Switzerland, Austria and Luxembourg offered concessions on Friday in a bid fend off a global crackdown on tax evasion but insisted their bank secrecy principles remains intact.

Activist investor Carl Icahn said he has no plans to push for a sale of Lions Gate Entertainment Inc in the current environment, but criticized the Hollywood studio's expenses for being too high and called its purchase of TV Guide reckless.

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc's auditors have said the auto supplier may go out of business because of pressure on its main customers, General Motors and Chrysler .