Thousands of the nation?s largest water polluters are outside the E.P.A.?s reach because the Supreme Court has left uncertain which waterways are protected.

The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee proposed giving the Federal Reserve responsibility for protecting consumers from abusive and deceptive financial products.

Without a strong political majority to tackle Britain?s lumbering fiscal problems, the stage could be set for a potential double-dip recession, if not worse.

This year, $135 billion, or 34 percent, of takeover deals have been linked to companies in the developing world.

Slowly, signs of confidence are returning to the region?s housing market. But there are at least three significant bumps on the road to recovery.

Edward B. Montgomery can?t bring auto jobs back, but he?s helping depressed former car-assembly towns tap federal money to build new futures.

AFP - The president of Mitsubishi Motors has not ruled out a future capital tie-up with France's Peugeot, reports said Sunday.

The companies? feud, most recently exemplified by a Disney move that temporarily prevented Cablevision customers from viewing the Academy Awards, promises to spread across the country to other cable providers and stations.

The company?s network pushes the limits of translation technology and has become a favored source for millions.

Senator Bob Corker wants a proposed bank agency to be more lenient toward nonbank companies, but some advocates say that would hurt consumers.

A report to be released Friday questions the Bush administration?s decision to rescue ?a company that apparently posed no systemic risk to the financial system.?

Janet L. Yellen, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, is thought to favor keeping interest rates low to stimulate economic growth and reduce joblessness.

The Agriculture and Justice Departments will work together to address concerns about large companies dominating seeds, milk and livestock.

The proposal, to be unveiled on Monday, expands on shareholder provisions and hews in many ways to a proposal advanced by the White House, said people briefed on the legislation.

Asian stocks fell from near seven-week highs on Monday after weak U.S. consumer confidence data overshadowed strong retail numbers.

Stocks rose modestly on Tuesday in Asia, with technology stocks nosing ahead, while the dollar held its ground before a Federal Reserve policy meeting.

In a string of projects that has so far provoked only token opposition from environmentalists, some companies are putting power lines under water.

AP - Oil prices fell toward $82 a barrel Thursday in Asia, paring two days of gains that were fueled by signs U.S. crude demand may be improving.

Rio Tinto says it has signed a deal with China to develop a massive iron ore project in Guinea.

Wall Street indexes declined as a sharp drop in the price of oil weighed on energy stocks.

AP - China could report a trade deficit in March, the country's commerce minister said Sunday as he rejected U.S. pressure to ease currency controls and blamed Washington for the Sino-U.S. trade gap.

In a counterintuitive solution, nonprofits in Boston are selling houses back to owners after foreclosure.

Of the 104 senior executives whose pay was set by the federal pay regulator in the last two years, about 85 percent are still with the companies, data shows.

Japan's exports grew 45% in February compared with the same month a year ago, because of strong demand in Asia.

Allstate held an unusual meeting, bringing high-level managers (and Dennis Haysbert) to meet with sales executives.

Consumer prices in Japan are continuing to fall, latest figures show, threatening the country's recovery from recession.

The new measures are aimed not only at the households that are behind on their mortgages but at the 11 million that simply owe more on their homes than they are worth.

David Cameron says that trade unions have 'scented weakness' in the government's response to the British Airways strike.

Asian stocks rose on Monday, with Chinese shares hitting two-month highs as investors bought large cap stocks like banks.

Toyota promised Tuesday to respond faster to customer complaints as it held its first meeting of a committee of quality experts set up to help salvage the company?s battered reputation.

The proposed expansion would end a moratorium on oil exploration along the East Coast from the northern tip of Delaware to the central coast of Florida.