Beggar-thy-Neighbor Protectionism May Loom After Doha Talks, Accord or Not

(Bloomberg) -- Deal or no deal, the latest round of
global trade talks may be the last of its kind.

Officials from the U.S., the European Union, India and
Brazil meet this week to try to advance the faltering Doha round
of negotiations. The talks are part of a six-decade push to
liberalize trade that is yielding diminishing returns as
technology and an increasingly integrated global economy render
it less relevant.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

BHP Billiton to Spend $300 Million to Reduce Its Greenhouse Gas Emissions

(Bloomberg) -- BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's
largest mining company, will spend $300 million over five years
developing technology and projects to reduce its greenhouse gas
emissions.

Accelerated action is needed to stabilize greenhouse gas
concentrations in the atmosphere at levels guided by United
Nations' research, the Melbourne-based company said today in a
climate change policy presented in a statement to the Australian
Stock Exchange.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

GE reaches tentative labor agreements with unions

(Reuters) - The tentative agreements were reached Sunday after four weeks of bargaining between GE and the IUE-CWA and the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America . Terms of the new contracts will be extended to nine other unions that have local contracts with GE.




GE's existing four-year national contracts with the IUE-CWA and the UE expire at midnight on Sunday. GE said the tentative new agreements will provide significant improvements in wages, pensions and benefits.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Healthy earnings outlook may lift stocks

(Reuters) - If corporations signal that business conditions are looking better for the rest of the year, analysts probably will ratchet up earnings forecasts for the second half.




"Those earnings are going to come in better than we thought, we just don't know by how much," said Carol R. Miller, senior vice president and senior portfolio manager at Federated Investors in Pittsburgh.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

GM aims to sell 100,000 Chevrolets in Germany: paper

(Reuters) - Chevrolet's European sales rose 15.6 percent in 2006 to more than 341,000 cars, including 23,132 in Germany, helping to push General Motors' overall European sales over the 2 million mark for the first time.




Sommer said Chevrolet planned to increase the number of dealers in Germany over the next two years to between 350 and 360, from 300 now, and the number of outlets to 600, from 450.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

U.S. Congress could move quickly on Blackstone bill

(Reuters) - Backers of the bill were expected to spend the immediate future weighing reaction to it, with an eye on the narrowing window for legislation ahead of a scheduled August recess and the 2008 election campaigns kicking into high gear.




An aide to Montana Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, one of the bill's co-authors, said, "There's no immediate timetable for action, but we'll move forward as appropriate."


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

U.S. Stocks Rally, S&P 500 Rises Most in Eight Weeks; GM, Alcoa Pace Gains

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rallied and the
Standard and Poor's 500 Index posted its best weekly gain
since April after bond yields fell from a five-year high
and the Federal Reserve said the economy is growing without
fueling inflation.

General Motors Corp., Alcoa Inc. and Intel Corp.
helped push the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average to
within 0.5 percent of records. Exxon Mobil Corp., the
world's largest oil company, led energy shares to the best
gain among 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 as crude
prices climbed to the highest since September.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News