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The British treasury chief made a pitch Tuesday for China's $200 billion state investment fund to invest in the UK as he visited Beijing amid strains over Tibet and China's trade surplus. "We welcome the creation of the Chinese sovereign wealth fund and its potential for investing in our country," Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said after meeting China's top finance reform official, .. more

The directors of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines reached agreement on a merger deal that -- if approved -- would create the world's largest airline. The Atlanta-based combined airline will have $17.7 billion enterprise value, according to the statement on Monday. Delta CEO Richard Anderson will head the merged carrier, which will retain the Delta name. Both airlines emerged from bankruptcy.. more

Oil prices rose to an intraday trading record above $112 a barrel Tuesday after the U.S. dollar fell further and crude supplies to the U.S. and elsewhere were disrupted. The main driver of crude's rally was a decline in the greenback relative to the euro on Monday, analysts said. Crude oil's recent run above $100 a barrel has been largely attributed to a steadily depreciating U.S. currency because.. more

Salesforce.com Inc.'s online software service is becoming a showcase for Google Inc.'s e-mail and other widely used applications, deepening a relationship that has spurred speculation Google eventually will buy its smaller partner. Besides selling Google's programs to its 41,000 business customers, Salesforce.com will integrate the suite of applications into its own service, which helps companies.. more

A smiling J.K. Rowling stepped out of a car and strode into a lower Manhattan courthouse early Monday for the start of her lawsuit against a publisher. Rowling, who wore a gray pinstriped jacket and a gray knee-length skirt, didn't speak as she entered the courthouse where she was to testify around midday. She says her copyrights are being violated by a fan who plans to publish a "Harry Potter" e.. more

Lonely Planet said Monday it stands by the accuracy of its travel guides following claims by an author that he plagiarized and invented sections of the books -- and did not visit one of the countries he wrote about. Piers Pickard, Lonely Planet's guide book publisher, said the company was reviewing the content of the books that author Thomas Kohnstamm had contributed but had so far found nothing i.. more

Shares of Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd., Australia's second-largest airline, plunged to a record low Monday after the company dropped its annual profit forecast due to rising fuel costs and tough competition. Virgin Blue shares closed down 21.62 percent, or 24 Australian cents, to 87 cents, hitting a record low of 86.5 cents during the day. The airline's shares listed at A$2.25 in December 2003. The.. more

Australia's Qantas Airways and Pacific Airlines of Vietnam announced plans Monday to develop the Asian carrier into a low-cost airline through massive expansion during the next six years. Under a strategic and commercial partnership agreement, the new airline will be renamed Jetstar Pacific and operate as part of the Qantas budget carrier's brand, Qantas said in a statement. Up to 30 Airbus A320.. more

Investors knew the first three months of the year were bad for companies, but now it looks like they were downright abysmal -- and that there might be more pain to come. With U.S. banks releasing their quarterly results this week, anxiety has returned to the stock market. Last week ended on a grim note, with the Dow Jones industrials falling 256 points Friday after General Electric Co. reported a .. more

China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index has fallen 5.6 percent, tracking regional losses following a dismal performance on Wall Street at the end of last week. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 196.22 points Monday to close at 3,296.67. All major Asian markets fell following a 2.0 percent drop in the Dow Jones industrial average last Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 406.22 poin.. more