Latest Business Wires

Sen. Charles Schumer says majority Democrats will push through a bill overhauling the health care system with or without Republican support.

Iran's central bank governor says the country gained about $5 billion by shifting its foreign currency reserve basket from the U.S. dollar to the euro.

Insurance broker Aon Corp. said Monday that it will change its New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol to "AON" from "AOC" on Dec. 1.

Economists expect the joblessness that has weighed down the nation's economic recovery will start to slowly abate in 2010, but they predict consumers will continue to keep a tight rein on spending, according to a new survey.

A Jefferies & Co. analyst raised his rating on medical software company Eclipsys Corp., citing a better opinion on the company's prospects after a meeting with management.

Business software company CDC Software Corp. on Monday said its third-quarter profit rose 47 percent on lower costs and expenses.

51job Inc. said Monday that Chief Financial Officer Peter Lui has resigned for personal reasons.

Malaysian national carmaker Proton reported an 87 percent jump in its quarterly profit and said it was not threatened by the launch of a seven-seater multipurpose vehicle by its domestic rival Perodua.

Hong Kong regulators on Monday banned a former banker at one of Asia's top stock brokerages from the territory's financial industry for life after he was jailed for insider trading.

British oil exploration company Heritage Oil PLC said Monday it has agreed to sell its stakes in two Ugandan fields to Italy's Eni SpA for up to $1.5 billion.

A French amphibious assault ship like the one Russia hopes to buy arrived Monday in St. Petersburg, fueling concern in Georgia and other ex-Soviet nations that Russia is upgrading its navy to intimidate its neighbors.

A U.S. program that offers trusted trucking companies speedy passage across American borders has begun attracting just the sort of customers who place a premium on avoiding inspections: Mexican drug smugglers.

German drugmaker Merck KGaA said Monday the company plans to invest euro150 million ($225 million) in a global research and development center in Beijing for its Serono drugs division.

Hewlett-Packard Co., the world's No. 1 personal computer and printer maker, was likely buoyed by a recovering PC market in the latest quarter but worries persist about the health of some of its other businesses.

JP Morgan Chase & Co. said Monday it has named a veteran Hong Kong commercial lawyer to be its new chief executive for China.

Forests are a treasure trove of limbs and bark that can be made into alternative fuels and some worry the increasing trend of using that logging debris will make those materials too scarce, harming the woodlands.

Taiwan's jobless rate fell slightly to 5.96 percent in October as fewer people lost their jobs due to company layoffs, the government said Monday.

An oil boom is under way in California's agricultural heartland, as evolving tastes and a trend toward healthy fare have transformed a profession as old as civilization: olive production for the extra virgin market.

An oil boom is under way in California's agricultural heartland, as evolving tastes and a trend toward healthy fare have transformed a profession as old as civilization: olive production for the extra virgin market.

Haitong Securities has agreed to acquire Hong Kong-based rival Taifook Securities for 1.82 billion Hong Kong dollars ($236 million) in the first such takeover by a mainland Chinese securities house, the companies said Monday.