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Suzuki Motor Corp. said that its net profit in the April-December period dropped from a year earlier, as weakness in Europe, the strong yen and a slump in sales in India squeezed its bottom line.

With interest rates likely stuck near zero for nearly three more years, conservative investors—from retirees and college savers to banks and insurance companies—face a tough choice: move into riskier investments or continue coming up short from low-risk investments that aren't even keeping pace with inflation.

Most Asian stock markets rose after an upbeat jobs report from the U.S. suggested the recovery in the world's biggest economy was picking up pace. The Nikkei rose 1.1%.

The White House plans to nominate former Bush administration official Jeremiah Norton to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., a key banking regulator.

A Glencore-Xstrata merger would create a true rival to global mining heavyweights like Vale, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, as well as put pressure on midsize players to either team up or grow through acquisitions.

State-run entities that expanded over the past decade to provide affordable homeowners insurance in hurricane-threatened Florida are in danger of becoming so big they threaten to wreak havoc on the local economy.

A financial turnaround at Las Vegas Sands Corp. is beginning to pay off for chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson, who during the financial crisis put $1 billion of his own money into the struggling casino operator.

U.S. corporate profits are showing signs of flagging, even as share prices reach multiyear highs. Margins are slipping as already-lean firms find it harder to continue cutting costs.

PepsiCo and Coca-Cola likely will show solid profit growth when they share their 2011 results this week, but this year could be tougher.

After a spate of rocky debuts in the U.S., this week's slate of initial public offerings are going to be facing a tougher pricing environment.

Greece's political party leaders will resume talks Monday after major differences on draconian reforms as part of an international aid package remained unresolved following a marathon meeting Sunday.

Action film "Chronicle," about three teenagers who gain superpowers, grossed $22 million at the weekend box office, putting it in the top position.

Micron Technology announced Mark Durcan had been appointed chief executive replacing Steven Appleton, who was killed Friday when the small plane he was piloting crashed.

Private-equity firm TPG said it has secured about 4 billion yuan (US$634 million) so far as it continues to raise capital for China investments.

Federal and state officials aim to wrap up this week a multibillion-dollar agreement with five major banks to settle probes of alleged foreclosure abuses.

Farmers and analysts are expressing fresh skepticism about Agriculture Department data on the corn market in the wake of the latest figures, which stunned traders and sent prices on another wild ride.

Thomson Reuters handled more spot-market currency trading than its main rival EBS for a third straight month in January, as dwindling trading in the Swiss franc and the yen weighed on EBS volumes.

The average prices of used cars are on track to rise 1.8% in 2012, with much of that increase expected in the second half of the year. It will mark the third-consecutive year that prices—already running at or near record highs—have risen.

The U.S. economy added more jobs in January than in any month since early last year, pushing down the jobless rate to a level not seen since Obama's first full month in office.

India's Kingfisher Airlines shelved plans to join Oneworld, the second loss to the global marketing alliance in a week. The move capped a tough period for the alliances that have come to dominate the industry.