Business news

German carmaker Volkswagen AG said Friday its supervisory board had approved certain agreement contracts for the planned merger with German sportscar builder Porsche, taking the companies one step closer to completing the deal.

For Citibank credit card holders, there is one way to escape the bank's rate hikes currently under way: Meet a monthly spending requirement. Those who meet the spending minimum - in some cases $750 a month - will be able to get a rebate on their total interest charges for that month.

Taking aim at Wall Street and the U.S. central bank, an important House committee voted Thursday to assess fees on large financial firms to pay for the failure of their peers and to require a sweeping congressional audit of the secretive Federal Reserve.

Sony's new online service connecting the whole range of its gadgets to downloadable content like movies and games should help build brand loyalty, a top executive said Friday.

EBay has completed its sale of Skype for about $2 billion to an investor group that included the founders of the Internet phone service.

Kellogg Co. says there will be a nationwide shortage of its popular Eggo frozen waffles until next summer because of interruptions in production at two of the four plants that make them.

AOL LLC, an Internet company struggling to adapt to an advertising-driven economy, is looking to shed more than a third of its work force as it prepares to spin off from Time Warner Inc. next month.

A rising proportion of fixed-rate home loans made to people with good credit are sinking into foreclosure, adding to concerns about the strength of the economic recovery.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congress on Tuesday that efforts to strengthen the global financial system to prevent another deep crisis will falter if the United States drops the ball on overhauling regulation of its own banking system.

A group of House Democrats are stepping up demands for greater transparency from the Federal Reserve after reports that the Fed mishandled the bailout of insurance giant American International Group Inc.

Wells Fargo & Co. on Wednesday agreed to repay customers about $1.4 billion to settle a lawsuit and regulatory investigations alleging the company improperly marketed risky investments as safe.

Leaders at the Communications Workers of America say the new arrangement with German union ver.di will help show a "double standard" between how European companies treat workers in their home countries compared with the United States.

Chocolate makers The Hershey Co. and Ferrero International SA said Wednesday they are considering a possible offer for Cadbury PLC, already the target of a hostile bid by Kraft Foods Inc.

A Beijing court has ordered Microsoft Corp. to stop selling some versions of its Windows operating system in China in a licensing dispute with a local supplier.

Consumer prices edged up faster than expected in October, driven higher by another increase in energy prices and the biggest jump in new car prices in 28 years.