05/09/2008 07:31 AM Questions of Rent Tactics by Private Equity Private firms are buying up rent-regulated buildings and harassing tenants to increase vacancies, advocates say. 05/09/2008 07:30 AM More Blue-Light Specials on the Way at Citigroup In Vikram Pandit’s first major presentation to investors and analysts, the Citigroup chief said the company planned to sell about $400 billion in assets in the next two to three years. 05/09/2008 07:30 AM Trade Deficit Narrows Sharply The deficit totaled $58.2 billion, down 5.6 percent from February, as demand for imports fell by the largest amount since the last recession was ending. 05/09/2008 07:20 AM Oil Surpasses $125 Per Barrel as Dollar Weakens Oil prices surged past $125 per barrel on the eve of the U.S. driving season as a weakening U.S. dollar drove investors to snap up commodities. 05/08/2008 11:30 PM Air Travelers Need to Pack More Money Airlines are passing their financial pain to their passengers in the form of sharply higher airfares and new fees. 05/08/2008 11:59 PM Bad Investments and a $7.8 Billion Loss at A.I.G. In the worst three months of the company’s 89-year history, American International Group lost $7.81 billion, primarily from bad investments in complex financial instruments. 05/08/2008 10:37 PM High Prices for Staple Foods Dip, but Volatile Markets Persist The prices of rice, wheat, soybeans and several other foods have come down recently, a development that could ease some of the panic in global food markets. 05/08/2008 10:25 PM Homeowner Rescue Bill Passed Despite Veto Threat The House approved legislation that seeks to broadly expand the availability of mortgages insured by the federal government to help families who are in danger of losing their homes. 05/08/2008 11:33 PM A Fear of Big Demand for Corporate Loans Banks have promised scores of companies money for a rainy day. Now that day is here — and the banks, hard pressed themselves, are worried they will have to keep their promises. 05/09/2008 12:00 AM G.M. to Pay $200 Million to Settle Strike General Motors said that it had agreed to give as much as $200 million to a parts supplier to help settle a 10-week strike that has reduced or halted production at 32 G.M. factories.

05/09/2008 01:00 AM 'Speed Racer' opening on a crowded track The family friendly racing movie is trying to break out from a pack of blockbuster competitors. The stakes in the industry's most competitive moviegoing season are high for all Hollywood studios, which spend heavily to sell their big-budget popcorn titles around the world. This summer, the risks are particularly steep for Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. studio, which has hundreds of millions of dollars riding on three major releases: “Speed Racer,” the Batman sequel “The Dark Knight” and “Get Smart,” a big-screen adaptation of the 1960s sitcom. 05/09/2008 01:00 AM Corporate earnings roundup Charge leads AIG to its biggest loss 05/09/2008 01:00 AM House passes mortgage rescue The plan gains support as pressure mounts on both political parties. The House on Thursday passed the most sweeping government plan yet to shore up the troubled housing market and help people struggling to pay their mortgages, adopting legislation that would underwrite $300 billion in new loans and keep an estimated 500,000 homeowners out of foreclosure. 05/09/2008 01:00 AM AEG, De La Hoya's Golden Boy to be partners The combined ability of the arena giant and his promotion company to stage major events means 'good things . . . for boxing,' Oscar De La Hoya says. AEG, which owns the Kings, the Galaxy and Staples Center, has purchased a minority percentage of Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, it was announced Thursday, forging a partnership that is expected to not only help replenish the promoter's aging stable of fighters but also expand boxing's reach worldwide. 05/09/2008 01:00 AM 'Iron Man' likely to remain box-office champ for another weekend The superhero saga may have sturdy enough legs to outpace 'Speed Racer,' which could be the summer's first major misfire. For “Iron Man,” the sequel is two years away. But the encore comes this weekend. 05/09/2008 01:00 AM Rising fuel prices are a driving force for change - away from autos Some L.A. residents are relying more on bicycles, trains, buses, scooters and carpooling - or just walking. When food and gasoline prices started climbing, Thomas Franklin started putting one foot in front of the other and -- the horror -- often walked where he needed to go. 05/09/2008 01:00 AM Mayor Villaraigosa persuades janitors to return to contract talks After a closed-door meeting including building owners, the union agrees to go back to the bargaining table after having staged walkouts across the county. The strike by Los Angeles janitors has been a peculiar one, involving not just the typical rallies and walkouts but also videos posted on YouTube, workers who are still largely on the job and now a cooling-off period brokered by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a onetime labor organizer. 05/09/2008 01:00 AM Microsoft reportedly disbands Yahoo slate Since it withdrew its bid, the software giant has said it would not launch a proxy fight. Google presses on with an ad-search deal. Microsoft Corp. continued to distance itself from Yahoo Corp. on Thursday, telling the people it had lined up to nominate to the board as part of a prospective hostile takeover battle that their services were no longer needed, according to a person familiar with the conversations. 05/09/2008 01:00 AM Retail sales up in April Shoppers pushed retail sales up last month, but the numbers didn't impress economists who are focused on rising oil prices and the struggling housing market. Price-conscious shoppers pushed retail sales to their highest level in more than a year last month, but the numbers didn't impress economists who are focused on rising oil prices and the struggling housing market. 05/08/2008 04:04 PM Warner Bros. closes Warner Independent Pictures and Picturehouse More than 70 jobs will be lost in the cost-cutting move. An increasingly precarious independent film world claimed two more victims.