Huawei already took a chunk of Europe's fourth generation mobile contracts last year, so another big win for it could be especially tough for middle of the pack gear makers like Nokia-Siemens Networks and Alcatel-Lucent. "China will blow everything else away in terms of volume this year," said David Geary, head of Alcatel-Lucent's wireless division.

WASHINGTON, April 24- Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods recorded their biggest drop in seven months in March and a gauge of planned business spending rose modestly, adding to signs of a slowdown in factory activity. Durable goods orders slumped 5.7 percent as demand fell almost across the board, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, April 23- WASHINGTON, April 23. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday sales increased 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 417,000 units. Compared with March 2012, sales were up 18.5 percent, indicating the strength in the housing market that has helped boost the economy was on course.

*China overproduction increases, puts pressure on margins. LONDON, April 22- Strong growth in top producer China pushed global steel production up slightly in March from the same month last year, offsetting a decline in many other producing countries, data showed on Monday.

April 27- A proposed merger of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc and Actavis Inc was put on hold after the two drugmakers failed to agree on terms of a deal that would have created a healthcare giant with a combined market value of $35 billion, a person familiar with the situation told Reuters on Saturday.

BRUSSELS, April 24- EU antitrust regulators will examine IntercontinentalExchange Inc's $8.2 billion takeover of NYSE Euronext in line with a request from the exchange operators themselves, a spokesman for the European Commission said on Wednesday.

ROME, April 23- Italy's president held urgent talks aimed at naming a prime minister on Tuesday after two months of post-election stalemate, with the young centre-left mayor of Florence Matteo Renzi emerging as a late candidate for the job.

*Second-quarter earnings $0.32/ share vs est $0.19. *Revenue $1.39 bln vs est $1.26 bln. April 26- D.R. Horton Inc almost tripled its quarterly profit by selling more homes at higher prices and forecast an even better second half of the year as a recovering economy encourages more Americans to buy houses.

*Nigeria relies on imports for 80 pct of fuel needs. LAGOS, April 16- Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, plans to invest up to $8 billion to build a Nigerian oil refinery with a capacity of around 400,000 barrels a day by late 2016, the tycoon told Reuters on Tuesday, almost doubling Nigeria's refining capacity.

LONDON, April 19- Oil prices pushed towards $100 a barrel on Friday, recovering some ground after a steep six-day fall as bargain hunters stepped in, although worries about global demand and oversupply kept a lid on the rebound. "It's probably too early to say if we are out of the woods after such a big sell-off," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank. "

*Asahi Life to be cautious on JGB buying this fiscal year.

About 18 months before the previous big tragedy in Bangladesh- a fire in November in a textile factory that killed 112 people- shareholders at Wal-Mart Stores Inc had the opportunity to weigh in on the safety question.

*Investors square books ahead of China holiday. *Shanghai Futures Exchange shut Apr 29- May 1. LONDON, April 26- Copper fell on Friday after two days of gains, as some investors booked profits ahead of a holiday in China next week and as U.S. first-quarter growth numbers missed analyst forecasts.

*U.S. regulator grounded Boeing's Dreamliner fleet in Jan. *Boeing says planes safe to fly, fix found. The battery faults raised fears of a possible mid-air fire, drawing worldwide attention to Boeing and denting the reputation of its flagship plane.

*ICBC Q1 net profit 68.7 bln yuan vs 66.1 bln yuan view. HONG KONG, April 26- Weak deposit growth weighed on China's banks in the first quarter, forcing lenders including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd to pay more for savers' money and eating into their margins.

*Gold up more than 4 percent on week despite decline on day. NEW YORK, April 26- Gold fell on Friday but still had its biggest weekly gain in more than 3 months and copper and oil also rose for the week, but commodity markets ended Friday broadly lower after a two-day run-up. Cocoa rallied to a four-month high and sugar closed steady.

WASHINGTON, April 13- Francine Wheeler blinked past her tears, looked straight into the camera and asked Americans to push for tougher gun laws, drawing on courage she said comes from the memory of her 6- year-old son, Ben, murdered in his first-grade classroom in Newtown, Connecticut.

April 26- Goldman Sachs has arranged a $1.75 billion financing package for J.C. Penney Co Inc, backed by the department store chain's real estate and other assets, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday.

NEW DELHI, April 15- India's headline inflation slowed to the lowest rate in more than three years in March, hardening expectations the central bank will cut interest rates next month to help the economy recover from its slowest growth in a decade.