Most Popular Stories

March 21- Micron Technology posted a quarterly net loss on Thursday but the chipmaker said the outlook for memory chip prices is improving.

NEW YORK, March 13- The legal battle over New York City's ban of large sugary drinks is set to continue in early June, after a New York appellate court agreed on Wednesday to hear the city's appeal of a ruling that struck down the new law.

BEIJING, March 22- The United States is optimistic that China will take strong action against North Korea and has urged Beijing to increase scrutiny of financial institutions with links to Pyongyang, U.S. Cohen said that the United States believes that China is looking at the threat by North Korea in a new and different way.

March 13- CommonWealth REIT's top shareholder said it filed a preliminary consent solicitation statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to remove the office building operator's entire board of trustees.

ROME, March 17- Italy's center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani said on Sunday he would seek the backing of parliament for his policies on creating jobs and fighting corruption in the absence of enough support to form a government.

BEIJING, March 22- China levied final anti-dumping duties on the chemical resorcinol imported from the United States and Japan, the Ministry of Commerce said on Friday, marking the latest in a series of tariffs on imported chemicals.

WASHINGTON, March 13- Annual U.S. deficits under a new plan from Senate Democrats would hover in the $400- 600 billion range for much of the next decade, but they argue that this allows for stronger near-term job growth than the Republicans' balanced-budget vision.

BOCA RATON, Fla., March 14- The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has engaged in "a couple" of conversations about whether the daily setting of gold and silver prices in London is open to manipulation, Commissioner Scott O'Malia said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON, March 13- U.S. industry groups on Wednesday called for the United States to increase pressure on India to reform high-tech, agricultural and pharmaceutical policies they said block U.S. exports and damage patent rights.

SEOUL, March 9- North Korea formally rejected a U.N. Security Council resolution on Saturday that demands an end to its nuclear arms programme, signalling it would defy international sanctions and pursue its goal of becoming a full-fledged nuclear weapons state.

March 21- Nike Inc on Thursday posted a larger quarterly profit and said future demand for its apparel and shoes rose, sending its shares up five percent. Orders for Nike- branded shoes and clothing scheduled for delivery from March through July 2013, known as futures orders, rose 6 percent compared to orders reported for the same period last year.

March 20- Intertrust Technologies Corp, a software firm owned by a group that includes Sony Corp and Royal Philips Electronics, said on Wednesday it has sued Apple Inc for infringing 15 patents relating to security. The company listed major tech companies, from Microsoft Corp and Samsung Electronics to Nokia and HTC among its licensees.

*Combined cost of change $2.3 bln; $800 mln benefit by 2016. *Expects 2018 sales to significantly exceed $21.5 bln. LONDON, March 21- AstraZeneca's new chief executive announced another 2,300 job cuts in sales and administration on Thursday as he set out his stall for turning round the struggling drugmaker and returning it to growth.

*BP increases its holding in Rosneft to 19.75 pct. *BP confirms it holds the $12.3 bln cash outside Russia. MOSCOW/ LONDON, March 21- Russian state oil company Rosneft closed its deal to buy TNK-BP from UK- based BP and four tycoons on Thursday, releasing $40 billion cash to the sellers and becoming a bigger oil producer than Exxon Mobil.

NICOSIA, March 21- The Cypriot government proposed to parliament on Thursday the creation of a " Solidarity Fund" based on revenues from hydrocarbon exploitation, bonds and other assets to help it raise billions of euros to clinch an EU bailout. The bill, seen by Reuters, did not specify how much the state hopes to gain from the fund.

*Oracle plunges after price target cuts; shares off 10 pct. NEW YORK, March 21- Wall Street fell on Thursday as Oracle dragged technology stocks down sharply, while investors kept an eye on events in Cyprus as it struggled to avoid a banking collapse.

March 21- Coca-Cola Co said on Thursday it will lay off 750 people in the United States as the world's largest soft drinks maker streamlines its business three years after a big acquisition. The job cuts, which will be across the board, represent about 1 percent of the company's workforce of 75,000 in North America.

BEIJING, March 21- China did not export any crude oil to North Korea in February, customs data showed on Thursday, marking the first absence of the deliveries since early 2007.. It was not immediately clear if the lack of supply represented a unilateral action by China to punish North Korea for its nuclear test on Feb. 12.