A top state economist who's retiring after serving eight governors during nearly four decades says Massachusetts has weathered much worse recessions than the current downturn.

New Mexico, Colorado and Texas are applying for federal funds to study the viability of a high-speed rail system in the hopes of putting new life into passenger railroads in the Intermountain West.

The European Union's 27 nations largely backed a planned South Korea trade pact Friday despite fierce opposition from European car makers, diplomats said.

The International Monetary Fund drastically darkened its economic outlook for Ukraine on Friday as it gave tentative approval for a $3.3 billion installment of a rescue loan the country needs to avoid a total economic meltdown.

Drugmaker Forest Laboratories Inc. said Friday it reached a settlement agreement with Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories Ltd. over the company's effort to launch a generic version of the Forest blockbuster antidepressant Lexapro.

France's lower house of parliament on Friday took up the most prickly part of a bill that could allow more stores to open on Sundays, a debate that has provoked deep passions about France's attitude toward the day of rest.

The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee says that Congress will "substantially" increase the power of federal regulators to monitor derivatives, a type of financial instrument that contributed to the economic turmoil.

UTi Worldwide Inc., which provides air and ocean-freight-forwarding services, said Friday it had arranged for new financing ahead of the expiration of its $250 million credit facility on July 13.

Tiger Woods' first scheduled appearance in Australia since 1998 is already paying dividends for Australian Masters organizers.

A budget crunch in Jamaica has halted construction of a highway to link the capital with the Caribbean island's rural parishes.

The National Cherry Festival in Traverse City soon will have a new queen.

A North Carolina House committee seeking a fix for an underfunded coastal insurance program on Thursday backed cutting the current coverage maximum of $1.5 million per home by half.

Scientific Games Corp. said Friday its Global Draw Ltd. subsidiary has signed an agreement to be the supplier of gambling terminals for an additional 42 William Hill shops in the U.K.

Wisconsin came up empty in the competition to land a new General Motors Corp. car plant, but tax breaks that were a part of the state's pitch may end up helping other businesses stay or expand.

Bridge builder Mabey & Johnson will plead guilty to charges of corruption and breaching U.N. sanctions, a company executive said in court Friday.

Shares of commercial lender CIT are falling as uncertainty mounts over whether it can get federal backing for its bonds.

Russia's plans to join the World Trade Organization as a three-way customs union including Kazakhstan and Belarus could be "problematic," President Dmitry Medvedev said Friday.

European airlines said Friday that passenger numbers fell 8.3 percent in May, the worst drop since the economic downturn curtailed business and tourist travel.

China-based offshore-software developer VanceInfo Technologies Inc. on Friday priced its follow-on public offering of 5.4 million common shares at $11 per share.

Johnson & Johnson said Friday it completed its $893.7 million acquisition of Cougar Biotechnology Inc., a development stage company that is testing a potential vaccine for prostate cancer.