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Continental stops Cairo service plan

Continental Airlines, recently bought by United Airlines to form United Continental Holdings Inc , has scrapped plans to launch new service to Cairo, because of declining travel demand to Egypt, which is grappling with political unrest.

Continental said it has “indefinitely postponed” the planned service from Newark, New Jersey, to Cairo, which was to have begun on May 18. Get the full story »

Groupon partnering with Tencent in China

U.S. deals Web site Groupon Inc. said Monday it is teaming up with Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. to launch a group-buying services Web site in China, placing it ahead of other major U.S. social Internet companies in building a China presence.

For Chicago-based Groupon, the deal represents an ambitious attempt to expand overseas while for Shenzhen-based Tencent, it is an attempt to tap further into growth beyond the company’s core business areas of online gaming and messaging. Get the full story »

LinkedIn is back on in China

Access to the networking site LinkedIn has been restored in China, a day after it was blocked after calls for Middle East-inspired protests in the country.

A spokesman for LinkedIn based in the United States said: “We are seeing indications that access to the LinkedIn service is being restored in China. We will continue to monitor the situation.” Get the full story »

Pols want answers on Heparin contamination

Lawmakers scolded the FDA for still not knowing what or who was behind the contamination of the Baxter International’s blood-thinning drug Heparin, nearly three years after launching its investigation.

“It has been almost three years since the the FDA linked deaths and serious allergic reactions of patients to supplies of Heparin that came from China,“ Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), wrote in a letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg Wednesday. Upton said the House Energy and Commerce committee, which he chairs, will conduct its own probe into the matter. Get the full story »

Geithner: Enough oil on hand to weather crisis

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday that there is substantial capacity across major world economies in strategic oil reserves in the event of a supply disruption. Get the full story »

Oil briefly hits $100, gold reaches two-week high

Gold rose to its highest in more than seven weeks Wednesday, closing in on record highs as escalating unrest in Libya and soaring crude oil prices fueled fears of inflation and slower economic growth.

U.S. crude oil futures marched rapidly to hit $100 a barrel on possible supply disruption from Libya, stoking inflation concern. They later settled up nearly $3 at about $98 a barrel, its highest since October 2008. Get the full story »

Judge: Motorola can’t transfer Huawei technology

A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction that prohibits Motorola Solutions Inc. from transferring confidential information by Chinese company Huawei Technologies to Nokia Siemens Networks, which is planning to buy Motorola’s networks business in a $1.2 billion transaction.

Huawei sued Motorola last month, arguing that the deal with NSN would represent a misappropriation of Huawei trade secrets. Motorola and Huawei have commercial agreements dating back a decade, during which Motorola bought Huawei network technologies and resold the equipment under its own brand. Get the full story »

Oil volatility index jumps on Libya as prices fly

Many option investors bet on higher oil prices and more volatility on Tuesday as the latest wave of unrest in the Middle East engulfed Libya. Get the full story »

Obama to offer infrastructure finance for Brazil

President Barack Obama plans to offer new financing for joint infrastructure projects between U.S. and Brazilian companies when he visits Brazil next month, part of efforts to strengthen ties between the Western Hemisphere’s two biggest economies, sources say. Get the full story »

As OPEC gathers, Saudis say oil supply ample

World markets have plenty of oil, top exporter Saudi Arabia said Monday, as a wave of revolution that has toppled two presidents tightened its grip on OPEC member Libya and drove prices to a 2-1/2 year-high.

Energy ministers arrived in the Saudi capital Riyadh on the eve of talks designed to narrow the gap between producer and consumer nations. Get the full story »

Brazil wins ruling on U.S. orange juice tariffs

Brazil said on Monday the World Trade Organization had made a final ruling in its favor in a dispute with the United States over anti-dumping measures imposed on its orange juice exports.

The decision by a WTO dispute panel, which Brazil’s foreign ministry said in a statement was a “major victory,” would be the second major trade dispute Brazil has won against the United States after a successful case against U.S. cotton aid last year. Get the full story »

Oil companies plan evacuations from Libya

From The New York Times | Global oil companies said Monday that they were making plans to evacuate employees in Libya after some operations there were disrupted by political unrest. The country holds the largest crude oil reserves in Africa.

McDonald’s India franchisee plans 30 more stores

McDonald’s Corp.’s Indian franchisee plans to set up 30 new restaurants in the southern and western parts of the country this year, as part of the restaurant chain’s expansion plans in Asia’s third-largest economy.

Speaking to Reuters in an interview, Hardcastle Restaurants Private Ltd Vice Chairman Amit Jatia said the franchisee would invest $111 million in India over the next three to four years. Get the full story »

Oil prices jump 4% amid unrest in Libya

Oil prices surged more than 4 percent early Monday as anti-government protests in the Middle East and Africa intensified, raising worries about possible supply disruptions.

Crude oil for April delivery gained $3.40, or 3.8 percent, to $93.11 a barrel after earlier jumping as high as $93.75. Oil prices have been trading in a range between $88 and $94 a barrel since the start of the year. Get the full story »

Groupon prepares to go into China

Deals Web site Groupon Inc. appears to be making preparations to start operations in China, a move that could shake up the market for group buying, even though challenges lie ahead for the young U.S. company.

Chicago-based Groupon, which opened in 2008 selling discounted products and services from local merchants such as restaurants and nail salons, faces a huge Internet market that has confounded some of the world’s biggest players. Get the full story »