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Reports that Conrad M. Black has filed a lawsuit in Ontario against "Toronto Life" magazine over an article in its July 2004 issue titled "A Toast to Lord Black on His Arrival in Hell."

The article presents information on the economic conditions of the United States. Ben S. Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, reported that the U.S. economy was shifting to a slower growth with more sustainable rate of expansion. The trade deficit of the U.S. has widened to $763.6 billion in 2006. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is taking serious steps on two fronts to protect corporations and accounting firms from lawsuits by investors.

The article offers U.S. news briefs related to business enterprises. Kerr-McGee Corp. has been accused of cheating the government of millions of dollars in royalties on the oil production in the United States. Gap Inc., the casual clothing chain, has fired its chief executive officer Paul S. Pressler. Pfizer Inc. will close down its factories and laboratories in 4 different states of the U.S.

The article offers news briefs from around the U.S. A bill has been passed by House Democrats to revoke $14 billion on tax breaks and subsidies for domestic oil producers and use the money for alternative energy and conservation technologies. General Electric Co. plans to acquire two diagnostics units of Abbott Laboratories Inc. and Smiths Aerospace. Walter A. Forbes, former chairman of Cendant Corp., has been sentenced to 12 years and 7 months in prison for leading an accounting fraud.

The article presents information on various business developments that have taken place in the United States. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed guaranteeing health care insurance to all 36 million Californians. US Airways Group Inc. has raised its unsolicited bid for Delta Air Lines by more than 20 percent, to over $10 billion. A federal court judge in Mississippi has ruled against insurance company State Farm Insurance Cos.

The article reports that three former Tyco International Ltd.'s executives are accused of improper accounting practices by federal regulators in the United States. Securities and Exchange Commission in the U.S. has filed a civil suit against Richard D. Power, Edward Federman and Richard J. Heger in the Federal District court in Manhattan.

The article reports that John W. Bracewell III, a former vice president of the Johnston & Murphy division of the shoemaker Genesco Inc., agreed to give back part of a bonus to settle civil fraud charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Bracewell, the third Genesco executive to settle the case, also promised never to violate securities law in the future.

The article informs that Medco has agreed to pay $154 million to settle a lawsuit contending that it had defrauded the federal government. George B. Hunt and Walter W. Gauger who are pharmacists in Las Vegas, Nevada were the first to pursue Medco on behalf of the government under the False Claims Act.

The article presents an analytic overview on the variation in stock prices in the U.S. market. On September 29, 2006, the Dow Jones industrial average closed at 11,679.07. After the grant of class-action status by a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York City, to a lawsuit against promoting light cigarettes, tobacco companies lost a remarkable ruling in the case. In September 2006, the falling gasoline prices helped in accelerating the market.

The article presents news briefs in the area of business and economy in the U.S. Kenneth L. Lay and Jeffrey K. Skilling, two former senior executives of Enron, went into trial for conspiracy and fraud. Oil company, Exxon Mobil Corp., posted its largest profit, a record 23.13 billion dollars on revenue. The profit of Google Inc. increased its profit to 82 percent for 2005. Kraft Foods announced that it would eliminate another 8,000 jobs and about 20 more factories. The Federal Open Market Committee raised interest rates by one-quarter of a percentage point.

Comments on several judgments of corporate wrongdoing in the U.S. Decision of Chancellor William B. Chandler III of Delaware Chancery Court that Walt Disney Co. CEO Michael D. Eisner and his board of directors acted in good faith when they sent Michael S. Ovitz packing with a multimillion-dollar severance package after serving several months as company president; Results of an internal investigation at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc., which failed to single out any executive for accounting fraud, despite discovery of egregious accounting errors.

Reports business developments in the U.S. Sentence given to WorldCom Inc. former chief executive Bernard J. Ebbers to manipulating the financial statements of the companies; Reduction of the earnings outlook of DreamWorks Animation SKG; Amount of the severance package given to Philip J. Purcell, departing chief executive of Morgan Stanley.

Reports business-related developments in the U.S. Ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court that Web sites like Grokster and StreamCast could be held responsible when consumers use their services to swap copyrighted songs, movies or television programs without paying them; Acquittal of Richard M. Scrushy's several federal criminal counts; End of William H. Donaldson's tenure as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Presents news briefs related to business in the U.S. Willingness of Chinese companies to pay a premium for American industrial assets; Conviction of father and son executives John J. Rigas and Timothy J. Rigas on multiple counts of bank fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy while managing the Adelphia Communications Corp.; Offer of the Dolan family to buy all the publicly traded shares of Cablevision Systems Corp.

Presents news briefs related to court cases involving business enterprises in the U.S. Judgment on a Florida case filed by financier Ronald O. Perelman claiming that Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc.; has misled him in a merger deal; Deliberation of the fate of former HealthSouth Corp. CEO Richard M. Scrushy, who is accused of accounting fraud in Birmingham; Supreme Court ruling that states can forbid mail-order wine sales but cannot discriminate against out-of-state wineries

Reports on the civil suit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Committee against Boca Raton, Florida-based Geek Securities Inc. for invasive market timing and late trading in mutual funds on behalf of hedge funds and other big investors.

The article presents information on various court cases related to the field of business.

Reports developments related to business in the U.S. Recommendation of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. chief executive H. Lee Scott Jr. on the need for the British government to investigate the supermarket chain Tesco Stores; Conviction of Shona Seifert, former executive of Ogilvy & Mather, for overbilling the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy for marketing services; Keynote speakers for the Identity 2005, a convention for companies in the identity-theft-protection business.