Georgetown Collegiate Investors

For American business, it's a two track economy, with global players getting big boosts from fast-growing foreign markets, while companies focused on the U.S. are hemmed in by recession-scarred consumers.

Swisscom said it will offer $324.9 million to acquire the outstanding shares in its Italian Fastweb business.

Roche is increasing its investments in China to accommodate the country's growing health-care needs, its chief executive said.

A surging yen is encouraging third-party websites to jump in with deep discounts on high-end luxury goods in Japan, where high-end retailers have been able to charge premiums for decades.

Mall owner General Growth Properties will soon launch a search for executives to replace CEO Adam Metz and COO Thomas Nolan as it prepares to exit bankruptcy court protection.

China ramped purchases of Japanese government bonds in July, adding to speculation that the growing money flow could be contributing to the strong yen.

Navistar International swung to a fiscal third-quarter profit that handily topped analysts' estimates as sales rebounded and margins widened sharply.

Smithfield Foods rebounded from a prior-year loss in its fiscal first quarter that was caused by industrywide weak demand.

Congress is unlikely to quickly pass Obama's latest proposals to jump-start the economy, reflecting the president's weakened political position.

Watchmaker and jeweler Richemont raised its forecast for the current year after trumping expectations with a strong rise in interim sales.

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said the agency is looking at a practice others have called "quote stuffing" to assess whether it violates "existing rules against fraudulent or other improper behavior."

Barclays confirmed investment-banking boss Robert E. Diamond Jr. will become the U.K. bank's chief executive next spring, as officials tried to dispel the notion the move represented a fundamental shift.

Japan's finance minister made it clear the government will intervene to tame the yen's rises if deemed necessary, but investors ignored the warning and pushed the yen to a 15-year high.

Vodafone, under pressure to divest minority holdings, is selling its 3.2% stake in China Mobile for $6.58 billion. Proceeds will be used for stock buybacks and debt repayment.

Disney's ABC News unit is likely to continue a shift to a leaner, lower-cost approach to news gathering as it seeks a successor to longtime head David Westin.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended a Florida pastor's right to burn copies of the Quran during a public demonstration on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Asian stock markets were mostly lower, with financial stocks getting hit and exporter shares dragging the Tokyo market lower. The Nikkei was down 2.4%.

The sudden departure of HSBC Chairman Stephen Green for the post of U.K. trade minister has touched off a scramble to find his replacement.

Chinese state-owned Sinochem has approached Singapore's state investment company, Temasek Holdings, to discuss the potential creation of a bidding consortium for Potash Corp.

Insurers nationwide plan to raise premiums on some Americans as a direct result of the health overhaul as soon as next month, complicating Democrats' efforts to trumpet their signature achievement ahead of elections.