AGRICULTURE

Monsanto, rival settle dispute

Basel, Switzerland —- Swiss agrochemicals company Syngenta said Friday that it has resolved a legal dispute with U.S. rival Monsanto Co. over their respective corn and soybean businesses. Syngenta AG said it will withdraw antitrust and infringement cases related to Monsanto's use of herbicide-tolerant and insect-protected corn technologies, and herbicide-tolerant soybean technology. In return, St. Louis-based Monsanto will license Syngenta's technology for making crops resistant to the herbicide Dicamba.

AUTOMOTIVE

Kerkorian wants more of Ford

Washington —- Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian has added $100 million in financing as part of his bid to increase his stake in Ford Motor Co. Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. said in a regulatory filing Friday that it may borrow as much as $600 million from Bank of America, up from a potential loan of $500 million based on an April 15 agreement. Kerkorian has offered $8.50 a share for up to 20 million shares of Ford's common stock, a cash offer worth up to $170 million. If he succeeds, his stake in the automaker will rise to 5 percent from 4.7 percent.

Parts strike costs GM $2 billion

Detroit —- General Motors Corp.'s stock dropped almost 5 percent Friday after the company reported that strikes at some of its own plants and parts supplier American Axle will cost the automaker about $2 billion before taxes in the second quarter. GM also expects to produce 230,000 fewer vehicles during the quarter due to the nearly three-month American Axle strike, which crippled its production of large sport utility vehicles and pickups. The other strikes will cost it 33,000 vehicles. "We anticipate only a portion of this lost production will be recovered, due to the current economic environment in the United States and to the market shift away from the types of vehicles that were impacted by the action at American Axle," GM said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

DEALS

Halliburton eyes British company

London —- Halliburton has made a conditional bid of $3.36 billion for Expro International Group PLC, the British oil services firm said Friday. Halliburton's all-cash proposal of 1,525 pence ($30.14) per share is richer than the 1,435 pence ($28.36) per share offer made in April by a consortium led by Candover Partners Ltd., valuing the company at $3.16 billion (1.6 billion pounds). An Expro statement said the Halliburton Co. proposal "does not yet constitute a firm intention to make an offer" and was subject to conditions.

FINANCIAL

Report: Rogue may have had help

Paris —- Investigators at Societe Generale said Friday that they suspect a former futures trader had help as he tried to cover up unauthorized positions that led to billions in losses at the French bank. In two long-awaited reports, investigators said the French bank's management failures and culture of risk-taking were partly to blame for failing to uncover the alleged fraud, which led to a loss of more than $7 billion. "The trader's hierarchy, constituting the first level of control, proved deficient in the supervision of his activities," the board of directors said in a statement to shareholders accompanying the reports. The board also said former trader Jerome Kerviel's direct superior "lacked trading experience" and showed "an inappropriate degree of tolerance" for Kerviel's trading activity. The findings came in two separate internal reports —- one led by a committee of independent directors , the other by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

FOOD / BEVERAGE

Burger King makes tomato deal

Miami —- A farmworkers advocacy group and Burger King Corp. have agreed on a deal to help boost wages and improve conditions for Florida tomato pickers. The plan announced Friday ends a bitter dispute between the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Miami-based fast-food company. Burger King joins rivals McDonald's Corp. and Taco Bell owner Yum Brands Inc., which already have similar deals. But whether the workers get a raise depends on the participation of tomato growers, who have resisted the agreements.

Pet-food case may be settled

Menu Foods Ltd., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and five other companies sued by consumers last year for selling melamine-tainted pet food have asked a U.S. judge to approve a $24 million settlement. The companies will create a fund allowing consumers to recover up to 100 percent of their money damages if they can document their claims, lawyers for both sides said in papers filed Thursday with U.S. District Judge Noel Hillman in Camden, N.J.

HEALTH CARE

Judge tosses shift in Medicaid rules

Washington —- Hospitals won a reprieve Friday from a change in Medicaid regulations that would trim hospital payments by an estimated $5 billion over the next five years. Hospitals filed a federal lawsuit in March to void the regulations. On Friday, U.S. District Judge James Robertson voiced exception to procedures that federal health officials used to put the regulations into effect. His ruling set aside the regulations.

MANUFACTURING

Japan's Toray settles complaint

Toray Industries Inc., the world's biggest maker of carbon fiber, will pay $15.3 million to settle U.S. claims that it conspired to fix prices for the material, used in aircraft, ammunition and satellites purchased by the government. The civil False Claims Act case, also filed against the Tokyo-based company's U.S. subsidiary, said the price-fixing took place between 1993 and 2001.

Boeing puts off replacing 737

Boeing Co. has pushed back the date for a possible replacement for its popular 737 jet by several years, saying it needs more time to advance the underlying technology. Chicago-based Boeing put together a team to "study the possibility of creating a new airplane for the narrow-body market" in 2006, spokeswoman Sandy Angers said Friday. Since the 737's 1967 debut, the aircraft has won Boeing more than 6,000 orders. Angers said conversations with airline customers made it clear that requirements for a replacement plane —- 15 percent to 20 percent better fuel efficiency, 25 percent lower maintenance costs —- would require major advances.

MEDIA

Clear Channel deal clears hurdle

San Antonio —- Clear Channel Communications Inc. said the debt financing needed for its $17.9 billion sale to two private equity firms is in place, clearing one hurdle in the transaction's path. "Today's actions significantly increase the certainty that our merger will close," said Mark Mays, chief executive of San Antonio-based Clear Channel. The radio and outdoor advertising company agreed to be acquired by Bain Capital Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners in November 2006. This month, the company agreed to take a lower price to settle a dispute with lenders.

Small Comcast systems for sale

Philadelphia —- Comcast Corp. is trying to sell 46 smaller cable systems serving 400,000 to 500,000 subscribers as it seeks to improve efficiency by shedding disparate operations. "It's not about money at all," said Robert Serrano, an analyst at SNL Kagan in Monterey, Calif. "They are pruning some of the more outlying areas in order to make a more efficient cluster." Serrano said Comcast, the nation's largest cable TV operator, could get $3,000 to $4,500 per subscriber, although sale prices would vary by asset. Most of the cable systems are in eight states —- Maine, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Mexico, Virginia, Georgia, West Virginia and California, and almost one-fourth of them are in rural central and northern Maine.

REAL ESTATE

Fannie, Freddie boost holdings

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have increased their purchases of mortgage assets by the most in more than four years after raising capital and winning regulatory relief. Freddie Mac led the growth, boosting its portfolio at a 42 percent annual rate, the biggest jump since September 2003. Fannie Mae's holdings rose 9.8 percent, the fastest in six months. Net commitments for future purchases jumped to $30.6 billion for Fannie Mae and held near $43.5 billion for Freddie Mac, the companies said in separate statements Friday.

TELECOM

FCC chief takes on cellphone fees

Washington —- The head of the Federal Communications Commission said Friday that he wants to regulate fees charged to cellphone users who cancel their wireless contracts early. FCC chief Kevin Martin would not say whether he endorses an industry plan to help consumers avoid "early termination fees." But Martin said he supports regulating the fees at a federal level, even if it affects a series of class-action lawsuits against carriers in state courts. Martin said industry and consumer groups were negotiating to ease the fees. So far, they have been unable to reach consensus. Verizon Wireless has offered a plan that would give consumers a break on fees charged when they quit their service early. But it also would let cellphone companies off the hook in state courts where they are being sued for hundreds of millions of dollars by angry customers.

TECHNOLOGY

Microsoft drops book-scan effort

Seattle —- Microsoft Corp. is abandoning its effort to scan whole libraries and make their contents searchable, a sign it may be getting choosier about the fights it will pick with Google. The software maker is under pressure to show it has a coherent strategy for turning around its unprofitable online business after its bid for Yahoo, last valued at $47.5 billion, collapsed this month. Digitizing books and archiving academic journals no longer fits with the company's plan for its search operation, wrote Satya Nadella, senior vice president of Microsoft's search and advertising group, in a blog post Friday.

TRANSPORTATION

Agency wants wings inspected

U.S. airlines should be required to inspect more than 670 Boeing Co. 757s to prevent wing sections from coming off in flight, as occurred on a US Airways Group Inc. jet March 22, a safety board says. A wing section dislodged near Baltimore at 27,000 feet on a flight to Philadelphia from Orlando. The section struck several windows, cracking one, and the plane landed with no one hurt. Three clips attaching the wing section to the plane had fatigue cracks, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday in Washington.

Eos wins OK to auction assets

Washington —- A bankruptcy judge has authorized Eos Airlines to place its assets on the auction block, despite concerns from other airlines and creditors that the sale is proceeding too fast and may involve aircraft leases and equipment they have an interest in. Judge Adlai S. Hardin Jr., of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y., signed an order Thursday enabling the all-business-class airline to auction off some or all of its assets on June 9. The request drew the ire of airlines such as Delta, which was concerned that Eos would place assets it doesn't own on the auction block. Delta said in court papers that Eos has equipment, including three oxygen bottles and an air-cycle machine, belonging to Delta.

SkyTeam granted antitrust immunity

Delta Air Lines said Friday that a Department of Transportation decision to approve antitrust immunity for six SkyTeam members will lead to more nonstop trans-Atlantic flights, more discounted seats and other benefits. The final order approves antitrust immunity for a six-way alliance in trans-Atlantic markets for Delta, Northwest Airlines, Air France, Alitalia, CSA Czech Airlines and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. The ruling allows the SkyTeam airlines to consolidate their existing antitrust immunities.

UTILITIES / ENERGY

Indonesia raises gasoline price

Jakarta, Indonesia —- Indonesia raised prices at the pump by nearly 30 percent late Friday because of the surging cost of oil and gas on the global market, triggering small but rowdy protests. President Susilo Bamang Yudhoyono warned this month that budget-busting subsidies, which have for years enabled motorists to fill up for roughly $1.80 per gallon, would have to be drastically slashed.

Oil output sags in Mexico

Mexico City —- Mexico's state-run oil company said Friday that output fell 9 percent to 2.87 million barrels a day in the first four months of the year, as production at its biggest oil field sagged. Petroleos Mexicanos said output at its main Cantarell oil field dropped by 416,000 barrels a day, or 26 percent, over the same period last year. That decline helped sink exports to 1.48 million barrels a day, down 13 percent from the year-ago period. An energy reform bill proposed by President Felipe Calderon last month aims to boost flagging production by opening the sector to more private and foreign investors.