Altria Group Inc.’s Philip Morris unit won’t have to face a group lawsuit by New Hampshire smokers who claim the company misled them on the safety of so-called lights cigarettes, the state’s highest court said.

Johnson & Johnson, which faces about 8,000 lawsuits over hip implants it recalled in 2010, agreed to pay about $600,000 to resolve three cases in the first settlements of the litigation, people familiar with the accords said.

Dell Inc.'s slump deepened in its latest quarter as the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets undercut sales of its desktop and laptop computers.

Netflix's battered stock could soon be on the mend, according to Caris & Co. analyst David Miller.

Regulations on U.S. manufacturing may reduce output by as much as $500 billion this year, according to an industry-sponsored study that cast doubts on President Barack Obama’s efforts to trim red tape in the federal government.

Jennifer Garcia stood alone before a judge with a stack of legal papers in her hands, answering questions about her personal life.

A lawyer for Apple said Tuesday that Samsung was having a “crisis of design” after the launch of the iPhone, and executives with the South Korean company were determined to illegally cash in on the success of the revolutionary device.

Debra Mollen, 41, a psychology professor in Denton, Texas, said she and her husband don’t plan to have children as they strive to pay down their mortgage and save for retirement.

Charleston, S.C. Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. climbed aboard a yellow excavator, cranked it up and then knocked down part of the portico over the Gaillard Municipal Auditorium on Tuesday as the city officially broke ground on its new $142 million performing arts center.

Los Angeles should consider raising taxes on real estate sales to deal with continuing budget deficits, the city administrative officer said.

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Oil climbed to a three-month high in New York on speculation that euro-area leaders will make progress in resolving the region’s debt crisis this week.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index touched its highest point in more than four years Tuesday, helped by more talk that the European Central Bank may buy struggling countries' bonds. But a morning rally faded, and stocks ended lower.

A conservation group said Tuesday it has bought a 150,000-acre Montana ranch in a major step toward its goal of a national park-caliber prairie wildlife preserve that is stoking fears of change in the heart of cattle country.

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Gold was set to climb for a fifth day in New York as a weaker dollar increased the metal’s appeal as an alternative investment.

The price of oil resumed climbing Tuesday, reaching its highest point since early May.

the European Central Bank's overstretched staff.

The world’s tobacco merchants are down on Australia after the country’s highest court backed the toughest cigarette-labeling rules anywhere.

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Republican platform drafters refused to put their party on record for preserving the mortgage- interest deduction, giving Mitt Romney more flexibility to promote his plan to lower tax rates paid by corporations and the wealthiest Americans without increasing the federal debt.

Hopes that the European Central Bank will reach a deal to help Spain and Italy borrow at cheaper rates nudged financial markets higher on Tuesday.

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures advanced, indicating that the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will climb for the fourth time in five days, on mounting optimism that this week’s meetings among euro-area leaders will lead to progress in resolving the region’s debt crisis.

Best Buy Co. is reporting a 90 percent drop in net income during the second quarter, dragged down by restructuring charges and weak sales. The company also withdrew its earnings guidance for the year.

An Alabama judge has dismissed a whistleblower harassment case against Indian outsourcing giant Infosys Technologies despite ongoing investigations of alleged U.S. visa fraud that arose from the complaint.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and a related charitable foundation have dropped a trademark lawsuit after a man stopped selling “Terrible Towel” knock-offs in different languages.

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Lawyers for Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. are scheduled to make their final arguments to a jury following a three-week trial over patents for smartphones and tablets after top executives at the companies talked by phone and couldn’t resolve their dispute.

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Assets tied to U.S. housing are attractive with the real-estate market poised to reach a bottom, according to Pacific Investment Management Co.

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Verizon Wireless’s proposal to buy unused airwaves from cable providers led by Comcast Corp. has enough votes to win regulatory clearance from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, officials said.

In a few weeks, about 2,800 cars, trucks and buses will start talking to each other on the streets of Ann Arbor, Mich., in a giant experiment that government officials are hoping will lead to safer roads.

Media company Gannett Co. said Tuesday that it has bought BLiNQ Media LLC, a company that helps businesses advertise on social networks such as Facebook.

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. lawyers began making their final arguments in a patent dispute with Samsung Electronics Co. over patents for smartphones and tablets after a three-week trial. Samsung will follow with its arguments.

Spain paid sharply lower interest rates to raise (euro) 4.51 billion ($5.54 billion) in a short-term debt auction Tuesday as speculation grows that the country will agree to take a bailout to help it manage is finances.

Fleets of shiny minivans, Chinese-made bulldozers and dump trucks festooned with red ribbons fill the plaza while toys, clothes and even probiotics digestive capsules are displayed inside an exhibition hall.

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Best Buy Co., the consumer- electronics retailer shunning a takeover attempt by its founder, reported second-quarter profit that trailed analysts’ estimates and suspended its earnings forecast as sales of computers and televisions dropped.

Samsung Electronics co. will spend $4 billion renovating its plant in the U.S. to increase production of advanced chips used in smartphones and tablet computers.

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Urban Outfitters Inc. surged as much as 18 percent in early trading after posting second-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates as sales gained at all of its main brands.

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose in New York on speculation meetings this week of European leaders may aid progress in thwarting the debt crisis that threatens demand.

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Treasuries 10-year yields rose to within four basis points of a three-month high on speculation a proposal to ease Greece’s bailout terms will quell the euro crisis and on waning bets the U.S. will add further stimulus.

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks advanced as Spain’s borrowing costs fell at a debt sale, while investors awaited a series of bilateral meetings between the leaders of countries in the euro area to gauge progress in tackling the fiscal crisis. U.S. index futures and Asian shares climbed.

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Medtronic Inc., the world’s biggest maker of heart-rhythm devices, said first-quarter profit climbed 5.2 percent as doctors embraced the company’s newest drug-coated stent to prop open clogged arteries.

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The euro rose to a six-week high against the yen before regional leaders meet this week to discuss Greece’s fiscal adjustment program amid optimism the European debt crisis is being contained.

Barnes & Noble's fiscal first quarter was a tale of modern and traditional. Tech-savvy consumers snapped up its e-books and other digital content during the period, while traditionalists headed to its bookstores for the popular “Fifty Shades of Grey” series.

Americans plan to hit the road this Labor Day weekend despite rising gas prices.

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Empresas ICA SAB is extending a record rally in the bond market after the construction company said it may sell a majority stake in its homebuilding unit, exiting an industry that’s hemorrhaging cash.

The British government's attempts to cut its deficit were thrown off track Tuesday when it revealed it borrowed more money than expected in July due to a fall in money raised from taxes.

The world urgently need to adopt drought-management policies as farmers from Africa to India struggle with lack of rainfall and the United States endures the worst drought it has experienced in decades, top officials with the U.N. weather agency said Tuesday.

A new satellite image shows North Korea has completed a key step in the construction of a light-water reactor at its main nuclear complex, though it may take several more years before it is fully operational, an analyst said Tuesday.

Two kids, two pets, two jobs, too much.

Nearly 100 boats and barges were waiting for passage Monday along an 11-mile stretch of the Mississippi River that has been closed due to low water levels, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- “The period which immediately precedes an election, and that during which the election is taking place, must always be considered as a national crisis. ... As the election draws near, the activity of intrigue and the agitation of the populace increase; the citizens are divided into hostile camps, each of which assumes the name of its favorite candidate; the whole nation glows with feverish excitement.” -- Alexis de Tocqueville, “Democracy in America,” 1835

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- It has been a tumultuous couple of weeks in the Iran-Israel War, and it hasn’t even started yet.