Business

CLEVELAND The Cleveland Clinic says it will publicize the business ties its 1,800 doctors and researchers have with drug companies and device makers.

BRUSSELS, Belgium One small island nation on the northwestern edge of Europe is counting its blessings.

WASHINGTON Federal regulators on Wednesday said a glaucoma drug from Allergan appears to make eyelashes longer and fuller, and experts soon will assess the safety of that new use.

WASHINGTON Federal regulators on Wednesday adopted new rules designed to stem conflicts of interest and provide more transparency for Wall Street's credit-rating industry, widely faulted for its role in the subprime mortgage debacle and ensuing credit crisis.

ZAGREB, Croatia Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader vowed Wednesday to defend freedom of expression after widespread criticism over police questioning of two people who belong to Facebook groups that oppose his policies.

SAO PAULO, Brazil Vale, the world's largest iron ore producer, has cut 2.1 percent of its work force because of slumping global demand for the raw ingredient used to make steel, the company confirmed Tuesday.

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay Japanese auto parts maker Yazaki Corp. plans to invest $4.3 million to open a production plant in Uruguay next year despite the credit-crippling international financial crisis.

LONDON Europe's two main central banks are under mounting pressure to cut interest rates aggressively Thursday after a run of dismal economic data this week indicated the economic slump will be deeper and more prolonged than previously expected.

NEW YORK Like their counterparts at the malls, online merchants finally got some relief with the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, spurred by a bevy of deals and free shipping offers. But the stronger-than-expected bump in online sales Monday couldn't cancel out a lackluster November.

MOSCOW Russia's lower house of parliament on Wednesday approved legislation to lower tar and nicotine content in cigarettes and to place large health warnings on the packs.

BEIJING The United States and China are headed for a possible clash over currency as they open wide-ranging talks on the future of their economic relations.

BAGHDAD A Kuwaiti subcontractor doing work for the U.S. military in Iraq denied a report Wednesday that it confined as many as 1,000 workers without money for up to three months in warehouses at the Baghdad airport.

MOSCOW Shares in Russia-focused Sibir Energy plunged 60 percent in London on Wednesday after the oil company said it would buy most of shareholder Shalva Chigirinsky's remaining property assets in a $340 million rescue deal.

WASHINGTON Mortgage application volume more than doubled during the shortened Thanksgiving week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly application survey.

SAN FRANCISCO Yahoo Inc. is plugging its Internet radio service into CBS Corp.'s webcasting network in a move driven by dramatically higher fees for airing music online.