The Business News word wide

Reuters - Mexican soldiers killed drug boss Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel on Thursday, the first major triumph this year for President Felipe Calderon's war against drug cartels but one that is unlikely to end spiraling violence.

AFP - A top leader of Mexico's Sinaloa drug gang has been killed while resisting arrest in a military raid, the defense ministry said, in a rare victory for authorities battling the country's brutal drug cartels.

Reuters - South American foreign ministers failed to mend broken ties between Venezuela and Colombia at a meeting on Thursday but the countries agreed that irregular armed groups were hurting peace in the region.

AP - The U.S. closed its consulate in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez on Thursday pending a security review, an unexpected decision that comes months after drug gangs killed three people tied to the consulate.

Reuters - The U.S. government has shut indefinitely its consulate in Ciudad Juarez, the city wracked by drug violence just over the border from El Paso, Texas, to evaluate security conditions.

Time.com - Spain's National Court has re-opened its case against three U.S. troops implicated in a 2003 attack on Baghdad's Hotel Palestine that killed two journalists

AFP - Lebanon on Friday hosts a rare summit of regional leaders aimed at defusing tensions over reports of an impending indictment against Hezbollah members for the murder of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri.

AFP - President Barack Obama renewed an emergency measure Thursday to freeze the assets of persons who work with Hezbollah militants and "infringe upon" Lebanese stability.

AFP - The United States is urging King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and President Bashar al-Assad of Syria to encourage the Palestinians to resume direct peace talks with Israel when they meet Thursday.

AFP - Arab officials agreed in principle on Thursday to the holding of direct Middle East peace negotiations and left it up to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to decide when to start talks with Israel.

The defense secretary said the breach had endangered lives and damaged the ability of others to trust the U.S.

A report said the military is not preparing to counter possible threats from abroad as it focuses on Afghanistan.

The founder and early investors in the microlender will reap millions from the share deal, but it was unclear how impoverished borrowers would benefit.

For nearly eight years, the founder of SKS Microfinace has been embroiled in a custody dispute with his ex-wife.

The Parliament passed a bill reducing the sentences of hundreds of Kurdish youths, some of them guilty only of attending protests.

AP - WHAT TO DO? Debate is intensifying at the Federal Reserve over how best to cope with a weakening recovery.

AFP - A key economic report Friday is expected to show the US recovery is losing pace, as a top Federal Reserve official warned of crippling "Japanese-style" stagnation.

Reuters - St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said the risk of deflation in the United States has risen somewhat compared with the beginning of this year, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

Reuters - Senate Republicans blocked a $30-billion plan to help community banks boost lending to small businesses, dealing a blow to President Barack Obama's election-year battle to reduce unemployment.

AP - Toxic assets the government bought during the bailouts of American International Group Inc. and Bear Stearns are finally gaining value, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Thursday.

AP - The U.S. Air Force has chosen bases in Arizona, Florida, Utah and Vermont as homes for the military's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, prompting applause from officials banking on the pricey new combat jets to supercharge their communities' economies.

AP - Initial jobless claims drop to 457,000

Reuters - Federal Reserve officials clashed on Thursday over whether the central bank should be more aggressive in supporting the stumbling economy and one said the Fed's current policy may be contributing to worryingly low levels of inflation.

AP - British Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday that his visit to India had deeply strengthened the bonds between Britain and its former colony, whose burgeoning economy he wants to help his own country recover from a brutal recession.

AFP - Leading shares in London slipped lower on Thursday, giving up early gains as Wall Street reversed direction despite a series of strong company results and economic data, dealers said.

AP - Police on Thursday questioned the French labor minister about his relationship with the billionaire L'Oreal cosmetics heiress in an investigation into a scandal that has reached the highest levels of President Nicolas Sarkozy's government.

AP - Italian officials are seeking to raise some euro25 million (about $32 million) in private money to finance the restoration of one of the country's iconic landmarks: the Colosseum.

Reuters - Euro zone economic sentiment rose strongly in July, buoyed by figures from Germany that point to a recovery as the currency area overcomes the sovereign debt crisis, but the outlook remains uncertain.

AP - Germany's unemployment rate edged up slightly to 7.6 percent in July from 7.5 percent the previous month as summer vacations started, but the labor market is still on the road to recovery, new data showed Thursday.

AFP - Business and consumer confidence in the 16-nation eurozone jumped in July to its highest level in more than two years, driven by regional powerhouse German, the European Union said Thursday.

AP - Economic sentiment in the 16 countries that use the euro is at its highest level for over two years, the European Commission said Thursday.

AP - Greek police used tear gas Thursday to disperse protesting fuel-truck drivers, whose strike is hurting tourism and industry, after the government issued an emergency order to force them back to work.