IN BRIEF (Page 17)

Fannie Mae posts $2.19b Q1 net loss

Fannie Mae, the largest US mortgage-finance company, reported a wider loss than analysts estimated and said it will cut its dividend and raise $6 billion in capital to help overcome the worst housing slump since the Great Depression.

Business International

Yahoo shares tumble on scrapped bid

Yahoo Inc, the Web company that spent three months fighting a takeover by Microsoft Corp, fell 21 percent in early trading after the software maker scrapped the bid because executives failed to agree on the price.

Withdrawal puts pressure on Ballmer

Microsoft Corp's decision to drop its pursuit of Yahoo Inc increases the pressure on Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer to make his money-losing Internet business succeed against Google Inc.

Sprint gains on takeover reports

Sprint Nextel Corp, the third-biggest US mobile-phone carrier, rose as much as 13 percent in German trading on reports Deutsche Telekom AG is analyzing a possible takeover offer.

UBS may cut 8,000 jobs on losses

UBS AG may cut as many as 8,000 jobs as it grapples with the biggest credit writedowns of any European bank and a 12 billion-franc ($11.4 billion) first-quarter loss.

IN BRIEF (Page 17)

Business International

Crude oil edges close to $120 mark

Crude oil rose to a record, trading near $120 a barrel in New York, after BP Plc shut a North Sea pipeline and gunmen attacked police guarding Nigeria's largest oil and gas terminal.

Refinery strike drains gas pumps

Tony Walden squeezes his green mobile crane on to the forecourt of a Shell gasoline station on the outskirts of Edinburgh and waits. It's the fourth set of pumps he's tried, and all are out of diesel.

Major firms' profits set to climb

Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc may report record first-quarter profit and BP Plc the highest earnings in two years after oil rose above $100 a barrel and natural gas prices climbed.